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“We have told the Taliban that free access to sport without discrimination on the basis of gender, religion or ethnicity is elementary when it comes to complying with the Olympic Charter,” said Bach, referring to the negotiations that took place in November Qatari capital Doha with representatives of the Afghan sports administration. Bach referred to the evacuation of more than 300 “members of the Olympic community” who were able to be evacuated from Afghanistan. These efforts would continue, said Bach.
“The Taliban accept and support humanitarian aid from the IOC,” said Bach. An initial evaluation showed that up to 2,000 athletes in Afghanistan needed help, and each recipient was entitled to $ 265. The aid will be distributed in cooperation with the UN refugee agency UNHCR. UNHCR will ensure proper distribution, the list of recipients will be coordinated with the elected representatives of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Afghanistan.
The agreement was reached through “silent diplomacy,” said Bach. He also uses this term for the IOC’s contacts with tennis player Peng Shuai in China, who disappeared for weeks. Commenting on his video call with Peng on November 20, Bach said that a “native Chinese speaker who took part in the call” also told him afterwards that she did not have the impression that Peng was being put under pressure. He was apparently referring to Li Lingwei, the vice-president of the Chinese NOK and multiple delegate of the People’s Congress. Tennis colleagues do not seem to be able to get in touch with Peng. Western politicians and China experts fear that she is under house arrest.
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