Oleg Shepel
MINSK, 4 October (BelTA) – Chairman of the Belarusian Paralympic Committee Oleg Shepel spoke about the results of the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee in Bahrain, where a decision was taken to allow Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paralympic Games as neutrals, BelTA has learned.
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“A few months ago in Dubai, the Independent Appeals Tribunal of the International Paralympic Committee granted our appeal against the decision to suspend our membership in the organization. We won the case, proving that we violated neither the committee’s constitution nor the Olympic Charter. We were reinstated as full members of the international Paralympic family, so we had the opportunity to participate in the IPC General Assembly in Bahrain. A lot of work was done before this event, and I am grateful to the lawyers who helped us on a pro bono basis: they spent six months preparing documents to prove to the delegates that the truth was on our side,” Oleg Shepel said.
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The head of the Belarusian Paralympic Committee added that many countries agreed with the position of Belarus that sport should not be mixed with politics. “For several days in Bahrain, we were in constant communication with the heads of the national Paralympic committees: some of them met us halfway, and some did not. Especially strongly our point of view was defended by the president of the Asian Paralympic Committee. We were also supported by African countries,” Oleg Shepel said. “The assembly raised the issue of full suspension of the Belarusian Paralympic Committee of Belarus. According to the results of secret voting, 74 countries were in favor of us, 56 against, and 15 abstained. Thanks to this, we got a good chance to take part in the Paris Olympics. Sport is the meaning of life, athletes have been preparing for this event for four years, and the main thing for us was to give them an opportunity to perform at the Games. After this news, many athletes called and even came in person to thank us for our work.”
The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games will be held in Paris from 28 August to 8 September.
