I think that this decision to not publicly honour the 11 Israeli athletes and one German policeman who were cold-bloodedly murdered in a savage and brutal attack during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games is a travesty.
IOC President Jacques Rogge has not allowed a minute of silence at the Opening ceremony on the grounds that it is not the right forum and it would politicise the Olympics! It isn't often one hears such faecal matter being spewed forth orally from someone who should know better.
These were Olympians who along with the German policeman where viciously murdered by Palestinian terrorists for entirely political events at the Olympics and he does not want to "politicise" the act of remembrance.
Ankie Spitzer, wife of one of the murdered athletes, in her petition http://www.change.org/petitions/int...minute-of-silence-at-the-2012-london-olympics for the one minute silence says the following:
"The families of the Munich 11 have worked for four decades to obtain recognition of the Munich massacre from the International Olympic Committee. We have requested a minute of silence during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics starting with the ’76 Montreal Games. Repeatedly, these requests have been turned down. The 11 murdered athletes were members of the Olympic family; we feel they should be remembered within the framework of the Olympic Games.
Silence is a fitting tribute for athletes who lost their lives on the Olympic stage. Silence contains no statements, assumptions or beliefs and requires no understanding of language to interpret.
I have no political or religious agenda. Just the hope that my husband and the other men who went to the Olympics in peace, friendship and sportsmanship are given what they deserve. One minute of silence will clearly say to the world that what happened in 1972 can never happen again. Please do not let history repeat itself.
For my husband Andrei and the others killed, we must remember the doctrine of the Olympic Spirit, “to build a peaceful and better world which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play," is more powerful than politics."
Does this sound unreasonable? The rationale put forth for not wanting to politicise London 2012 is that a number of Arab and Muslim countries objected. According to Spitzer, earlier this year when the two met in person, Rogge protested his inability to act saying his hands were tied by admission of 46 Arab and Muslim members to the IOC. “No,” Spitzer she responded, “my husband’s hands were tied, not yours.” (A number of sites report the same conversation). I read that as roughly 150 countries who agree or do not object to the 1 minute and 46 who obviously actively support a brutal act of terrorism or at the very least do not think the tragedy was actually a tragedy.
Is one minute of silence too much to ask to commemorate this very sad occasion? Specifically, do the Muslim/Arab members on this site agree that one minute of silence is not unreasonable and the right thing to do and thus mark Jacques Rogge as the sycophantic moron he is?
NB
IOC President Jacques Rogge has not allowed a minute of silence at the Opening ceremony on the grounds that it is not the right forum and it would politicise the Olympics! It isn't often one hears such faecal matter being spewed forth orally from someone who should know better.
These were Olympians who along with the German policeman where viciously murdered by Palestinian terrorists for entirely political events at the Olympics and he does not want to "politicise" the act of remembrance.
Ankie Spitzer, wife of one of the murdered athletes, in her petition http://www.change.org/petitions/int...minute-of-silence-at-the-2012-london-olympics for the one minute silence says the following:
"The families of the Munich 11 have worked for four decades to obtain recognition of the Munich massacre from the International Olympic Committee. We have requested a minute of silence during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics starting with the ’76 Montreal Games. Repeatedly, these requests have been turned down. The 11 murdered athletes were members of the Olympic family; we feel they should be remembered within the framework of the Olympic Games.
Silence is a fitting tribute for athletes who lost their lives on the Olympic stage. Silence contains no statements, assumptions or beliefs and requires no understanding of language to interpret.
I have no political or religious agenda. Just the hope that my husband and the other men who went to the Olympics in peace, friendship and sportsmanship are given what they deserve. One minute of silence will clearly say to the world that what happened in 1972 can never happen again. Please do not let history repeat itself.
For my husband Andrei and the others killed, we must remember the doctrine of the Olympic Spirit, “to build a peaceful and better world which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play," is more powerful than politics."
Does this sound unreasonable? The rationale put forth for not wanting to politicise London 2012 is that a number of Arab and Muslim countries objected. According to Spitzer, earlier this year when the two met in person, Rogge protested his inability to act saying his hands were tied by admission of 46 Arab and Muslim members to the IOC. “No,” Spitzer she responded, “my husband’s hands were tied, not yours.” (A number of sites report the same conversation). I read that as roughly 150 countries who agree or do not object to the 1 minute and 46 who obviously actively support a brutal act of terrorism or at the very least do not think the tragedy was actually a tragedy.
Is one minute of silence too much to ask to commemorate this very sad occasion? Specifically, do the Muslim/Arab members on this site agree that one minute of silence is not unreasonable and the right thing to do and thus mark Jacques Rogge as the sycophantic moron he is?
NB
