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BAKU DOWNPLAYS ETHNIC TENSION IMPACT ON BID
Around the Rings
http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=39268
Feb 21 2012
Ongoing ethnic tensions will not impact the Baku 2020 Olympic bid,
the Azeri National Olympic Committee vice president says.
In western Azerbaijan near the Armenian border sits the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Populated primarily by Armenians despite
being in Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh exercises some autonomy. In 1994,
a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out when the region tried
to become part of Armenia.
However, Chingiz Huseynzade, AZNOC VP said there are examples of the
Games going to other cities with recent histories of violence.
"Based on this logic, the IOC should not have given permission for
the Olympic Games in London, given the conflict in Northern Ireland,
or in Seoul, which has uneasy relations with North Korea, and many
such examples," he was quoted as saying.
"The main criterion in selecting the candidate country is the decree
it is prepared to undertake such large-scale sporting events."
International peace negotiations regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh region
fell apart last summer.
Around the Rings
http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=39268
Feb 21 2012
Ongoing ethnic tensions will not impact the Baku 2020 Olympic bid,
the Azeri National Olympic Committee vice president says.
In western Azerbaijan near the Armenian border sits the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Populated primarily by Armenians despite
being in Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh exercises some autonomy. In 1994,
a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia broke out when the region tried
to become part of Armenia.
However, Chingiz Huseynzade, AZNOC VP said there are examples of the
Games going to other cities with recent histories of violence.
"Based on this logic, the IOC should not have given permission for
the Olympic Games in London, given the conflict in Northern Ireland,
or in Seoul, which has uneasy relations with North Korea, and many
such examples," he was quoted as saying.
"The main criterion in selecting the candidate country is the decree
it is prepared to undertake such large-scale sporting events."
International peace negotiations regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh region
fell apart last summer.