Brussels, 30/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 27 September, the leader of the European Parliament's ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt, called on European leaders to boycott the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 in order to protest against “the systematic violations of human rights in Russia and the adoption of anti-LGBT legislation” which “must not go unanswered”.
“The international community should follow the precedent set during the European football championship in Ukraine which no EU officials or heads of state attended in protest at human rights violations”, he stated during a visit to Russia. He added that nor “should we hand a political photo opportunity to [Russia's] President Putin on a silver platter”.
“It is clear that President Putin will want to use these games as a public relations stunt, but seeing our elected representatives shaking hands with someone who is a gross violator of human rights and press freedom will sit uncomfortably with most of us”, said Kristiina Ojuland (ALDE, Estonia). “If the West continues to turn a blind eye in the run-up to the Winter Olympic Games (…) Russian citizens are unlikely to enjoy more rights or freedoms (…) for many years to come”, she added. (CG/transl.fl)