Ban 'Dictator' From Cup: Greens
- Sunday, 20 September 2009 02:30
A "blood-soaked" dictator must be stopped from running a horse in the Melbourne Cup, the Greens say.
Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov is preparing his gelding Mourilyan for the Melbourne Cup, outraging activists who object to his human rights record.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown called on prime minister Kevin Rudd to ban Mr Kadyrov - and his horses - from the country.
Mr Kadyrov was a brutal dictator who had overseen the torture and suppression of his opponents, Senator Brown said.
"Can you imagine the appalling prospect of Governor-General Quentin Bryce being asked to hand a Melbourne Cup to the blood-soaked hands of Mr Kadyrov?" Senator Brown asked reporters in Canberra.
"The very thought of him coming to the Melbourne Cup runs a shiver up my spine."
Senator Brown said Australia's leaders should stand up now and declare that neither Kadyrov nor his horses would be allowed into the country.
Mourilyan is trained by England's Gary Moore. Mr Kadyrov has another horse in preparation for the spring carnival, the stallion Bankable listed for the Mackinnon Stakes.
