Mahaz News
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More than 300 lively and former fencers have written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urging the group to uphold sanctions towards Russian and Belarusian athletes, saying that permitting them entry again into worldwide competitions can be “a catastrophic error.”
“Russia’s aggression violates not only the norms of international law but also the fundamental values of Olympism, including peace, harmonious development of humankind and respect for human dignity and human rights,” the letter reads.
“As lengthy as Russia’s warfare of aggression, aided by Belarus, wages on, each states’ athletes and officers should stay excluded from world sport. Given the latest escalation of assaults towards Ukrainian civilians, there must be no cause at the moment to permit Russia and Belarus to be reintegrated into world sport.
“Integration would lay a precedent in which a nation can violate the values and rules of sport and international peace without fear of consequences,” the letter provides.
The letter – addressed to IOC president Thomas Bach, who’s a former Olympic fencer, and Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the interim president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) – was despatched on the day the IOC Executive Board is ready to start its three-day assembly to debate solidarity with Ukraine, the sanctions towards Russia and Belarus and the standing of athletes from these nations.
Mahaz News has reached out to the IOC and FIE for remark.
In January, the IOC outlined a multi-step plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part on the upcoming 2024 Summer Games in Paris and the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, which was met with criticism from the United States, Canada and several other European nations, together with the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland.
In a February assertion, the IOC reiterated its condemnation of the warfare in Ukraine, one yr on from the beginning of the invasion.
But the fencers accuse the IOC and FIE of permitting Russian and Belarusian athletes again into competitions, regardless of the IOC’s February 2022 sanctions because of the Ukraine invasion.
“With complete disregard for athletes’ voices, you have permitted both Russia and Belarus back into FIE competitions, as well as a suspected tournament hosted on Russian soil,” the letter mentioned.
“This is an apparent breach of the IOC’s position that ‘no international sport events are to be organized or supported by an IF or NOC in Russia or Belarus’ and once again exposes Russian interests outweighing the voice and rights of athletes, especially those from Ukraine,” the fencers say.
It is unclear which match is being referred to within the letter. Mahaz News has sought clarification from the IOC and FIE.
Last month, the US and greater than 30 different “like-minded” nations backed a proposed ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in worldwide sports activities, in line with a joint assertion.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s sports activities minister mentioned in January the nation wouldn’t rule out boycotting the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete at Paris 2024.
Source web site: www.cnn.com
