Aug 13, 2007

UNPO Responds to the IOC


In a letter published by the International Herald Tribune, the UNPO General Secretary has criticised attempts to deny a link between political evolution in the PRC and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

In a letter published by the International Herald Tribune, the UNPO General Secretary has criticised attempts to deny a link between political evolution in the PRC and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.


The Hague, 13 August 2007 – In a letter to the International Herald Tribune Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), recently urged the international community to limit its expectations that the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games might substantially influence China’s evolution in matters beyond sports.

[Read the letter of Mr. Rogge, President of the IOC]

On 11 August 2007, the International Herald Tribune published the response of UNPO General Secretary Mr. Marino Busdachin. In this letter, UNPO calls upon the international community, including the IOC, to recognise the undeniable political nature of the Games, and so also its obligation to ensure that those who bear their costs are protected.

 

China and the Olympics

As the countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics gets under way, Jacques Rogge ("A catalyst, not a cure," Views, August 8) appears determined to limit expectations that the games, as well as the International Olympic Committee, might influence "China's evolution" in matters beyond sports. Such a statement chimes with demands from the Chinese government, which has been imploring international nongovernmental organizations to refrain from politicizing the event.

But politics and sports are not mutually exclusive, and today the Olympic Games are undeniably a political event. Even countdown celebrations, held in Tiananmen Square, were a political event.

The Games present Chinese authorities with an unprecedented opportunity to project to the world an image of its choosing, suppressing the details it knows will not be received with warmth. Providing China with such an opportunity, as well as facilitating its execution, is not a non-political act. Neither is providing China with the means and expertise needed to "secure the Games."

As such, it is the duty of the international community and the IOC to ensure that those who will bear the cost of the 2008 Olympic Games are not forgotten, and that their causes and rights are granted their share of the spotlight.

Marino Busdachin
General Secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO)
The Hague, the Netherlands

 

[Original Publication]