Although the petition is being made officially by the Georgian Olympic Committee, no one in Tbilisi denies its political underpinnings.
Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov
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Saakashvili Takes Aim at Sochi Olympics
Georgia intends to raise the question of moving the 2014 Winter Olympics to a different location today at the meeting of the European Olympic Committee general assembly in Istanbul. In a letter sent to the International Olympic Committee, Georgia has asked for a reconsideration of holding the Olympic Games in a country that had carried out the “invasion of a neighboring sovereign state.” The Georgian Foreign Ministry told Kommersant that Georgia has supporters in other countries in its case for taking the Winter Olympics away from Russia.
The current session of the general assembly of the European Olympic Committee, with the heads of all the national Olympic committees in attendance in Istanbul, was shot through with by controversy before it even began. Three days before it began, the National Olympic Committee of Georgia made a request of the International Olympic Committee that it reconsider its decision last year to hold the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
The reasons Russia should be deprived of the right to host the games are set out on the website of the Georgian national committee. The lengthy letter, signed by Georgian committee chairman Gia Natsvlishvili and 16 Georgian Olympic champions, notes that “The city of Sochi, beyond all of its attractions, is a territory adjacent to one of the most explosive ‘hot spots’ on the European continent – Abkhazia, Georgia.” In addition, according to the authors of the letter, “This region of Georgia is today occupied by Russia. In the early 1990s, the local Georgian population of Abkhazia, Georgia, was ethnically cleansed, forcing an unprecedented shift of Europe’s borders. These acts took place with Russia’s tacit support.”
There is a lengthy passage in the letter devoted to the current state of Georgian-Russian relations. It notes, in part, that Russian forces invaded Georgia on the day of the opening of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, as a result of which, the Olympics, instead of symbolizing peace, “were used to divert international attention away from Russia’s invasion.” Furthermore, the letter continues, “a significant part of Georgian territory is currently under occupation, hundreds of innocent civilians were killed, thousands were injured, tens of thousands of peaceful citizens became victims of ethnic cleansing.” The letter accuses Russia of illegally using Abkhazia as a source of “various kinds of raw materials” for construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi. It also claims that, after the conflict in August, Sochi is a high security risk zone.
“Holding the Olympic Games on this territory – adjacent both to the occupied Abkhaz conflict zone, and to the extremely unstable and volatile North Caucasus – will endanger the lives of participating sportsmen and sportswomen… [I]t is our duty to inform you of the dire consequences that holding the Olympic Games in Sochi would have on the security and ecosystem of our country and of the entire region. Given the present state of affairs, the Olympic Committee of Georgia and Georgian Olympians petition you to reconsider whether it is plausible to hold the XXII Winter Olympic Games on the territory of a country that undertook a full-scale military invasion of a neighboring sovereign state and that continues to occupy its territories,” the letter states in conclusion.
Although the petition is being made officially by the Georgian Olympic Committee, no one in Tbilisi denies its political underpinnings. “We don’t want to sabotage or boycott the Olympics,” Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili told Kommersant, “but our position is that the Games should take place somewhere else. The occupation of our territories is continuing and the situation is very tense. There are periodic shootouts. The question arises whether the country that is encouraging all of that can be the site of the Olympics.” Tkeshelashvili added that Georgia had question for Russia about the ecological situation in Abkhazia, which is adjacent to Sochi, but the issue of moving the Games has become particularly timely since the war. “We would very much like the situation to change for the better by the time the Olympics take place, but we do not see any constructive steps by Russia yet,” Tkeshelashvili stated. She added that Georgia is counting on the support of other countries in the matter. “I don’t think we will be alone in this,” she said.
Kommersant has discovered that Tbilisi has not found support in its Olympic conflict with Russia. Even Georgia’s close allies in the Baltic are remaining mum. Ilze Ake-Viksne, press secretary of the Latvian Olympic Committee, told Kommersant that the IOC decision to hold the Games in Sochi was made without discussion in Latvia. “We try not to mix sports up with politics and we see no need to discuss the issue,” she said. The Lithuanian and Estonian Olympic committees had no comments on Georgia’s actions.
The IOC is also withholding comment on the matter. Committee representative Emmanuelle Moreau would only confirm receipt of the letter yesterday. Vitaly Smirnov, one of the most senior members of the IOC expressed doubt in a conversation with Kommersant that the Georgian initiative will even be considered. “In such cases, no actions are taken,” he said. “The IOC does not support boycotts, since innocent sportsmen suffer from them. The Georgia proposal is a form of boycott. [U.S. president Jimmy] Carter also proposed moving the 1980 Olympics out of Moscow. I don’t think the case will proceed.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted calmly to Georgia’s actions. “The situation in Abkhazia and the region as a whole is under control. We see no danger. In Sochi, work is going on schedule to build facilities for the Olympics,” Igor Lyakin-Frolov, deputy head of the Foreign Ministry press service told Kommersant. “Georgia is simply playing against Russia for political reasons.”
Vladimir Solovyev
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 21, 2008
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