IOC’s Bach met by protesters in Hiroshima
International Olympic Committe President Thomas Bach got a mixed reception in his visit Friday to Hiroshima, Japan, to mark the first day of the socalled Olympic Truce.
Such a oneday visit by a dignitary would ordinarily be routine, but the Olympics are set to open next week with Tokyo under a state of emergency and with a substantial part of the population opposed to the Games being held during the COVID19 pandemic.
Bach’s vice president John Coates also appeared Friday in Nagasaki, the second Japanese city that was hit by an American atomic bomb in 1945.
A group of 11 antiOlympic and pacifists groups submitted a letter to the city this week opposing Bach’s visit. Separately, an online petition opposing the visit garnered 70,000 signatures.
Bach laid a wreath and observed a minute of silence in the rain in front of the Peace Memorial Park cenotaph. Faint voices of protesters, who were kept at a distance, could be heard shouting “go home Bach.” Dozens of protesters were seen near the Atomic Bomb Dome with signs that read “Cancel The Olympics” and “No Bach.”
“You should understand you are not welcome here,” one protester said into a microphone.
Ugandan athlete missing:
Local officials are searching for a Ugandan weightlifter who went missing in western Japan in a case raising questions over Japanese organizers’ oversight of Olympic participants amid local coronavirus concerns.
Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, was training as part of the ninemember Ugandan team in Osaka prefecture. Teammates realized he was absent Friday when his saliva test sample was not delivered and they found his hotel room empty.
Officials notified police. Media reports said Ssekitoleko, who did not meet Olympic standards in the latest international rankings, left a note saying he wanted to stay in Japan and work.
Japanese officials have required the use of health and location apps, and restricted activity in a “bubble” to fully isolate athletes, but violations have been reported.