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.
[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.
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 "
But politics and sports are not mutually exclusive, and today the Olympic Games are undeniably a political event. Even countdown celebrations, held in
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
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)