BBC —
More than 180 organisations have called on governments to boycott Beijing 2022 because of reported human rights abuses against ethnic minorities.
The World Uyghur Congress described the event as “a genocide Olympics”.
China’s treatment of its own citizens has been the subject of mounting criticism across the world.
But Canadian Dick Pound – the longest serving member of the IOC – said barring athletes from participating in the event would be “a gesture that we know will have no impact whatsoever.”
“The Games are not Chinese Games, the Games are the IOC Games,” he told the BBC. “The decision on hosting is not made with a view to signalling approval of a government policy.”
Composed of groups representing Tibetans, Uighurs, residents of Hong Kong and others, the coalition of campaigners has issued a joint open letter calling for a boycott of the Games to “ensure they are not used to embolden the Chinese government’s appalling rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Megan Cole
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