Winter Olympics: IOC defends use of Uyghur athlete in opening ceremony

The International Olympic Committee has defended having an Uyghur athlete light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Dinigeer Yilamujiang joined Zhao Jiawen to light a small flame inside a giant snowflake which became the cauldron.

Cross-country skier Yilamujiang, 20, is one of five athletes from Xinjiang competing at the Games.

China has denied allegations of genocide and establishing forced labour camps in the region.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said: «She is an Olympian competing here. As you will know from the Olympic charter we do not discriminate against people because of where they are from and what their background is.

»She is perfectly entitled to take part in the opening. I think it was a lovely concept."

The move was criticised by Uyghur human rights groups, with Zumretay Arkin of the World Uyghur Congress describing the decision as «the most politically motivated move».

Ma Haiyun, an expert on the region and an associate professor at Frostburg State University, said Yilamujiang's participation was designed to «address criticism by the West».

Several nations, including the UK, United States and Canada, are diplomatically boycotting the Games.

The US said this is because of China's «human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang», against the province's Muslim population.

Politicians in South Korea were critical of the opening ceremony after a woman who appeared to be wearing a traditional Korean dress appeared among those representing China's different ethnic groups.

South Koreans have previously expressed anger over claims that aspects of Korean culture such as kimchi, a side dish made with fermented cabbage, or a traditional Korean dress called hanbok, originate from China.

Lee So-young of the