Thomas Bach was in New York on Wednesday November 6. The IOC President pushed open the door of the United Nations building. And called, as planned and announced, for an Olympic truce during the period of the Sochi Games. But, above all, the German leader denounced calls to boycott the Winter Olympics because of Russian law limiting gay rights.
“We are opposed to any boycott,” argued Thomas Bach. Boycotts go completely against the spirit of sport and deprive it of its means to fight for peace, mutual understanding and solidarity. »
There is no question for the IOC and its president, therefore, of following in the footsteps of the organizations, numerous in the West, which would like to see them put much more pressure on Russia in reaction to the adoption of a law aimed at prohibiting promotion homosexuality in front of minors. During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Thomas Bach did not explicitly refer to Russian legislation. “Sport must enjoy responsible autonomy, and politics must respect this independence of sport,” he stressed.
But the IOC president clarified: “This means that we respect national laws that do not directly target sport and its organizations, sometimes for mainly political reasons. »
The president of the Sochi Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, also did not mention the homosexuality controversy when presenting the resolution on the Olympic truce to the general assembly. But he insisted on the reference to social integration in the resolution: “During the Games, we guarantee that there will be no discrimination, whether religious or sexual. »
Wise comment from the American Elizabeth Cousens, a representative of the United States to the UN, quoted by AFP: “This is the first time that such words have been used in a resolution on the Olympic truce, and they send a strong message to highlight the role that sport plays in people's lives. » The Thomas Bach imprint.
