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The fa=E7ade of Olympic progress
Alonso Y=E1nez
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: Opinion
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Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in
effort, the educational value of good example and respect for
universal fundamental ethical principles," says the first principle in
the Olympic Charter, the set of rules adopted by the International
Olympic Committee.
Unfortunately, from the word to the deed, there is a great distance.
Everything would be different if the most elemental rights mentioned
in diverse legal systems were respected by the authorities who are
supposed to defend and/or apply those codes for the people's sake.
The recent protests in Tibet and the brutal force used by Chinese
authorities to contain them have directed the world's attention to
China and intensified boycott proposals against the Beijing 2008
Olympic Games.
Aside from the usual fanfare, the Olympics also produced an unusual
level of accessibility for international media in China. The increased
exposure has allowed the world to see the cruel repression by the
authorities and the precarious situation endured by the Chinese
people.
It is clear that the brutality displayed in Tibet is not an isolated
event.
Just as Nazi Germany used pompous ceremonies in the Berlin 1936
Olympics to brag about their society, the Chinese government embarked
in costly projects designed to develop the infrastructure necessary to
host an event of such magnitude and show the grandeur of the Chinese
communist regime.
Chinese developers hired to carry out the projects for the Olympics
have displaced thousands of people and offered them peanuts for their
property. This produced a domino effect of protests, more violence and
clandestine jails, where people are detained indefinitely without a
judicial process. It's unknown how many Guantanamos exist in China.
If the bifocal philosophy of "if you're not with me, you're against
me," implemented after 9/11, was applied reversely, how would we look
before the Chinese families who lost their home because of a stadium
or a freeway that in no way will benefit their community?
Similarly, if a country prides itself on taking down dictators because
of human rights violations, why support the organization of the
Beijing 2008 Olympics? Just as the Moscow 1980 Olympics were boycotted
because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Beijing 2008 should be
boycotted for China's awful human rights violations record.
While the abuse and repression suffered by Cubans are used as reasons
to maintain an embargo against the island, these requisites are
conveniently forgotten when it's time to conduct business with China.
Leaders who say they are promoting democracy and peace don't even
bother China or Saudi Arabia.
Perhaps the Cuban red government is more dangerous, or less important
financially, than the Chinese red government. Some are rewarded with
the Olympics and others are rewarded with an embargo that has resulted
in the separation of many families, more human rights violations and
poverty.
But who has the moral authority to judge if the American government
details people without an explanation in Guantanamo, the Chinese
government keeps clandestine jails to silence troublemakers and the
Cuban government makes dissenters disappear? If cruel dictatorial
regimes were taken down around the world, very few leaders would stay
in power. The majority ignored international and domestic laws and
tortured whomever they pleased.
This smorgasbord of hypocrisy and political inconsistency not only
sheds lights on the existing double standards, which accentuate the
problem of extremism, but also invites us to think about what we
support, be it a government, an ideology or the organization of an
event.
Despite this, the Beijing 2008 Olympics will occur as planned. The
world will be hypnotized by shiny medals and most of the media will
praise the meticulous organization, overlooking thousands of deaths
and displaced people. The lives of poor people are not as important as
a good show for our polarized world.
But the show doesn't have to go on and if it does, we can show our
discontent, just as many Venezuelans did last year during the
continent's most important soccer competition. In numerous matches of
the Copa Am=E9rica Venezuela 2007, an event used by the populist and
bipolar Hugo Ch=E1vez to boast about his system, chants of "The
dictatorship will fall!" reverberated through stadiums and exposed the
frustration of the Venezuelan people.
The Latin proverb, "Vox populi, vox dei" (The voice of the people is
the voice of God), is tangible in very few, but significant, times in
our lives. I have no doubt many Chinese citizens will manifest their
frustration during the Olympics and when that happens I will get the
goose bumps again, as I did during the Copa Am=E9rica 2007.
I support the boycott, in the name of those who are afraid to speak
up, lost a loved one or were displaced, because no spectacle, sport or
ideology justify the atrocities that have been committed.
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