Frank Ullrich, the new chairman of the sports committee in the Bundestag, speaks out against a diplomatic boycott by the federal government at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (February 4th to 20th). “We should go there, show the flag and support our athletes so that we can relieve them a little,” said the former biathlete and today’s SPD politician on the RBB’s inforadio.
“The politician has to be there and try to address things and say clearly what we want,” added Ullrich and spoke out in favor of a German Olympic bid. “If we want to do better, then we should bring the games to Germany. We could host excellent, sustainable games in Germany,” said the 1980 Lake Placid gold medalist, who took part in eleven winter games as an athlete and coach.
The US government is boycotting the games because of human rights violations, including against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, which it describes as “genocide”. Allies such as Great Britain, Australia and Canada joined the boycott. The federal government has not yet made an official decision and is looking for a European solution.
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