IOC Rejects Ukrainian Athletes’ Request To Wear Black Armbands Honoring Those Killed In Protests
The International Olympic Committee will not let athletes from Ukraine wear black arm bands to memorialize the 25 people killed during protests in the capital city of Kyiv this week, the Associated Press reports.
The Ukrainian Olympic Committee said its athletes wanted to wear the armbands as an “expression of sorrow and sympathy” a day after protests erupted in Kiev, setting the city aflame. At least 25 people, both protesters and police alike, were killed; more than 200 others were injured. The Ukrainians requested permission for the armbands from the IOC, which rejected the idea because such memorials are “impossible under the Olympic charter.”
The IOC gains plenty out of the perception that its Games foster global harmony and understanding, which is why it has no interest in making that perception a reality. Reality is ugly. In the world where the Olympics don’t naturally cure all ills and problems, living up to the Olympic Charter requires action or at least the accommodation of it. It means allowing “Free Tibet” posters in Beijing and LGBT rights protests in Russia. It requires standing up to governments that jail dissenters and kill protesters. It means accepting more John Carloses and Tommie Smiths, more “Under Protest” banners, and more questions about appropriate costs, security policies, and basic rights.
Allowing Ukrainians to memorialize dead protesters and police officers and the unrest in their country doesn’t rise to level of political protest that have taken place before, but it does require an acknowledgement of the fact that the world’s problems don’t stop when we light the Olympic flame.
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/02/19/3306031/ioc-rejects-ukrainian-athletes-request-wear-black-armbands-honoring-killed-protests/#
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