Blog - Natives Threaten Olympics Disruption

by Apathy is Boring Volunteer jactrav — April 18, 2008

Native leaders in British Columbia are looking to new tactics in order to bring aboriginal poverty and land claims issues to the forefront of Canadian politics. Recently, they have threatened to challenge Canada’s image internationally with plans to disrupt the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.  Bridge blockades, airport disruptions and internet campaigns are all possibilities, as the aboriginal leaders are discussing a plan with an escalating scenario of options – starting with peaceful pamphleteering and potentially moving on to more disruptive  tactics.

These threats are all the more potent as the world closely watches China prepare to host this summer’s 2008 Olympic Games. People around the globe are calling the legitimacy of the Summer Games into question as it becomes more apparent that the host country’s human rights record is not getting any better. The Chinese government’s recent crackdown on protests in Tibet has brought the nation and the Games under further scrutiny. The arrival of the Olympic torch has been met with large protests in a number of locations, and many are calling on world leaders to have their countries boycott the Games’ opening ceremonies.

Today, human rights are values held dearly by many throughout the world. In this political climate it is only fair that marginalized groups, in whatever country, make demands for the rights they deserve. In Canada specifically, aboriginal leaders have been involved for decades in a long and drawn out fight with the federal and provincial governments over rights. However, their recent threats focusing on the 2010 Winter Games, as well as current events leading up to this summer’s Olympics in Beijing, raise some larger questions for us to think about. The Olympic Games came into existence to give people from around the world an apolitical opportunity to gather, meet and compete. Are we really making progress by politicizing the Games? Or does using them as a venue for our politics threaten to divide the international community even more?

Source:
Globe and Mail