The deputies stressed that the statement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympic Games as neutral athletes is irresponsible and unbearable, therefore they ask France to evaluate the possibility and take the necessary actions to prevent this from happening. athletes participating in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“In the doctrine of Russian foreign policy, one of the directions of spreading its values is the use of so-called soft power in building foreign relations, and sport is one of the ways of its use.
Russia exploits the presence of “neutral” athletes in international competitions for its state propaganda, which also includes glorifying the aggressor’s army and promoting military recruitment,” the deputies said in a statement.
Deputies reported that several Olympic champions from Latvia have already announced their intention not to compete in Paris, if athletes from Russia and Belarus participate as neutral athletes. The MEPs also admit that if the IOC does not change its decision, we can expect similar announcements from athletes in other European countries too.
Furthermore, in the letter, the deputies recall that on March 2, 2022 in New York, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution “Aggression against Ukraine”, in which it expressed the international community’s convincing condemnation of the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, as well as Involvement of Belarus in this attack.
Currently, 11 athletes have qualified for the Olympic Games as neutral athletes: eight from Russia and three from Belarus, according to the letter from the deputies.
The letter is addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron and the members of the National Assembly and the Senate of the French Republic.
CONTEXT:
Regarding the issue of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Latvia will first wait for Ukraine’s opinion and decision on further actions, the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) said. The Ministry sees the opportunity to implement various actions, but the main thing is to achieve that Russian and Belarusian athletes do not participate in the Olympic Games and Latvian athletes stay at home.
The leadership of the Latvian Olympic Committee believes that it is out of place to talk about boycotting the Olympic Games at this time, but we should work together with our partners to prevent the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus.
The Paris Olympic Games will be held in the French capital in 2024 from July 26 to August 11.
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2024-01-11 14:01:43
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