Olympianism: More Politicized Tragedy and Farce Than Sport by Stephen Lendman
Hague Regulations along with Third and Fourth Geneva ban collective punishment. Applicable to armed conflicts, they have wider international humanitarian law implications.
No one should be held responsible for an offense unless guilt is conclusively proved beyond a shadow of a doubt. No one should be punished for offenses committed by others. Everyone should be treated equitably and fairly.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, its additional protocols, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international laws affirm the rights of everyone no authority may legally deny.
Rio 2016 above all else features illegal, immoral and unethical Russia bashing by banning many of its athletes from competition because of the doping violations of a few.
Banishing Russia’s entire Paralympic team was the latest shoe to drop - International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Philip Craven announcing on Sunday the ruling by its governing board “to suspend (Russia’s entire Paralympian team) with immediate effect.”
Targeting its Paralympians is especially galling - athletes showing enormous physical and emotional fortitude to compete in athletic contests despite disabilities preventing their normal functioning.
Banning all Russian Paralympians from next month’s games because of doping violations of some team members is further proof of Olympian disgrace - politics overriding sport, US pressure to get all Russian athletes banned resulting in too many unjustifiably denied the right to compete.
In response to the IPC ruling, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said an appeal will be submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”
“We will fight for our Paralympians,” he stressed. Given deplorable anti-Russian media pressure alone, Sunday’s ruling along with banning other Russian athletes didn’t surprise.
New York Times editors disgracefully led the assault. On July 19, they headlined “Ban Russia From the Rio Olympics,” outrageously accusing “organs of the Russian state, the sports ministry, the security service and the agency charged with preparing national teams” with systemic anti-doping violations.
No credible evidence proved it, trumped up charges alone because of heavy US anti-Russia pressure exerted.
The Chicago Tribune called “banning Russia from Rio a must.” The Los Angeles Times urged “ban(ning) Russia from the Rio Olympics.” Other Western print and electronic media expressed similar sentiments.
With numerous Russian athletes barred from competition, along with its entire Paralympian team next month, the XXXI Olympiad is more politicized tragedy, farce and disgrace than sport at its best.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
