The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics. The background is the human rights violations in the host country China.
Washington – The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing because of human rights violations in China. No government representatives will be sent to the games next February, as the White House announced on Monday. US President Joe Biden * will stay away from the winter games in Beijing with his government.
Diplomatic boycott of Olympia: “Genocide and crimes against human rights”
US athletes are still allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. “The athletes of Team USA have our full support. We will be 100 percent behind them and cheer them on from home, “said a White House spokeswoman. “The Biden government will not send diplomats or official representatives to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022. The reason is the ongoing genocide and crimes against human rights in Xinjiang, as well as other human rights violations, “it said from the White House.
Specifically, it is the suppression of the Uyghur Muslims and the democracy movement in Hong Kong. According to human rights organizations and researchers, more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims are imprisoned in hundreds of detention camps in Xinjiang. According to the activists, they are being forced to give up their religion, culture and language and in some cases they are also being mistreated. Uighurs in exile also accuse Beijing of murders, abductions, torture and forced sterilization in the region. The Taiwan issue had also recently put a heavy strain on relations between Washington and Beijing.
In the past few weeks there have been several calls for boycotts from US politicians. Republican MPs even called for a complete boycott, but the majority of Democrats pleaded for a diplomatic abandonment of the games. China had already threatened “decisive countermeasures” in the event of a diplomatic boycott. “If the US insists on deliberately sticking to its course, China will take decisive action,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. (as / afp) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
#USA #announce #diplomatic #boycott #Winter #Games #Beijing