01:45Mandatory Credit: IOC; 14 days of usage only
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach commented on some countries' possible boycott of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, in a video conference meeting held in Lausanne on Friday.
"Why would you punish the athletes from your own country if you have a dispute with a government from another country? This just makes no real sense, and the athletes would be the ones who are suffering," he said.
The comments come as the Dutch parliament has recently passed a non-binding resolution, decrying treatment of the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang province and calling it a genocide committed by the Chinese state, thus joining Canada's stance.
Switzerland: Boycott of Olympics in China 'makes no real sense' - IOC chief
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach commented on some countries' possible boycott of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, in a video conference meeting held in Lausanne on Friday.
"Why would you punish the athletes from your own country if you have a dispute with a government from another country? This just makes no real sense, and the athletes would be the ones who are suffering," he said.
The comments come as the Dutch parliament has recently passed a non-binding resolution, decrying treatment of the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang province and calling it a genocide committed by the Chinese state, thus joining Canada's stance.
Mandatory Credit: IOC; 14 days of usage only
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach commented on some countries' possible boycott of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, in a video conference meeting held in Lausanne on Friday.
"Why would you punish the athletes from your own country if you have a dispute with a government from another country? This just makes no real sense, and the athletes would be the ones who are suffering," he said.
The comments come as the Dutch parliament has recently passed a non-binding resolution, decrying treatment of the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang province and calling it a genocide committed by the Chinese state, thus joining Canada's stance.