Beijing: Czechs, boycott the Olympics in China, the Tibetan director called in Prague
Director Döndub Wangchen wants to share his personal story in Europe, but above all to discuss the importance of the Olympics for Tibetans and other national minorities.
“I would like to express my concern about the situation in Tibet. There is a great crisis there, the current president is behaving like the second Mao Zedong, a policy of cultural extermination. “ the director said today during a meeting with senators.
“Language, religion, Buddhism are at stake, and Tibetan identity is at stake. It is an effort to transform Tibet into a country dominated by Chinese culture. Cultural genocide is threatened here. I’m here because this situation is also supposed to be in the context of the Olympics, which will soon start in China, “said the filmmaker.
Döndub Wangchen is accompanied by Wangpo Tethong, Director of the European Part of the International Campaign for Tibet.
“It is a misconception that young people in sports are not interested in political issues. There have been many in the past, those who have issues other than sports in mind, such as Muhammad Ali. I want to express their support for them and tell them that their opinion is also being heard. The International Olympic Committee is trying to silence their voice. We need to listen to the voices and defend them, “he said in the Senate today.
In 2012, Döndub Wangchen received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. In 2014, he won the Václav Havel Award for Creative Dissent, which was awarded to him by the Human Rights Foundation.
Senate Vice-President: There should be no Olympics in China
Senate Vice-Chairman Jiří Oberfalzer (ODS) said that organizing the Olympics in China is, according to him, nonsense. As in 1936 in Berlin or later in Moscow, it is primarily a matter of promoting the regime, obscuring it and diverting attention from the totalitarian behavior of these societies towards minority populations, he said today.
“We consider the IOC’s decision to host the Olympics in China to be immature and to some extent irresponsible and we fully support Director Wangchen’s efforts to persuade countries to boycott these Olympics, “he said.