Spring Break
International Olympic Committee double standard tarnishes Games
Aditi Dubey
Issue date: 8/8/08 Section: Ed-Op
The Olympics and the institution of the Olympics: probably two of the pet conversation topics these days. The Olympics, historically, are a multi-sport event in which many countries participate, compete and seek glory. The web site of the International Olympic Committee says, "The Games have always brought people together in peace to respect universal moral principles." They are a display of talent and nerve and now, politics.
The International Olympic Committee was instituted in 1894, and the 1896 Olympics held in Athens, Greece were the first coordinated by the committee. This committee also accepts bids from different countries who want to host the, Olympics, and the committee members vote to decide where the event will finally be held. This is where the institution comes in. As the years have gone by, the Olympics have become progressively more politically charged. In 2002, some members of the committee were charged with taking bribes in what was called "the 2002 Olympics Winter Bid Scandal," BBC News reported. The investigations resulted in 10 members of the committee being expelled, and another 10 being sanctioned. Though this paved the way for stricter rules for bidding, it tainted the IOC's reputation as a governing body. People became skeptical of the fairness of the Olympic Games themselves.
This year, the IOC was in the news a number of times; first for picking Beijing, China as the hosting city, and then recently for banning athletes from Iraq from competing in the upcoming Olympics. Many international non-profit organizations, including Free Tibet and Amnesty International tried to pressure IOC into rejecting China's bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, in protest of the human rights violations that have been ongoing in the country for many years. According to Amnesty International reports, in 2001 China made a promise to improve its human rights record if given the honor of hosting the Olympic Games. That did not happen. In fact, BBC News reported that some Chinese dissenters, who called on the IOC to reject China's Olympics bid, in light of its bad human rights record, were arrested. In 2004, a Chinese activist, Ye Guozhu, who sought to organize a demonstration against evictions in Beijing, was sentenced to four years in jail, according to the BBC News.
The International Olympic Committee was instituted in 1894, and the 1896 Olympics held in Athens, Greece were the first coordinated by the committee. This committee also accepts bids from different countries who want to host the, Olympics, and the committee members vote to decide where the event will finally be held. This is where the institution comes in. As the years have gone by, the Olympics have become progressively more politically charged. In 2002, some members of the committee were charged with taking bribes in what was called "the 2002 Olympics Winter Bid Scandal," BBC News reported. The investigations resulted in 10 members of the committee being expelled, and another 10 being sanctioned. Though this paved the way for stricter rules for bidding, it tainted the IOC's reputation as a governing body. People became skeptical of the fairness of the Olympic Games themselves.
This year, the IOC was in the news a number of times; first for picking Beijing, China as the hosting city, and then recently for banning athletes from Iraq from competing in the upcoming Olympics. Many international non-profit organizations, including Free Tibet and Amnesty International tried to pressure IOC into rejecting China's bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, in protest of the human rights violations that have been ongoing in the country for many years. According to Amnesty International reports, in 2001 China made a promise to improve its human rights record if given the honor of hosting the Olympic Games. That did not happen. In fact, BBC News reported that some Chinese dissenters, who called on the IOC to reject China's Olympics bid, in light of its bad human rights record, were arrested. In 2004, a Chinese activist, Ye Guozhu, who sought to organize a demonstration against evictions in Beijing, was sentenced to four years in jail, according to the BBC News.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Canton
posted 8/11/08 @ 3:19 PM EST
Nice article, Aditi.
However, prepare to be spammed by psycho chinese students who're going to vent all their jingoistic hatred on your.
Please take care while walking back home, and have D. (Continued…)
Michael Henderson
posted 8/17/08 @ 1:35 PM EST
This article leads one to segway to query--what legitimate intelligent thought could possibly lead the committee to ban women's softball from the games?? Some have correctly suggested that it is punishment for the USA for it's successful run in gold medals in the recent olympics. (Continued…)
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