Human rights campaigners have protested outside the central London hotel where senior officials at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were meeting.
The group, called Embargoed, is angry that “world class” Turkish Cypriot athletes have been barred from taking part in the London Olympics.
They include taekwondo world champions Ziya Gokbilen and Pinar Akarpinar. Both are from the occupied part of Cyprus, which lacks international recognition. Their request to participate was refused.
The Republic of Cyprus was formed in 1960 by Greek and Turkish Cypriots but the partnership state collapsed a few years later resulting in two totally separate administrations evolving.
Since March 1964, the world has officially only dealt with the Greek Cypriot one.
In 2004, the international community vowed to end the international isolation of Turkish Cypriots following their vote to unite the island but its sports men and women are not allowed to take part in international sporting events.
On Monday, the protestors criticised the IOC for “failing to act in the spirit” of the Olympic movement by making the athletes “pay the price for political problems outside their control”.
In a joint action with the British Turkish Cypriot Association, the dozen demonstrators wore handcuffs and balls and chains around their feet to symbolise the international isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
They also brandished banners that read “Shackled in life, shackled in sport.”
The plight of sports men and women from northern Cyprus who are forced to miss the games is also highlighted in a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge.
The protestors’ spokesperson Ipek Ozerim said, “The IOC is failing the very principles it is entrusted to uphold.
“The Olympic charter clearly states participation in sport is a human right and any form of discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, or politics is incompatible with the Olympic movement.”
She added, “Ziya and Pinar train every day. They should not be forced to pay the price for political problems outside their control. They have demonstrated their world class abilities and if they can’t compete for their country, let them compete under the Olympic flag.
“The IOC has just allowed a South Sudanese runner to become an independent athlete, so why are Turkish Cypriots treated differently?”
theparliament.com
Silly group, called Embargoed, is angry that their alleged “world class” Turkish Cypriot athletes have been barred from taking part in the London Olympics absolute Rubbish… Turkish Cypriot Athletes would have been welcomed had they registered under Cyprus’s Legitimate Flag and not some Nationalist Pseudo State. Under a world class nation with dynamic and world class values rather than the fantasy state they claim to represent… As for them being shackled that is their own choice not to join the European Unions President nation and its common democratic set of values..