MINSK, 15 June (BelTA) – Paralympic athletes of Belarus are ready for a fair fight outside politics and call on the International Paralympic Committee to stop discriminating against athletes with disabilities on the basis of nationality, member of Belarus’ national Paralympic team in athletics Vladislav Hryb said at the session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP16) when speaking on behalf of all Belarusian Paralympic athletes, BelTA has learned.
“We are pained to understand the decisions of the International Paralympic Committee to suspend the membership of the Paralympic Committee of Belarus in the IPC, to suspend us from participating in international competitions. For us, athletes and our coaches, it has been a severe moral blow. We have been preparing for many years, we have put maximum physical and moral effort in training and making fans happy around the world with our achievements, our high sportsmanship,” Vladyslav Hryb said.
He stressed that for every Paralympic athlete, sport is a story of overcoming a difficult fate. It allows demonstrating the fortitude of people who find themselves unbroken in a difficult life situation.
“However, the discriminatory politicized approach on the part of the IPC to this recent problem deprives us of the right to do what we love. Sport has always been out of politics and should remain so. We believe that the Paralympic Movement is a symbol of equality, accessibility, objectivity and impartiality. Politics cannot be part of sports competitions. Athletes should not be banned from sport solely on the basis of their nationality. Such an approach does not correspond to the values and mission of Paralympic sport,” Vladyslav Hryb said.
“The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has given us, people with disabilities, the belief that our right to equality will be respected by all states, organizations and, especially, international associations of athletes. Encouraging statements and signs of support in this matter give us even more reason to promote the peacekeeping mission of sport – to unite the world in a peaceful competition,” Vladyslav Hryb noted.
