Myanmar swimmer calls on Olympic committee for action over ‘genocidal’ regime

Myanmar swimmer calls on Olympic committee for action over ‘genocidal’ regime
Subject: In this photo taken on April 29, 2021, Myanmar swimmer Win Htet Oo speaks during an interview after a training session at the Melbourne Aquatic Centre in Melbourne. Photo:AFP

A Myanmar swimmer has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reject the involvement of the Myanmar junta in the Tokyo Olympics, claiming the junta is “genocidal”.

Win Htet Oo was speaking to an Australian news outlet recently explaining his reasons for not competing under the Myanmar flag in this round of the Olympics.

He told SBS News that the IOC should take a harder stance.

Win Htet Oo said earlier that he abandoned his dream of competing at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in protest at the junta ruling his homeland, saying that taking part would be "propaganda" for the regime.

"To accept the MOC (Myanmar Olympic Committee) as it is currently led is to recognise the legitimacy of a murderous regime," the 26-year-old wrote recently in a statement on Facebook. "I shall not march in the opening ceremony's Parade of Nations under a flag steeped in my people's blood."

A sizeable number of athletes, including footballers and MMA fighter Aung La N Sang, have been speaking out against the junta since the 1 February military coup, particularly given the bloody suppression of the people’s movements in support of their elected government.

Win Htet Oo said turning his back on Myanmar's Olympic team was his way of joining the movement.

"I wanted to show Myanmar people that athletes can take part in the civil disobedience movement," he said recently, speaking from Melbourne, Australia, where he currently lives and trains.

"The image of me walking behind the flag in the Parade of Nations and smiling - pretending everything was all right - quite frankly disgusted me."

"It would be a propaganda exercise, some sort of way to tell the world that everything is fine in Myanmar."

Reporting by Mizzima and AFP