As it is known, on April 14 the opening ceremony of the European Weightlifting Championship was held in Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia.
Despite the recent tensions in the region due to the intervention of other countries, the Azerbaijani side has decided to participate in this championship, guided by its commitment to peace, the Olympic movement and sports principles.
However, the barbaric action against the national flag of Azerbaijan at the opening ceremony was another manifestation of hatred towards our country and people.
DANGEROUS AND UNACCEPTABLE
It is very dangerous and unacceptable for this action to be committed by a person who is publicly known in Armenian society and has received official accreditation by international federations.
The fact that an accredited official approached the stage freely with an incendiary substance and a lighter on him without any hindrance, and after setting fire to the Azerbaijani flag, he took it out of the hall, and the teenage Armenian girls on the stage with the flags watching the incident with a sense of joy and pride on their faces indicated that this act was a premeditated and prepared act of hate.
From this, it can be concluded that every person accredited there can easily enter the competition zone with firearms and cold weapons or any other substance and create a real danger for Azerbaijani athletes and members of the delegation.
WORRISOME
The fact that the local organizing committee and the international federation did not take any security measures against such hate action, and the fact that it was greeted by thousands of people in Yerevan with applause, seriously worries us as Azerbaijan Sports Journalists Association (AIJA).
NEED FOR URGENT ACTION
Stating that the lives and health of our athletes and delegation members are in serious danger, we expect the relevant national and international organizations to take urgent measures, reprimand the offenders, and make official statements about what happened. We hope that such cases will be seriously investigated and taken into account when international competitions are awarded to a country in the future.
Credit: Azerbaijan Sports Journalists Association (AIJA)
