M'sia stripped of para swimming championships after Israeli ban
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) today stripped Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 world para swimming championships after the country banned Israeli athletes from participating.
The championships, a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, had been scheduled for Kuching between July 29 and Aug 4.
The IPC said a new venue would be sought for the same dates, although there might have to be some flexibility in the light of circumstances.
"All World Championships must be open to all eligible athletes and nations to compete safely and free from discrimination," said IPC president Andrew Parsons in a statement after a meeting of the IPC governing board in London.
"When a host country excludes athletes from a particular nation, for political reasons, then we have absolutely no alternative but to look for a new championships host."
Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country that does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, announced this month that it would bar Israelis from any event held in the Southeast Asia nation.
Israel had condemned the ban as "shameful" and said the decision was inspired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "rabid anti-Semitism".
Mahathir, 93, has for decades been accused of anti-Semitism for his attacks against Jews. In a BBC interview last October, he described Jews as "hook-nosed" and blamed them for the troubles in the Middle East.
Some 600 swimmers from 60 countries had been expected to compete in the championships in the eastern state of Sarawak, with more than 160 titles to be won.
The IPC said all potential replacement hosts were asked to express an interest by Feb 11.
"The Paralympic Movement has, and always will be, motivated by a desire to drive inclusion, not exclusion," said Parsons in the statement.
"Regardless of the countries involved in this matter, the IPC would take the same decision again if it was to face a similar situation involving different countries."
He said that when Malaysia was awarded the championships in 2017, the IPC had been given assurances that all eligible athletes and countries would be allowed to participate with their safety assured.
"Since then, there has been a change of political leadership and the new Malaysian government has different ideas," said Parsons.
"Politics and sport are never a good mix and we are disappointed that Israeli athletes would not have been allowed to compete in Malaysia."
- Reuters
It's time for an end to this idiocy too! Or else: also ban Myanmar over the Rohingyas, China over the Uighurs -- and just about everybody else too. For something. The only purpose this special/exceptional banning serves is to give expression to Malaysia's "Malay insufficient Islamic legitimacy-recognition anxiety". It's just a way of saying to the Arabs: we may not be Arabs, speak Arabic, live our lives in the sacred language of the Prophet and his Quran -- but we can show you how to be tough, we are tougher than you all and can "show you up", on the Jews and their Israel. It is infantile. It's about time people here understood and saw through their own underlying motivation -- its driving forces and animating anxieties -- in this pathetic charade.
The sports minister and PM in 2017 then should have stated their stand on this issue when they were awarded the host.It will be interesting to see what najib has to say about this today..
MAHATHIR HAS CONDEMNED MSIA TO THE STATUS OF AN UNDEVELOPED COUNTRY BY BEING ANTI WEST AND ANTI JEW. BETTER BE FRIENDS WITH THE POWERFUL OR THEY CAN DEMOLISH YOUR PALM OIL INDUSTRY WITH THE STROKE OF A PEN.
Report this comment
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.