poniedziałek, 20 kwietnia 2015

Ramzan Kadyrov - the Taekwondo Master

When I first saw an information that Kadyrov recieved 6th Dan in TKD I couldn't believe. Why the heck the ETU, which stands for European Taekwondo Union (part of the World Taekwondo Federation, member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) would give a honorable distinction to the man, who can barely raise his leg and is involved both in political killings and serious crimes against his own nation? My second question was why the ETU has decided to organize European TKD championship in Grozny? To find answers I wrote to Mr. Sakis Pragalos, the president of the ETU:

My questions were:

1. Why the ETU has decided to organize the Championship in Grozny? Who made the final decision? Has Mr. Kadyrov or his administration offered money or any other benefits to the ETU President or Vice-President in return?
2. Doesn't the ETU as an European organization mind that Mr. Kadyrov is involved in serious crimes against journalists, human rights workers, political figures and ordinary members of Chechen society? How collaboration with person of so dubious reputation is corresponding with the ETU and TKD values?
3. On what basis Mr. Kadyrov got 6th in TKD from the ETU?
4. What is the exact date of the tournament in Grozny?

And I got these answers:

1. ETU has not decided to host a championship in Grozny and the article
you are referring to does not mention this. During the meeting,
opportunities to host an event in Grozny were discussed. For your
information, the ETU Council is the decision making body with regard to
awarding events. In no way, form or shape, financial or other benefits
have been offered.
2. ETU was invited to visit the taekwondo event in Chechnya as the ETU
president was in the Kabardino-Balkaria region for the 1st European
Championships Olympic weight categories. As taekwondo is a sport that
promotes peace, friendship and sportsmanship, the ETU president decided to
visit the event.
3. It is common practice to award honorary dan grades to high ranking
government officials and heads of state. Mr. Putin, Mr. Obama, Mr. Ban Ki
Moon and many other heads of state and officials have been awarded
honorary dan grades. Mr. Kadyrov is no exception.
4. Answered above.

Plus a comment:

ETU wants to make clear that the mission of ETU is to promote taekwondo
throughout Europe and the world. The Russian Taekwondo Union is a
respected member of the ETU and the European Taekwondo Family. The
promotion of taekwondo within the Russian territory is within the scope of
our operations.

What struck me most was the discrepancy between the Mr. Kadyrov and the Russian Taekwondo Union on one side and Mr. Pragalos words concerning the future tournament in Grozny. Will it be organized or not? Kadyrov and the RTU wrote that the decision was already made , but the ETU president denied that. To find the truth I send to Mr. Pragalos link to Mr. Kadyrov account on Instagram and asked him for a comment regarding the event. I never got reply from him. The same happened to my questions concerning ethics of the ETU in relation to cooperation with Mr. Kadyrov. By the way I also wrote to the WTF office in Switzerland, but after more than two weeks I still don't have any answer from them.

Why does this story matter?

 Because:
1) The ETU is the European organization and should promote European, Olympic and Taekwondo values. Cooperation with a despotic ruler, who turned Chechnya into his North-Korean style fiefdom, hardly helps to achieve this aim.
2) If you practice Olympic TKD in Europe you should know what your organization is doing in your name.
3) Someone needs to protest against selling sport values for money. In this case to Kadyrov's money.
4) Last but not least the best way to show Mr. Kadyrov disapproval of his policy inside and outside Russia is to hit him in his weakest point: SPORT.

P.s. English isn't my first language, so behave nicely.