Date Posted:09:22:01 02/23/02 Sat Author: Feral Subject: Olympic Trivia Question: Name the speaker and the circumstances
"The world faces a serious threat to peace which raises an issue of fundamental importance to the Olympic Movement. The ancient Games were held in the city-state of Elis in Greece. They marked a "truce of the gods". During this truce, warfare against or by the host city-state was forbidden.
In the view of my government it would be a violation of this fundamental Olympic principle to conduct or attend Olympic Games in a nation which is currently engaging in an oppressive war and has refused to comply with the world community's demand to halt its aggressive occupation of Afghanistan...
To hold the Olympics in any nation that is warring on another is to lend the Olympic mantle to that nation's actions. We must not allow our athletes to wrongfully assume that responsibility and be exposed to the resulting risks."
