Germany’s President Joachim Gauck becomes first major political figure to boycott Sochi Winter Olymp

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/08/germanys-president-joachim-gauck-becomes-first-major-political-figure-to-boycott-sochi-winter-olympics/



Germany’s President Joachim Gauck becomes first major political figure to boycott Sochi Winter Olympics
By Philip Oltermann, The Guardian
Sunday, December 8, 2013 9:24 EST

The German president has become the first major political figure to boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics in February. According to German weekly Der Spiegel, Joachim Gauck last week informed the Kremlin of his decision, which is understood to be a response to the Russian government’s violations of human rights and harrassment of the opposition.

Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor who played a key part in the East German protest movement before the fall of the Berlin Wall, has declined any official visits to Russia since coming to office in March 2012 and repeatedly criticised the country’s “deficit of rule of law” and “air of imperialism”.

In June a scheduled meeting between Gauck and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was cancelled – supposedly because of clashing schedules. Gauck had visited both the Olympics and the Paralympics in London last summer.

The boycott is the first by a major political figure. So far, it has mainly been artists and activists such as Stephen Fry, Harvey Fierstein and Lady Gaga, who have called for a boycott of the Sochi Games in reaction to a new Russian law which criminalises gay “propaganda”.

[dipsydoodle]

1. As mentioned in the article :

"has declined any official visits to Russia since coming to office in March 2012"

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

2. Gauck grew up it the old Soviet...

...imposed system. Some things are difficult to compromise on.