Tokyo 2020: When Myanmar swimmer ditched Olympic dreams in protest against junta ruling

"I shall not march in the (opening ceremony's) Parade of Nations under a flag steeped in my people's blood," said Myanmar's Win Htet Oo, who was supposed to make his Olympic debut as the country's lone swimmer. While nations across the globe are cheering for their players as they win medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, a few would remember the sacrifice Oo made after the Myanmar military seized power in a coup in February, earlier this year.

Amid the Tokyo Olympics frenzy and fanfare, it is heartbreaking to see a well-deserved athlete being absent due to political reasons. Win Htet Oo had qualified for the 50m freestyle swimming competition and is considered one of Myanmar's top swimmers. However, the 26-year-old abandoned his dreams ofrepresenting his country at the Olympics and said he was no longer interested in going to Tokyo in protest against Myanmar's junta.

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While taking to Facebook, Oo wrote, "To accept the MOC (Myanmar Olympic Committee) as it is currently led is to recognise the legitimacy of a murderous regime. I shall not march in the (opening ceremony's) Parade of Nations under a flag steeped in my people's blood."

The swimmer had also said that after the February coup he knew he couldn't go to the Olympic Games. So, it was an easy decision to make, even after training for two decades for the chance to go to the Olympics. "I just couldn't bring myself to attend, if [the MOC] was being controlled by the military," he added.

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Myanmar in political turmoil ever since the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was democratically elected as a civilian leader of Myanmar, was detained on February 1 in a coup d'état. The coup was carried out by Myanmar armed forces and Suu Kyi was slapped with a series of charges. Several other members of her political party, journalists and other prominent figures were also arrested. The coup ignited deadly protests across the country and hundreds of people have lost their lives. Besides protests and nationwide civil disobedience, the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to ravage as the situation remains dire in the county.

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"I wanted to show Myanmar people that athletes can take part in the civil disobedience movement," he told AFP, speaking from Melbourne, Australia. "The image of me walking behind the flag in the Parade of Nations and smiling - pretending everything was all right - quite frankly disgusted me. It would be a propaganda exercise, some sort of way to tell the world that everything is fine in Myanmar," he added.

It is worth noting that Oo wrote to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in March, citing the ongoing violence in Myanmar and asking to compete as an Independent Olympic Athlete. However, the IOC said Win Htet Oo did not appear to have a place for the Games, as awarded via the world swimming body FINA's qualifying system.

Meanwhile, Oo wished the athletes who took part in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics as Myanmar made its seventeenth appearance at the Olympics.

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