Several human rights activists attempted to sneak onto the site of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics flame-lighting ceremony in protest of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the treatment of Uyghurs.
Protesters carrying banners breached the private event in Olympia, Greece, with at least three individuals successfully sneaking onto the site. The group displayed their banner reading “No genocide games” while waving a Tibetan flag before security intervened.
One protester at the event reportedly shouted, “How can Beijing be allowed to host the Olympics given that they are committing a genocide against the Uyghurs?”
ONLY SPECTATORS FROM MAINLAND CHINA INVITED TO 2022 WINTER OLYMPICS IN BEIJING
The Greek National Olympic Committee told the Associated Press that while it respects freedom of expression, “it is disappointing that this traditional cultural event has been used by a few individuals for other purposes.”
The Olympic flame will be taken to Athens and handed over Tuesday to Beijing officials.
Human rights groups have called for the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing in protest of human rights abuses. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a report in April 2020 that recommended government officials boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics after finding China to be one of the worst countries for human rights.
Regardless, the IOC has continued to move forward in support of the Beijing Winter Games.
The modern Olympics must be “respected as politically neutral ground,” said International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the ceremony on Monday. “Only this political neutrality ensures that the Olympic Games can stand above and beyond the political differences that exist in our times. The Olympic Games cannot address all the challenges in our world. But they set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another.”
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The IOC announced new COVID-19 guidelines in September that ban foreign spectators from watching the games in person. They also require all athletes to either be vaccinated or enter a 21-day quarantine prior to competing.
