The decision of the countries led by the United States of America (USA) to boycott the Winter Olympics, which started on February 4, 2022, hosted by China, has left its mark on the events. In addition to the USA, England, Canada, Australia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Belgium, Denmark, and Estonia have announced that they boycotted the Olympics. Announcing of India that they are not going to participate because of diplomatic boycott due to a conflict with China; New Zealand, Austria, Slovenia, Sweden, and the Netherlands, has stated that they will not nominate representatives to the Olympics by the reason of Covid-19 pandemics. Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the leaders who attended the opening ceremony of the Olympics at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Apart from Russia, Presidents of countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, and Egypt has attended the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Xi, who has suspended his foreign contacts since the beginning of the pandemics has met face-to-face with the leaders of the countries participating in the opening ceremony, speeding up the diplomatic traffic.
Experts evaluating the Winter Olympics, which were held in the shadow of the boycott discussions, to Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM), has believed that the Olympics have become a political tool.
ANKASAM Advisor Dr. Emre Ozan: We have entered into the process of which Olympics have become politicized again and boycotts are at the top of the agenda
Evaluating the 2022 Winter Olympics, ANKASAM Advisor Dr. Emre Ozan has said that the US boycott decision encouraged Western countries. Stating that the boycott was interpreted as an intervention in internal affairs by China, Ozan said, “The Olympics have witnessed such boycotts many times in the past. It is known that the representatives of the Eastern and Western bloc have boycotted each other many times, especially during the Cold War years. However, post-Cold War era, the unifying spirit of sports has gained more significance. Even the athletes of the countries that had issues and conflicts with each other gave messages of friendship in the competitions they took on. Recently, we have entered into the process of which Olympics have become politicized again and boycotts are at the top of the agenda.”
International Collaboration Center Director Dr. Zhang Zhou: Boycott attempt of the US has failed.
Stating that anti-Chinese countries are politicizing the sport on the occasion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Dr. Zhangiu Zhou claimed that bribes have been offered to athletes by anti-Chinese countries to sabotage the Olympics.
Asserting that Beijing has gained the support of the international community for hosting the Winter Olympics, Zhou said that the US boycott attempts were unsuccessful and the leaders of many states participated in the Olympics. “18 US government officials have applied for visas to participate in the Winter Olympics, 15 of them were officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and three of them were officials from the Ministry of Defense,” he said.
Zhou has told, “The Winter Olympics are being held during the Covid-19 pandemic. China has made all its preparations and will continue to focus on athletes. The Beijing administration has full competence to ensure the health and safety of athletes and related personnel. The Chinese people warmly welcome the athletes, staff and leaders of the countries participating in the Olympics and international organizations.”
Istinye University Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel: At the Olympics, the Putin-Jinping meeting was discussed more than sports.
Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel used this phrase, “We witnessed that they could not prevent the execution of politics over sports. It is remembered that Russia and Georgia entered into an armed conflict on the first day of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Now, also it seems that politics came to the fore at the Winter Olympics which is held in China.”
Pointing out that the Olympics were held in a period of tension between Russia and Ukraine, Erenel said that the meetings of leaders who participated were discussed more than sports. “In 1980 and 1984, the Olympics has witnessed extensive boycotts between the two blocs of the Cold War. For this reason, the preparations of the athletes who worked for the Olympics for four years went down the drain.” On the other side, Erenel has given the instance of “Ping Pong Diplomacy”, which reduced the tension between the USA and China after the World Table Tennis Championships held in 1971, and stated that even it’s rare, the results of such boycott decisions came out positive.
Drawing attention to the boycott decisions taken in the current situation is different from the previous ones, Erenel said, “In the past, such boycotts managed to remark to certain problems, but they did not create a significant change, and therefore only athletes would lose. It would be unfair for them to include the athletes who have been waiting and preparing to participate in the world’s largest sports organization for four years. However, these athletes can also support the boycott with the messages, actions and various symbols they give during the games. In fact, such messages can be more effective than any message governments try to conduct. I think this is one of the issues that China is most concerned about.”
Retired Ambassador Aydın Nurhan: The demonstrates the Winter Olympics as “the showroom of authoritarian regimes.”
Retired Ambassador Aydın Nurhan, has pointed to the fact that the USA boycotted the Winter Olympics, said that “It is seen that the athletes participating from countries other than Western states in recent organizations have started to receive more medals than before.”
While claiming the West has lost its former superiority in the Olympics, Nurhan said that the Olympics have become a propaganda tool for authoritarian countries. Underlining that Turkey did not participate in the diplomatic boycott, “Turkey is not played the game of the West.” he stated.
Journalist Mehmet Emre Öztürk: The Winter Olympics will be turned into an opportunity.
Stating that the tension between China and the USA has spread into the Olympics, Journalist Mehmet Emre Öztürk talked about Olympics were intended to be turned into an opportunity within the framework of public diplomacy. Öztürk said, “The boycott decision can be evaluated as a covert pressure exerted by the USA on its allies in order to legitimize the ideological and political conflicts through the Olympics. Thusly, In the Asia-Pacific, the open rejection of South Korea’s boycott decision, which the USA needs and trusts most after Japan, is an indication that countries have begun to avoid joint action with the USA.
Referring to the meeting between Putin and Xi, Öztürk used these phrases. “The polarization campaign launched by the USA against China has brought the other side to take action as well. Sino-Russian relations demonstrating built o a common policy against the West.”
