Official letter

Joanna393939

July 22, 2024

Dear Mr. President,

In response to your letter on July 21, 2024, I would like to convey the position of the PTKU on the participation of athletes from Russia in the World Traditional Karate Championships.

We recognize the weight of your words and share your concern for the unity and future of the World Traditional Karate Federation. We also fully understand the difficult situation in which the Russian Karate Federation has found itself because of the war in Ukraine.

However, PTKU aligns completely with the Polish government's stance. This position calls for the Polish sports community to stand firmly behind the principles of decisive and comprehensive action in the face of war. This action should support Ukraine and halt Russian aggression. This encompasses all areas of public life, including sports. For this reason, PTKU strongly opposes the participation of Russian athletes in competitions under the national flag and with the anthem.

The PTKU , as an association of associations, represents the position of thousands of Polish karatekas who are watching the war in Ukraine with concern. PTKU always promotes values such as respect, fair play, and solidarity. Therefore, we cannot ignore the suffering of the Ukrainian people and the tragedy unfolding on our eastern border. The international community universally condemns Russia’s aggression against Ukraine as an unprecedented act of barbarity.

Poland, bordering Ukraine, feels the war's impact especially acutely. We are accepting war refugees on our territory and are involved in helping Ukraine on many levels. In this situation, the participation of athletes from Russia in international sports competitions under the Russian flag and anthem would be unacceptable to us.

We appreciate the perspective you have shared on athlete neutrality and we would like to emphasize that PTKU has no personal prejudices against Russian karatekas. We appreciate their skills and commitment to fair play. Polish athletes have been guests at competitions organized by you in Russia and we have fond memories of these trips.

Unfortunately, the current geopolitical situation does not allow us to remain indifferent. We must express solidarity with Ukraine and oppose Russian aggression. Therefore, we maintain our position of not allowing athletes from Russia to participate in the World Championships under the Russian flag and anthem.

However, we are open to dialogue. We are looking for solutions that will allow Russian karatekas to participate in competitions in the spirit of fair play and without discrimination. We are ready to consider the possibility of athletes from Russia starting as neutral, without flags, emblems and anthems, as is the case at the Olympic Games.

We believe that together we can find a solution that will be satisfactory to everyone and will not lead to unnecessary conflicts in the international organization.

en 1

Correct

Corrections

dubai03nsr

Official letter

We recognize the weight of your words and share your concern for the unity and future of the World Traditional Karate Federation.

We also fully understand the difficult situation in which the Russian Karate Federation has found itself because of the war in Ukraine.

However, PTKU aligns completely with the Polish government's stance.

This position calls for the Polish sports community to stand firmly behind the principles of decisive and comprehensive action in the face of war.

This action should support Ukraine and halt Russian aggression.

This encompasses all areas of public life, including sports.

For this reason, PTKU strongly opposes the participation of Russian athletes in competitions under their national flag and ~~with the~~ anthem.

The PTKU , as an association of associations, represents the position of thousands of Polish karatekas who are watching the war in Ukraine with concern.

PTKU always promotes values such as respect, fair play, and solidarity.

Therefore, we cannot ignore the suffering of the Ukrainian people and the tragedy unfolding on our eastern border.

The international community universally condemns Russia’s aggression against Ukraine as an unprecedented act of barbarity.

Poland, bordering Ukraine, feels the war's impact especially acutely.

We are accepting war refugees on our territory and are involved in helping Ukraine on many levels.

In this situation, the participation of athletes from Russia in international sports competitions under the Russian flag and anthem would be unacceptable to us.

We appreciate the perspective you have shared on athlete neutrality and we would like to emphasize that PTKU has no personal prejudices against Russian karatekas.

We appreciate their skills and commitment to fair play.

Polish athletes have been guests at competitions organized by you in Russia and we have fond memories of these trips.

Unfortunately, the current geopolitical situation does not allow us to remain indifferent.

We must express solidarity with Ukraine and oppose Russian aggression.

Therefore, we maintain our position of not allowing athletes from Russia to participate in the World Championships under the Russian flag and anthem.

However, we are open to dialogue.

We are looking for solutions that will allow Russian karatekas to participate in competitions in the spirit of fair play and without discrimination.

We are ready to consider the possibility of athletes from Russia starting as neutral, without flags, emblems, and anthems, as is the case at the Olympic Games.

We believe that together we can find a solution that will be satisfactory to everyone and will not lead to unnecessary conflicts in the international organization.

Joanna393939

July 24, 2024

Thank you :)

Official letter