CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
SIN CITY (Reuters) – The United Nations called on Sunday for a week-long humanitarian truce on the Gold Coast where forces loyal to the NRL have been waging an offensive to take remove every morsel of dignity from a struggling Titans side.
In a statement the U.N. Mission in The Goldie (UNSMITG) urged the warring sides to implement a truce starting Monday morning at 0400 local time to coincide with the final dash to finals.
“UNSMITG calls on all parties to deliver of humanitarian aid to those in need and to ensure the freedom of movement for civilians during this truce,” UNSMITG said in a statement today.
“To watch the Titans fly to the SCG on the weekend only to have Latrell and the boys put 50 on them… It is a different kind of cruel”
This comes days after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for global regulations to minimize the impact of well-managed rugby league clubs with decent players on the poor old Titans.
In a speech at the University of Lisbon, Guterres said on February 19 that “the next match will begin with a full-field try to destroy defensive capacity…and paralyze basic infrastructure such as the backline.”
“Episodes of supreme rugby league dominated between states already exist,” he noted, adding that “there is no regulatory scheme for that type of assault, it is not clear how the Geneva Convention or international humanitarian law applies to it.”
Guterres offered the United Nations as a platform where scientists, government officials, and other players could work out rules “to guarantee a more humane character” of any future matches involving the Titans this year.
The Gold Coast Titans were reached for comment but no one in their offices could name one player, or even the coach for that matter.
No one on the Gold Coast could either.
MORE TO COME.
