Why Russia and Belarus is not a place in big sport and should be removed from the Olympics
Today, the world community needs to confirm this motto in practice and to act together for the values of peace as opposed to the unjustified armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. In February, the IOC supported Ukraine, showing the world how Russia violates the principles of the Olympic peace.
The recommendation to restrict the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sports competitions has become a reasonable answer to the cruel murder of Ukrainians and the destruction of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army, for which the territory of the Republic of Belarus was used for hostile aviation. The overwhelming number of Russian athletes belong to military and other law enforcement agencies.
They support the war and promote it at various rallies, meetings, television broadcasts and their own social networks. Sport for Russia has become the most important element of politics and propaganda of war. Now I will focus on sad statistics. During this war, about 350 sports facilities were destroyed or destroyed in Ukraine. More than 220 athletes and coaches were killed, about 40,000 athletes were forced to go abroad, they could not train about 140,000 young athletes.
I personally communicated with an athlete, who was tortured in occupation by the Russian military and deliberately breaking the bones of hands and feet so that he could no longer represent Ukraine in international competitions. There is a significant difference between the diplomacy of coercion, which is the sanction policy and restriction of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and the reconciliation policy of the aggressor.
That is why I appeal to the International Olympic Committee, Presidents and Secretaries of the National Olympic Committees, as well as my ombudsman colleagues from different countries and representatives of national human rights institutions to oppose the violation of the Olympic peace principles and limit the opportunity to participate in sports competitions with athletes with sports competitions Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus.
There were already precedents in history when countries were not admitted to the Olympic Games. In particular, the participation of athletes in South Africa was banned from 1964 to 1992 due to the policy of apartheid in the country. In addition, South Africa, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and the Osman Mok empire forbade to participate in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp because of their role in the First World War, and Germany and Japan were not invited to London in 1948.