Boston bombings: Joel Bouzou of Peace and Sport condemns marathon explosions

Dubai: Joel Bouzou, the President and founder of Peace and Sport, has condemned the explosions at the Boston Marathon as a “tragic and unacceptable” act.

“We strongly condemn this tragic and unacceptable act. By attacking a running event, one of the most popular in the world where 22,000 participants had gathered, the perpetrators of this terrible terrorist attack sent the USA and the rest of the world into shock and sorrow,” Bouzou, said in a statement.

“They also targeted the values of peace, unity and humanity which are inherently carried by sport,” he added.

Peace and Sport has undertaken various initiatives in the past to foster the link between sport and peace.

In 2011, top athletes Paula Radcliffe, Tegla Loroupe and Wilson Kipketer used the New York City Marathon to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake and to draw attention to Peace and Sport as an organisation.

Loroupe, who won the New York City Marathon in 1994 and 1995 and former middle distance champion Kipketer participated in the race and raised a substantial amount for the earthquake victims. Even before the start of the race, all three athletes had raised $3,600 by helping to train a team of 20 runners to run for Team Peace and Sport in New York.

The funds that were raised went towards a children’s programme in an earthquake survivors’ camp in Haiti and to Loroupe’s Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, a Kenya-based group that runs conflict resolution programmes and has built four schools for orphans.

“Once again, sport has been held hostage. Once again, innocent victims lost their lives. Once again, a sports event synonymous with celebration, happiness and solidarity was turned into a nightmare,” Bouzou said.

“In the name of Peace and Sport, I want to address my most sincere condolences to the families of the victims. This terrible act and its consequences will not discourage us in our fight for sport to be an instrument of sustainable peace,” he added.

The Monaco-based Peace and Sport will be hosting its annual forum for the first time in the Middle East at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai on April 23 and 24.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, who represented his country in five Winter Olympics, is the patron of Peace and Sport.