Human rights trump medals

Re: Feds won’t boycott Olympics, decision up to Olympic committee, Feb. 4; and Beijing boycott not the answer, COC says, Feb. 5

Not even the detention of our two Michaels (Kovrig and Spavor) rotting in their Chinese gulags for over two years and counting will persuade our government to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics being held in the world's most dangerous rogue state. Yes, we have our athletes who have trained most of their young lives for this moment, but China must be sent a message and no stronger one would be for the Western nations not to show up. This would be an utter humiliation for Premier Xi Jinping and his henchmen. Human rights far outweigh a gold medal.

Stephen Flanagan, Ottawa