Several Western states have opted for a political boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. But the combination of sports and politics only leads to new divisions in the end.
After the United States, Great Britain, Australia and Canada have also announced that they will not send government officials to the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The move was justified with alleged human rights violations in China.
Sport is not just for sport – it has always been to unite and educate one’s potential. But make no mistake: The Olympic Games are an event for athletes around the world, not politicians.
The success of any Olympiad requires the collective effort of the entire Olympic family and does not depend on the presence of officials from individual countries. The US-led diplomatic boycott of the Games is absurd from the start, as China has not issued an invitation. How can you boycott something for which you have not been invited? Obviously some western politicians are just pretending to be.
The decision of government officials to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics is concerned with human rights issues. The essence of such an act is to politicize sport under the banner of human rights, which certainly violates the Olympic Charter, in particular the principle of political neutrality of sport.
As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova said, the United States is trying to undermine the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics through political campaigns and misinformation.
Such an approach is not new, though rare. In 2014, the US and several other Western heads of state abstained from the Sochi Winter Olympics over alleged human rights violations and geopolitical disputes.
Obviously, some Western politicians are more concerned with using sport to advance their own agenda than with getting involved, especially when countries like Russia or China are hosting a sporting event. They are targeting the Beijing Winter Olympics because of their ideological bias against China.
The great thing about the Olympics is that athletes from all over the world come together to compete against each other. They all have the same goal. Whether you win or not, regardless of origin, race, gender or religion, you can live in harmony in the Olympic Games. When politics is brought into play, as it happens here, it divides people.
If a boycott of Beijing 2022 is to be justified on human rights grounds, one should not be surprised if the 2028 Games in Los Angeles are boycotted because of systemic racism in the United States.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, is well aware of the danger of politicizing sport and has called for a separation between sport and politics.
It’s time to stop mixing politics and sports. This is important because the Olympic Games and the well-being of future generations in the years to come will depend on it.
