“I’m doing it because it’s in Australia’s national interest,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday. “It’s the right thing to do.”
WELLINGTON, New Zealand _ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday it will join the U.S. in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over human rights concerns.
Morrison said it should come as no surprise that Australian officials would boycott the event after the nation’s relationship with China had broken down over recent years.“I’m doing it because it’s in Australia’s national interest,” Morrison said. “It’s the right thing to do.
Rights groups have pushed for a full-blown boycott of the games, accusing China of rights abuses against ethnic minorities. The U.S. and Australian decisions fall short of those calls but come at an exceptionally turbulent time for international relations and have been met with a barrage of criticism from China.
The Australian Olympic Committee said the arrangements for the 40 or so Australian athletes expected to compete at the games would not be impacted by Morrison’s announcement. “Getting the athletes to Beijing safely, competing safely and bringing them home safely remains our greatest challenge,” said Matt Carroll, the committee’s chief executive.“Our Australian athletes have been training and competing with this Olympic dream for four years now and we are doing everything in our power to ensure we can help them succeed,” Carroll said in a statement.
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