MEP Markey calls for Russia to be banned from Olympic Games

Fine Gael parliamentarian one of 83 members to send letter to IOC

Colm Markey has called for Russia and Belarus to be banned from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The Midland-North-West MEP is amoung 83 members of the European Parliament who have signed a letter to the European Council President Charles Michel and the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, demanding the exclusion of the two countries.

The Fine Gael parliamentarian said a terrorist state should have no involvement in the Olympic Games.

"We need to send a clear message to Russia and Belarus that the international community is united in opposition to this brutal war," he stated. "The IOC has indicated that athletes from these countries could take part as neutral participants. This would be a hugely detrimental move and likely lead to a large-scale boycott of the games.

“We must show Ukraine that we continue to stand in solidarity with them and against the murderous regime, which is attempting to destroy their country. This isn’t about targeting ordinary Russian civilians. If anything, Russians need to know that the actions of their dictator leader have consequences.”

The Louth man added: “The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world. There is nothing peaceful about the rape and murder of Ukrainian civilians and the destruction of their cities. The IOC has a moral obligation to take a tough stance. There is a precedent for banning countries from the Olympics such as the exclusion of South Africa from the games in 1964 because of apartheid”, Markey added.

“A summit organised by the UK next Friday is an opportunity to be on the right side of history. Let’s not repeat the mistake of the 1936 games which saw Hitler using the occasion as an opportunity to promote racial supremacy and antisemitism.”, he concluded.

TEXT OF LETTER

Charles Michel

President of the European Council

Brussels, 3rd of February, 2023

Dear President Michel,

We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, would like to draw your attention to the fact that the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow athletes from aggressor states Russia and Belarus to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games goes against our democratic values which are based on peace and respect for international law.

This decision by the IOC diminishes the international recognition and condemnation of war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. With this decision the IOC distances itself from our common values and effectively turns a blind eye to tens of thousands of Ukrainian casualties, many of them innocent civilians.

On the 23rd of November 2022 the European ParlIament adopted a resolution declaring Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.This resolution emphasizes that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine using“means of terrorism” and calls for the initiation of “a comprehensive international isolation of the Russian Federation, including with regard to Russia’s membership of international organisations and bodies”.

It is usual for dictators and authoritarian regimes to weaponize sport as an instrument of expanding their influence. For Russia and the Putin regime sport is primarily a political tool; this has been clearly demonstrated by the fact that Russia has a state-sponsored doping programme.

The European Council has to lead by example and clearly stand on the side of Ukraine. Which is why we call upon European leaders gathering at this February’s European Council to support the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from all international athletic competitions.

There are ample precedents in this field. South Africa was not invited to the 1964 Olympic Games due to apartheid. In 1980 over 60 countries boycotted the Olympic Games after the USA took the lead on this initiative. This was to protest the arms race and the Soviet Union’s aggression in Afghanistan.

In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Russian athletes took home 71 medals. Over half of those medals went to Russian athletes whose background is linked to the Central Sports Club of the Army. Through the hands of this same army countless innocent Ukrainian civilians have been murdered and raped, and civilian infrastructure has been destroyed with complete disregard for international and humanitarian law.

European countries have the moral obligation to stand for peace in Europe and they simply cannot refrain from acting when the IOC decides to allow aggressor states’ athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games. Furthermore, it is time to remind the IOC that their decision is contrary to their own official values: “The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world […] The IOC encourages all UN Member States to sign the Olympic Truce and find peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflicts around the world."3

Therefore, we, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, call on European leaders to do their utmost to ensure that the IOC excludes Russian and Belarussian athletes from the 2024 Olympic Games.

Sincerely,

Riho Terras

Urmas Paet

Bart Groothuis

Ivars Ijabs

Henna Virkkunen

David Lega

Petras Auštrevičius

Tomáš Zdechovský

Inese Vaidere

Roberts Zīle

Dace Melbārde

Janusz Lewandowski

Luděk Niedermayer

Elżbieta Kruk

Sandra Kalniete

Jaak Madison

Witold Jan Waszczykowski

Johan Nissinen

Dominik Tarczyński

Aušra Maldeikienė

Dragoş Tudorache

Beata Kempa

Karen Melchior

Vlad Gheorghe

Sven Mikser

Andrius Kubilius

Kosma Złotowski

Laura Huhtasaari

Romana Tomc

Anna Zalewska

Teuvo Hakkarainen

3 https://olympics.com/ioc/beyond-the-games

Milan Zver

Marek Belka

Andrus Ansip

Karin Karlsbro

Viola von Cramon-Taubadel

Andrey Kovatchev

Zdzisław Krasnodębski

Ivan Štefanec

Thijs Reuten

Michaela Šojdrová

Michael Gahler

Juozas Olekas

Bergur Løkke Rasmussen

Colm Markey

Rasa Juknevičienė

Charlie Weimers

Jacek Saryusz-Wolski

Janina Ochojska

Alexander Alexandrov Yordanov

Anna Fotyga

Zbigniew Kuźmiuk

Andrzej Halicki

Liudas Mažylis

Łukasz Kohut

Seán Kelly

Michal Šimečka

Michal Wiezik

Martin Hojsík

Krzysztof Hetman

Robert Biedroń

Siegfried Mureşan

Tomasz Frankowski

Eva Maydell

Vladimír Bilčík

Miriam Lexmann

Bronis Ropė

Joachim Stanisław Brudziński

Ryszard Antoni Legutko

Yannik Jadot

Vilija Blinkevičiūtė

Petri Sarvamaa

Peter Pollák

Ryszard Czarnecki

Asim Ademov

Patryk Jaki

Alexandr Vondra

Veronika Vrecionová

Christophe Hansen

Jadwiga Wiśniewska

Jerzy Buzek

Adam Bielan

Tomasz Piotr Poręba