Canada could say ‘no’ to Beijing Games
Boycott would tell the world sport is not of greater value than basic human rights
I have never been a fan of the Olympics. That is not to say I don’t enjoy sports overall.
Certainly, this is a good year, so far, to be a Leafs fan. The Olympic Games, however, have always been a waste of money in my eyes, and mired in regular controversy.
In 2014 there were calls by gay rights activists to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The persecution of LGBTQ individuals over the last 20 years has been a growing concern on the world stage and yet Russia had gone unchecked. A boycott in 2014 would have sent a clear message that tolerant nations would no longer put up with such intolerance. Canada and the rest of the world attended the games in Sochi nonetheless.
Perhaps, President Vladimir Putin clarifying that gay athletes would be welcome in Sochi for the Olympics was good enough. It is pretty telling that such a statement would even need to be made to begin with.
In 2017, three years after Sochi, there was a “purge” of presumed gay and bisexual men in Chechnya, a Republic of Russia, which saw dozens of men kidnapped, tortured and murdered.
There have been other calls to boycott the Games because of where they have been hosted. In 2008 there were calls to boycott the Summer Olympics in Beijing. The 1980 Olympics saw 65 nations boycott the Summer Games in Moscow. In 1984 the Eastern Bloc returned the favour and boycotted the Summer Games hosted in Los Angeles.
Perhaps the most historically significant moment where an Olympic Games should have been boycotted overall was that of the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany.
Two years after the International Olympic Committee chose Berlin in 1931 to host the 1936 Games, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. By 1933, Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp had been constructed.
The atrocities that would be committed in the years following could not have been predicted by anyone at the time. Make no mistake though, that in 1936 the world knew that Hitler’s Germany was on a path of no return, especially after implementing an “Aryan-only” policy that specifically banned German-Jewish athletes from participating.
Forty-nine nations, including Canada, followed the lead of the United States and participated regardless, more than any other Olympics prior.
Now, China has been chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Beyond the arbitrary detainment of the two Michaels, Kovrig and Spavor — Canadian citizens who have been stuck in a cell for the last two years in China, our participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics should be questioned.
It was refreshing to hear Conservative leader Erin O’Toole give attention to this issue this week. He suggested that the 2022 Olympics should not be hosted by China. In a column for The Toronto Star, he called it for what it is, instead of hiding behind a facade of politically cautious tone.
It’s believed by rights groups that millions of Uighurs have been imprisoned by the government of China in what can only be described as concentration camps. Advanced mass surveillance in the region and an enhanced police presence has been implemented to oppress the remaining Uighur population.
To attend the Olympic Games in Beijing would be to condone the actions of an oppressive communist regime. Canada has already participated in the 2019 Military World Games hosted in Wuhan, China. We cannot continue to contribute to China’s propaganda machine.
We say “lest we forget” during times of remembrance and yet here we are forgetting the warning signs of a nation on a dangerous path. It should be inconceivable for Canada to participate in any Olympics hosted by any nation that is actively committing human rights violations. Sport is not of greater value than basic human rights.