ILO: 560,000 financial aid for 2,000 athletes trapped in Afghanistan

The IOC will send more than 560,000 euros to Afghanistan to help those athletes who have remained there since the Taliban regained power.

“Thanks to our discreet diplomacy, the Taliban are accepting and supporting the delivery of humanitarian aid by the IOC to members of the Olympic community still living in Afghanistan,” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told reporters.

Thus, $ 560,000 will be allocated to approximately 2,000 people participating in Olympic and Paralympic Games. As many as 300 athletes have been trapped in Kabul and other cities, while 300 have fled the IOC evacuation plan that provided visas to athletes, coaches and officials last August amid unrest in Afghanistan.

“We have made it clear to the Taliban that free access to sport, regardless of gender, nationality, religion or other identity, is fundamental to respecting the Olympic Charter,” Bach said. The term “discreet diplomacy” was used for the second time in a short time by the IOC, which also referred to it in the Peng Shui case.

The Chinese tennis champion has been missing for several weeks, after she complained of sexual harassment by former Chinese Vice President Zhang Gaoli. He reappeared in a video call with Thomas Bach on November 21 and a second one in early December, and with this act it was considered that the ILO was active behind the scenes to guarantee its safety.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ