June 16 uprising: how a massacre in South Africa led to Africa’s boycott of the 1976 Olympics
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星期四, 六月 13, 2024
International, Complicity, United Nations, Organization, Racial discrimination, Minister, UN, Private law, Violence, Elimination, 1976 Summer Olympics, Policy, Failure, Council, Apartheid, African Union, Shock, Soviet Union, Socialism, Union, Olympic, History, 2024 Summer Olympics, Book, Pressure, Death, Weapon, Olympic Games, OAU, United, Tourism
As the world prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, can we maintain faith in the nonpolitical ethos of the event?
Key Points:
- As the world prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, can we maintain faith in the nonpolitical ethos of the event?
- The Montreal Olympics Games in 1976 stands out, among others, as a clear instance of the games being used for political ends.
- In 1976 Montreal became only the second French-speaking city to host the event since Paris in 1924 and security issues were high on the agenda.
An African geopolitical force emerges
- When it was founded in 1963, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – later the African Union – was composed of 32 African countries.
- One was the decolonisation of the last African territories under western colonial control.
- The second was the overthrow of the white minority apartheid regimes in South Africa and Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe).
- The composition of the International Olympic Committee had been turned upside down by the entry of newly independent African countries.
A massive boycott
- The threat of a boycott by African countries piled pressure on the International Olympic Committee.
- The failure of these negotiations led to a boycott by 22 African countries.
- The decision to boycott came as a shock to the sporting world.
- The boycott helped force the world to confront apartheid.