Ghana - only country suspended from participating in 2012 Olympics

Something told me that my family would not be at the London Olympic Games, other than through the medium of the telly box in our London frontroom. My parents met at the Helsinki Summer Games of 1952 and married shortly after. My mother a young Finnish beauty - my father a performer and founder member of Ballet Negre, had come from the Gold Coast - now modern Ghana, via a career in London.

On 27th July 2012, the Opening Ceremony of London 2012, their grand-daughter will celebrate her 11th birthday. I had hoped to 'win' the chance to buy tickets for the Olympic opening ceremony -27th July - not just for my daughter's birthday; my parent's love story across continents- but to secure my family's participation in a movement which is about peace and co-operation.

It turned out that it is not just my family, or the other million London taxpayers financing the games that missed out on a ticket. As it turns out the whole nation of Ghana missed out on a golden ticket. Ghana, a democratic nation for years - its people living in peaceful times - finds itself the only nation suspended by the International Olympic Committee. This suspensions means that Ghanaians do not get an allocation of tickets and their sports heroes could also be denied the right to compete.

Perhaps our family missing out on a ticket was a good thing. Attending the Olympics for me would have seemed a betrayal. Not a betrayal of national or ethnic identity, I am no jingoist -but why would I want to sit on the front of a bus, if my family have to travel at the back, or in this case are refused a seat? Whatever administrative or legal argument the International Olympic Committee[IOC] has with the Government of Ghana, it is a shame when ordinary people and athletes are punished. I know that the IOC, the Olympic movements governing body's mission, includes acting against any discrimination which affects the movement.

This is not about suspending relations with a country because it has a history of discrimination or human rights case to answer. Ghana is banned, unlike Syria, Libya and Zimbabwe - nations on our TV screens with rising concerns for the safety of its peoples. Saudi Arabia, which bans women from all sport, is welcome. Ghana has promoted women's involvement in sport and public life and is banned. I understand the IOC's arguments around the need for good governance of national sports bodies and independence from government. The infamous Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 are a warning from history why sports institutions should be free of negative government interference. But the IOC needs to take care to be consistent and transparent when looking at government interference.

Alexandra Ankrah

Picture: London 2012 Olympics Logo