The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) sent a letter to the Belarusian national team.
The Committee prohibited our Paralympians from taking part in any solidarity actions, Aleh Shepel, the leader of Belarus’ Paralympic movement, told Pressball.
Russia was banned from competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games due to the doping scandal. The report on Russia’s state-sponsored programme of cheating made by WADA for the World Anti-Doping Agency was taken into account.
Then Andrey Fomachkin, Director of the Republican Center of Olympic preparation in athletics, showed the tricolor in solidarity with the Russian Paralympians who had not been admitted to the Games. Later the flag was taken away from him.
“We have already received an official warning: we have no right to hold any public campaigns even in a hotel outside the Olympic Village. This is one of the conditions of checking into the hotel. It is the first time in history! I do not know, however, whether such letter was sent only to us or to all delegations. I would like to stress: then we defended our team [after the situation with the flag], saying that it was nothing but supporting the [Russian] athletes who had been precariously suspended from competitions,” Shepel said.
Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka praised the Belarusian team member for displaying the Russian flag. A Moscow businessman who was ‘deeply impressed’ by Fomachkin’s deed gsve the Belarusian an apartment in Moscow as a present.
The 2018 Winter Paralympics , officially known as the XII Paralympic Winter Games, will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea from 9 to 18 March 2018.
