Russian Human Rights Commissioner and National Paralympic Committee Chairman Vladimir Lukin has called for stopping disputes over the situation in Ukraine for the period of the Winter Paralympics in Sochi.
“There has been a rule since ancient times that disputes and
conflicts must be frozen during Olympics, and only sports competitions
should go on. For understandable reasons, the grounds for applying this
rule are even more substantial during Paralympic Games,” Lukin said in a
statement on Wednesday.
“The events of the last weeks have caused growing tensions in
Ukraine, especially in the Crimean Peninsula area. And this has
engendered serious problems in Russian-Ukrainian relations and has
negatively affected the international situation on the whole,” he said.
“I am calling on everyone who can contribute to the success of these
games, which are a huge festival and a source of inspiration for the
disabled people of the entire world, to apply as much effort as they can
so that the ongoing disputes and conflicts should not cause more
affliction and disappointment to people of many countries who are
already not living very well. This concerns both the participants and
spectators of the Paralympics,” Lukin said.
“I am calling on everyone to put aside their calculations related to
world, regional, and domestic policy in favor of a simple human feeling
of compassion, partnership, and cooperation with those who need this
more than anyone else. Let’s make a pause and count to ten. Ten days of
the Paralympics,” Lukin said.
