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BAGHDAD: The International Olympic Committee has confirmed a ban on
Iraq from competing in the Beijing Games in a major blow to seven
Iraqi athletes who had hoped to travel to China, an International
Olympic Committee (IOC) letter said.
In the letter dated July 23 and addressed to
Iraqi Youth and Sports Minister Jassem Jaafar, the IOC said it was
moving ahead with a ban first imposed on the country’s athletes
last month.
“In spite of all the joint efforts of IOC and
OCA [Olympic Council of Asia], over the last months to find a
positive solution with the Iraqi government authorities, we
regretfully inform you that the decision of the IOC executive board
dated June 4, 2008 to suspend the National Olympic Committee of Iraq
is confirmed,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by
Agence France-Presse on Thursday.
The IOC suspended Iraq for “political
interference” in its national Olympic committee, which was sacked
in May and replaced by a new panel headed by Jaafar. It had warned
that sanctions could be imposed after the committee and other sports
bodies were disbanded.
After the initial suspension it was believed
that up to seven Iraqi athletes would still participate in the Games
beginning on August 8.
However, the IOC made clear in Thursday’s
letter that an opportunity for Iraqi athletes to compete under the
Olympic flag instead of the national flag was now over.
Bashar Mustafa, Iraq’s temporary national
Olympic committee deputy chief, expressed disappointment at the IOC
ruling, but said he had done his best to redress the matters of
concern to the international body.
“We have made great efforts recently to put
this crisis behind us and move forward,” said Mustafa, bitterly
blaming previous Iraqi officials for the current mess.
The IOC did not identify in its letter which
issues Iraq had failed to tackle, saying only that they remained
unresolved
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-- AFP
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