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De Haan considered boycotting Olympics
Wednesday 16 July 2008
Holland's Olympic team coach Foppe
de Haan last May seriously considered boycotting the
Bejing Olympics.
De Haan said so in an interview
with local Friesian daily het Friesch Dagblad.
"What do I care, I'm not going,"
De Haan said to himself a few months ago after reading
an article about the human rights situation in China.
In the article it said that China
still practices the state-controlled mixing of races
to be able to control the ever growing masses within
it's borders.
Fertile girls are taken from a
part of china close to the Russian border to be traded
for girls from central China.
"That is exactly what Adolf
Hitler had planned," the 65-year-old De Haan says.
"Mix Dutch people with Polish
and vice-versa. How can that be, one wonders."
At a meeting with people of the
NOCNSF (Dutch Olympic committee) it turned out that
others had also read the article but paid it little
mind.
"I thought about it for a
long time," De Haan says who in the end decided
not to push through with the idea.
"Perhaps my final decision
was a bit selfish as I have been aiming to reach these
Olympics for four years. But still apart from that I
would find it better if they would put a large fence
around China."
The former Heerenveen-manager realizes
that a decision to not go to the Olympics would have
caused some problems.
"What is happening in China
is terrible, but I have decided to 'park' my emotions
about it for the time being. Perhaps one can influence
matters via silent diplomacy as well."
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