IOC President Bach is harming German foreign policy!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has criticized the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its President Thomas Bach to readmit Russian athletes to the Olympic Games – as of 2024 in Paris. “Has Thomas Bach still not understood that Russian dictator Putin is instrumentalizing the Olympic Games for his propaganda?” asked Sarah Reinke, team leader of the STP’s human rights desk, in Göttingen on Monday. Further, she demanded Bach to finally learn from past mistakes. On the occasion of the Winter Games in Sochi, the IOC had already become involved with Putin, thus giving him a forum. Also, the regime in Beijing had used the 2022 Olympics for an advertising campaign for China – which alone shows than sports and politics cannot be considered separately.  
“While German politics are assuming a ‘turn of the times’, and while mistakes of the past are at least acknowledged, Bach seems like a dinosaur who is incapable of learning – one that is harmful to Germany’s international reputation,” Reinke stated. Because he is cosying up to dictators such as Putting and Xi Jinping, he is a threat to Germany foreign policy.  
“Look here, we can play again – not matter what crimes we are committing in Ukraine!” According to Reinke, this would be the signal to the people of Russia. Under Putin, the world of Russian sports is closely intertwined with politics and the military. Putin is instrumentalizing sport for his dictatorial ambitions. He will, at the latest, celebrate the return of Russian athletes from Paris as a great victory. With his decision, Bach is also stabbing those in the back who – in Russia – are courageous enough to try and speak up against Russia’s war in Ukraine, at great personal risk. In Ukraine, many athletes have joined the efforts to defend the country against the Russian troops, and at least 250 of them have lost their lives already.
The STP had already criticized the IOC for letting the Winter Olympic Games of 2014 take place in Sochi – calling Bach a “lapdog” of Putin. On the occasion of the 2022 Olympic Games in China, the human rights organization had demanded Bach to resign.