BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2021) � A limited "diplomatic" boycott of the Olympic Games, US-style, would not bring anything much to European countries, professor Michel Liegeois, politologist and specialist of international crises at Belgian UCLouvain university told Sputnik.
On Tuesday, the French Foreign Ministry said that Paris had taken note of the US decision not to send its diplomats and government officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, and would consult with European partners on the next step.
"Strictly speaking, there is nothing much to be gained from this very limited boycott for European countries. The symbolic act by the US only allows the issue of the Uighurs to be brought to the fore. Even if many European countries decide to follow the USA in their limited 'diplomatic boycott' not involving the athletes, the Olympic Games will be held with the participation of all," Liegeois said.
Liegeois considers "boycott" to be an excessive term for Washington's decision as here it only implies the absence of a few diplomats at a few non-sporting "side events" of the 2022 Games, in comparison to the Moscow Games in 1980, in which no American athletes participated. Hence, according to the expert, such a step is nothing but a politicized message aimed at raising visibility rather than exerting impact.
The expert added that Washington's decision makes it difficult for European allies to choose sides, for, on the one hand, they share the concerns underlying the US boycott, and on the other, the EU does not want to jeopardize trade contracts with China.
"We are going to witness a major effort by the two diplomacies, the American and the Chinese, to impose their vision of things. In principle, Europeans also consider that China behaves badly vis-à-vis the Uighurs, but the economic interests are enormous. I do not believe there will be a unanimous decision by the EU, though it is always possible. Mixing sport and politics goes against the Olympic spirit and the decision will be awkward and difficult for each country," Liegeois concluded.
The 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be running in Beijing from February 4-20, and the Paralympic Games from March 4-13.
On November 18, US President Joe Biden announced the "diplomatic boycott" by the United States of the 2022 Olympic Games, to be held in China, pointing out that the American athletes would participate but that there would be no official US diplomatic delegation. The boycott was introduced as a symbolic protest over China's human rights record, including over the treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.
The International Olympic Committee acknowledged the decision and Beijing commented with a one liner brushing aside this decision by Washington as mere politicking.
Beijing has come under increased scrutiny and criticism in recent years over its allegedly repressive policies toward ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, as well as for clamping down on political opposition in Hong Kong and threatening Taiwan's independence. Beijing refutes these accusations, describing them as outside meddling.
