This house would boycott the Sochi olympics - rebuttal speeches

Second proposing speech
Ladies and gentlemen, on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games of Sochi, it is high time to understand why going there is a mistake. One after the other, scandals have multiplied around the organization of this major international event, ranging from anti-gay measures and flouting of human rights to corruption. We believe that taking into account the multiple issues, boycotting these Olympic Games is the right solution. (Continues below.)
By QM

Second opposing speech
Good morning, honorable members of the jury ! After a close read of the first two speeches, my side would like to answer and develop some of the ideas raised by the proposers. First of all, your very definition of boycotting the Sochi’s Winter Olympic Games is a bit tough, don’t you think ? You would recommend a general boycott: no spectators or athletes from France. How unfair for the athletes! Let’s talk about freedom there! Just like my dear colleague JD said, these athletes trained for four years for this event: it is world-famous, watched, attended and known by billions of people. It would be a missed opportunity for them to be known worldwide for their athletic abilities. And your advice is to say to them “Sorry guys! Because of the Russian internal affairs, you should really not compete!”. Don’t you think this reaction sounds like a Russian law? Boycotting the Sochi’s Games is contradictory to our values of democracy and freedom. (Continues below.)
By ET

Second proposing speech

Ladies and gentlemen, on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games of Sochi, it is high time to understand why going there is a mistake. One after the other, scandals have multiplied around the organization of this major international event, ranging from anti-gay measures and flouting of human rights to corruption. We believe that taking into account the multiple issues, boycotting these Olympic Games is the right solution.

According to the opposition, Russia is shaping its new place in the world, thus we have to accept their policies, mind our own businesses, promote the spirit of the Olympic Games, and respect the athletes.

To answer, Russian government clearly tries to give a renewed image of its country, but the controversies that have burst during the preparation of the games - that Y began to send forth and that I will complete - prove that in reality the government utilizes the disguise of the Olympic Games to hide all sort of abuses, that we can’t accept.

We recognize that this is a lot to ask to the athletes but this is not about disrespect, this is about believing in values, and act in accordance with these values. Our values here are human rights and equality of treatments with gay people, as Y pointed out, and these are values that come before any sport, though it sounds useless to have to say it.

Of course, one can easily close his eyes on the disrespect of these values and accept the status quo in Russia, and “mind its own business”, but believing in values implies undertaking them, and as Canadian Minister Baird put it, "we don't compromise on basic rights.”

Moreover, as if the intolerance and the disrespect of human rights were not enough, these Olympic Games are mired in corruption scandals. Indeed, according to an article from the newspaper Le Monde, Wladimir Putin is supposed by the opposition figures Leonid Martynyuk and Boris Nemtsov to have diverted $30bn of the budget in "kickbacks and embezzlement" to close associates. The rise of budget of 15 billion dollars for a total of 50 billions, making it the most expensive Olympic Games in the history, would therefore be a scam. Is that the real spirit of the Olympic Games ?

Therefore, not boycotting Sochi is accepting these abuses, whereas money would much have been needed during the erection of the infrastructures needed for the event. As the Humans Right Watch association highlights, work conditions of the 70,000 migrant workers were not respected, workers faced exploitation, confiscation of passports, 12 hours shift… In addition to this, families who had to move for the construction of the infrastructures did not receive fair compensation, or even any compensation.

When participating in Sochi is a form of acceptance of these abuses, boycotting will have much more effect. For instance, let’s say Germany is the leader in bobsleigh. During the bobsleigh competition, media will necessarily have to mention the absence of Germany, and explain the reasons for this absence, hence a must stronger effect to show the disapproval conveyed by the boycott.

These Olympic Games are the Olympic Games of intolerance towards gay people, violation of human rights, corruption. The need to show our disapproval to this is so strong that going to Sochi can’t be meaningful enough, that’s why we strongly support a boycott of this international event.

Thank you for the reading and please vote for us.

QM

Second opposing speech

Good morning, honorable members of the jury ! After a close read of the first two speeches, my side would like to answer and develop some of the ideas raised by the proposers. First of all, your very definition of boycotting the Sochi’s Winter Olympic Games is a bit tough, don’t you think ? You would recommend a general boycott: no spectators or athletes from France. How unfair for the athletes! Let’s talk about freedom there! Just like my dear colleague JD said, these athletes trained for four years for this event: it is world-famous, watched, attended and known by billions of people. It would be a missed opportunity for them to be known worldwide for their athletic abilities. And your advice is to say to them “Sorry guys! Because of the Russian internal affairs, you should really not compete!”. Don’t you think this reaction sounds like a Russian law? Boycotting the Sochi’s Games is contradictory to our values of democracy and freedom.

Second of all, thank you for your next point, you actually make my job easier by raising an argument of my side: the Olympic Games have always been linked to politics, but like you mentioned, in Greece, people would put their political disagreements into parenthesis, as long as the Games went on, because an Olympic Game is much more than a political event, it’s an opportunity. It’s a gift, a moment during which people from all around the world can have this feeling of togetherness and support, if not the same athletes, the same spirit of sports. This utopia that only exists for a short amount of time and only does us good: it makes us forget everything non sports-related and takes us to a place where hard work and perseverance is rewarded. This should be more important than any political matter.

The proposers also dealt with the fact that Russia prepared itself for these Olympic Games, and freed some prisoners for the occasion. My side does not get what is wrong with that. Yes, Russia made the Sochi’s Games a priority: these are the most expensive Olympic Games ever thrown with $51 billion spent. Russia wanted to show that it was able to handle such an event, to be at the same level as England, the last host of the Olympics, despite its very traditional laws and values. It built most of the hotels and venues from scratch just for the occasion. Of course, the most recent argument in favor of the boycott is the law forbidding “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" to minors. But the context of this law is not the French one, and it is important to understand this. Up until 1993, homosexuality was considered as a crime in Russia, and until 1999 it was a “mental disease”. Russians are very reluctant to accept homosexuality because their government put in their head that it was not a good thing. Russians are not as open-minded as French yet, because they are not pushed in this direction by their leaders. The French people going to the Games are carriers of our values, and good things could actually happen: by mixing with the local people, they could share these values and maybe help Russians head towards a more tolerant state (of mind). It is thus important to make our appearance in the Games to be representatives of our values and lifestyle.

Moreover, by criticizing the Russian laws and situation in general, France might actually be helping Putine. Russians are traditional.  For instance, according to a survey by the Vtsiom institute, 88% of Russians are in favor of the law mentioned below. By showing that we are against it, by refusing to go to Sochi and mix with them, we are isolating them more than they already are because of their values. Putine might be taking advantage of this to reinforce the feeling of nationalism, self-sufficiency and fear of the outside world that is already spread in Russia. Nothing good could come out of Russia closing its doors to other countries because Putine would have too much freedom to limit the one of his people. France should go to the Games to show that it will neither stick its nose into Russia’s business, nor pretend that Russia does not exist and matter at a global scale.

Thank you for your attention and vote for us !

ET