Declaration of No Sochi 2014 Committee

We, the members of the Organization Committee of No Sochi 2014 Olympics Campaign, strongly condemn 2014 Winter Olympic Games which will take place in Sochi. We ask the world and the IOC to strip Russia of the Sochi Olympics based on it being the location of the Circassian Genocide

Before International Olympic Committee (IOC) made its decision, every effort was made to inform the IOC of our concerns about the prospective socio-political and environmental consequences of the selection of Sochi as a host city and, in this regard, we requested them to act responsibly and decline any decisions which would cause an irreparable damage not only to the environment and human rights but also to the public image of the entire Olympic Movement.

However:

Through the misleading information on the official website of Russian Olympics Organization, Sochi is trying to be detached from its history. It is not possible for the North Caucasus which is home to the Circassian civilization and for Sochi which is the last capital to the independent Circassia, to gain a worldwide reputation by lies and embellished discourses.

While trying to understand the rationale behind the IOC’s decision to select Sochi, furthermore, we could not help asking what if one of the candidates to host the Olympic Games had been Auschwitz. Would it be of conscience and acceptable to select Auschwitz, where 1.5 million people were systematically starved, tortured and murdered, as the Olympic host? In a similar vein, we ask how we are supposed to accept the Olympic Games to be played in Sochi and its surroundings which became a cemetery for Circassians as a result of the Russian invasion of Circassia during the Russo-Caucasian war in the 18^th and 19th centuries. For Circassians, the wound inflicted by the Russia will never heal. Our number is too small: 1.5 million Circassians killed was half of all Circassians alive in the entire world at that time. Nearly 90% of the remaining Circassian population lives outside their homeland, which make it the largest Diaspora proportionally of any nation in the world.

Regarding Sochi, moderate demands of the social organization of Circassians, who are forced to live in separate administrative districts, are even ignored. Today in the North Caucasus, there are people and groups who, in spite of Russia’s disinformation on history and imperious political attitude, using their rights for civilian opposition against the Sochi Olympics taking place on the 150^th anniversary of Circassian Genocide. However, they are being threatened and are subject to attacks with the aim of squelching their views.

On 19 January 2010, as a result of security precautions a new governmental decision of changing federal status of the republics of the North Caucasus was signed by the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. With new imaginary borders, the North Caucasus Federal District has been fabricated by Russian Government excluding the Krasnodar State, Sochi and the Republic of Adigeya. We are announcing to the world public opinion: The North Caucasus is declared as a danger zone by the Russian President Medvedev, himself. Therefore the region is not a safe place for holding Olympics.

Despite severe criticism and questions about human rights violations and Russian President Medvedev’s and Prime Minister Putin’s commitment to democracy, the IOC, through its decision, gave its seal of approval to his autocratic style of rule and imperialist motives. The granting of the Olympic host to Sochi by the IOC paved the way to cement the fragile conditions in the North Caucasus where gross human rights violations, ongoing conflicts and the tightening control over free will of civil society have been prevailing for quite a long time. The IOC’s decision has meant to be an international validation of Russia’s anti-democratic and repressive acts in the region on a legitimate ground. We once again, in front of the world public opinion call the IOC and Olympic sportspeople to not to be a party to this crime against humanity.

Beside the IOC ignored the deep concerns environmentalists who are rightly concerned about the over-exploitation of the region. Yet, the Krasnaya Polyana ski area, where many events are to be held near Sochi, is an important part of nature reserve in the world heritage list of UNESCO.

Due to the above:

Sochi’s hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, although it is well-meant and peace-oriented, is unacceptable.

We, whose fathers were subjected to genocide, once again underline that we condemn in the strongest terms the IOC’s decision. Don’t give the torch, the freedom lover Prometheus fired in the Mountains of Caucasus, to the murderer of liberties, Russia! Don’t let Sochi be again the host to a deliberate destruction!

MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE OF THE NO SOCHI 2014 OLYMPICS CAMPAIGN

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