Russian oppositionists call on European politicians to boycott the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The presence of top EU officials at the event will be regarded as political support for Putin, former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt. In his opinion, the task of the opposition and the entire international community is to prevent the "legitimization" of the atrocities of Putin's government.
What is the reason for the calls to boycott the Winter Olympics in Sochi
Calls to ignore the Sochi Olympics began after the adoption in Russia of the scandalous law "banning the promotion of homosexuality among minors." Opposition officials are calling on the EU to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics, thereby expressing disagreement with Putin's policies that violate human rights and humanity.
Political resonance
The leader of the largest faction in the European Parliament, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Guy Verhofstadt, supported the Russian opposition. According to him, the Olympic Games are organized for spectators and athletes, and the politicization of a sporting event contradicts the main idea of the Olympics. Moreover, Putin should not be able to obtain “politically useful” photographs for himself. As Mikhail Kasyanov noted, the presence of EU top officials as guests in Sochi will give Putin carte blanche to promote his anti-human policy.
Stephen Fry's letter to the International Olympic Committee
The famous British actor Stephen Fry, who does not hide his orientation, also calls for a boycott of the Sochi 2014 Olympics. He announced this in an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron and the International Olympic Committee. In his address, the actor compares the unfolding homophobic campaign in the Russian Federation with the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, and the upcoming games with the infamous 1936 Berlin Olympics in the stands of the jubilant Fuhrer, which then strengthened his status at home and around the world.
Sochi Olympics and the Snowden case
US Senator Lindsay Graham made a statement that it is necessary to consider the possibility of boycotting the Olympic Games in Sochi. But the reason for a potential boycott is called here for another - this is the granting of political asylum by Russia to a former CIA officer Edward Snowden, who is being persecuted by the American authorities for divulging state secrets.
The senator called Russia's actions "a slap in the face for the United States" and was the first to link the "Snowden affair" with the Sochi Olympics, ignoring which the United States could clearly signal its outrage. However, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Beiner condemned Graham's proposal, as it would be an undeserved punishment, in the first place for American athletes.
