Iraq seeks to clear Olympic hurdle
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq said on Thursday it will appeal its suspension by the International Olympic Committee and plans to send a high-level delegation to argue its case.
The IOC on Wednesday suspended Iraq for "political interference" in its national Olympic Committee which was sacked last month and replaced by a new panel headed by Sports Minister Jassem Jaafar.
"We are fully confident that once the Iraqi delegation attends the meeting of the IOC and presents the facts, the provisions for the suspension will be immediately removed," an Iraqi government statement said.
The IOC had warned of sanctions after Iraq disbanded its Olympic committee and other sports bodies on May 21.
"The executive board of the IOC decided today to provisionally suspend the Iraqi national Olympic committee as a consequence of the ongoing political interference by the government within the sports movement in Iraq," the IOC said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said it "does not recognise any interim committee" nor any other officers appointed by the Iraqi government but said talks would be held with committee members who were legitimately elected "to find appropriate solutions".
An IOC source said however that Iraqi athletes still have a chance to compete in the Beijing Summer Olympics which open on August 8.
The Iraqi government said that the previous committee was sacked because of "solid evidence of blatant corruption, lack of legitimate transparent electoral processes and accountability."
It said the panel did not have enough members to reach a quorum and had failed to hold elections in over five years.
The head of the committee, Ahmed Al-Samarrai, was kidnapped at gunpoint in Baghdad in July 2006 at the height of sectarian violence in Iraq along with several associates and he has not been heard of since.
World football governing body FIFA also suspended the Iraqi football federation over the issue but rescinded its decision in late May when Baghdad said the suspension of sports bodies did not extend to football.
