Editorial: Discrimination in Sochi

While Vladimir Putin turns Russia into an increasingly dangerous place for gays and lesbians, the Winter Olympics in the Russian resort city of Sochi will soon begin drawing athletes and fans from around the world. There will certainly be gay athletes. And there will be thousands of spectators who come from countries where it is not a crime to love someone of the same sex.

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Can those athletes wear a rainbow-colored arm band or a pin to show support of gay rights? Can their fans wave a rainbow flag?

Russian gay-rights activists and representatives of Human Rights Watch have been pressing Olympics officials to provide assurances that athletes and others will not be harassed, or possibly even arrested, if they endorse civil rights for gays and lesbians. The Russian government enacted a law in June that defines "homosexual" propaganda as pornography that should not appear in any forum that can be seen by minors. It is unclear whether that law could be used to jail activists who plead their cause in public, such as at a news conference in Sochi.

So far, the International Olympic Committee has offered only vague assurances that Mr. Putin has promised no discrimination against athletes or spectators. The I.O.C. has also prepared a stern reminder to athletes from about 200 nations that they must abide by Olympic rules against protests or propaganda. Olympic Rule 50 warns: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas." The reason for that rule, according to Olympic officials, is that allowing any form of protest at Olympic venues will encourage other demonstrations. Protest gay persecution and the antigay protests will follow, they predict. The I.O.C. says athletes who appear at Olympic events like parades or at the podium must not show their political beliefs.

In this case, there should be a way for athletes to show their opposition to discriminatory laws. The I.O.C. and the Russian government have said they will create protest areas, undoubtedly at some distance from the television cameras. And they have issued vague assurances that athletes will be free to express their views in media interviews. That is not enough. What happens later to the Russian athlete who dares to wear a rainbow pin in Sochi? How safe is the individual who carries a gay-rights banner in one of the stadiums? Will the laws be used against them when the international community is gone?

While the Olympic overlords focus on Rule 50, there is another more fundamental principle in the Olympic Charter. It says: "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." A rainbow armband or a statement on behalf of gays and lesbians in Russia would only reinforce that endorsement of human rights.

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