American political scientist Bruce Marks believes that the US decision on a diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games in Beijing is unlikely to seriously affect the process of the competition.
“I think it’s a pointless thing to say that American politicians won’t come to the Olympics. Perhaps China will even think that this is a good idea: they will not have to accept these politicians. The decision not to send our politicians to the Games is unlikely to really affect anything, ”the expert said in an interview with Izvestia.
According to him, the Olympics are “about athletes, about people, and not about countries.” Therefore, no one really cares whether American officials will come to Beijing, Marx concluded.
The expert relies on personal experience in his opinion: he worked in Moscow when the United States boycotted the Olympics in 1980. He considers it a huge mistake to involve sports in politics.
“Sport gives athletes the opportunity to travel to different countries, get to know other people, and enables people around the world to become closer to each other. We must not prevent this, ”the American political scientist concluded.
The US administration decided to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier that day. It was noted that this step will not affect the participation of American athletes in the Games. The reason for the decision in the White House was called “the genocide in Xinjiang and other violations of human rights.”
In turn, four-time Olympic champion biathlete Alexander Tikhonov said that the decision of the United States government to declare a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing would benefit other countries. The biathlete expressed hope that thanks to this, the Games will be held peacefully and without scandals.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
