Andrew Parsons, chairman of the International Paralympic Committee, called for peace on Friday as the Winter Paralympics kicked off in Beijing’s Bird Nest Stadium.
“The 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not for war and hatred,” Parsons said in his opening remarks.
He said he was “terrified” by the events in Ukraine and that the Olympic Truce was broken by the Russian invasion last Thursday.
“Athletes from 46 nations will compete against each other, not against each other. They will show the best of humanity. An opponent does not have to be an enemy,” the Brazilian continued.
“Tonight, the Paralympic Movement calls on the world authorities to unite, as athletes do, and to promote peace, understanding and integration.”
The Games were officially opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who refused to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and caused a massive influx of refugees into neighboring countries.
Xi met with Vladimir Putin in February, when the two countries issued a joint statement pledging mutual support.
Unlike the Olympic Games, where Russian athletes competed under the auspices of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), neither Russia nor Belarus will be represented at the Paralympic Games following a ban by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) had considered the appeal to the Arbitration Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but said in a statement on Friday that such a move was not possible but that it could challenge the exclusion in an appropriate court in the future. He called the ban “politicized” and said “double standards have unfortunately become the norm in modern sport”.
“Ukraine is alive”
Among the 564 athletes from 46 nations competing in six sports (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, hockey, snowboarding and curling) over the next ten days are 20 athletes (12 men and eight women) from Ukraine.
“It is a miracle that we managed to go to the Paralympic Games,” the head of the Ukrainian delegation Valery Suskevich told the media. “We overcame many obstacles on the road.”
He said that “many members of our group had to escape while there were bombings and shells exploding” and insisted that their presence was to show that “Ukraine is alive”.
Ukraine won seven gold medals in cross-country skiing and biathlon at the last Winter Paralympic Games in Pyongyang in 2018.
oa / mf (Reuters / DPA)
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