Vote for Rhodesia

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33003, 24 August 1972, Page 1

Vote for Rhodesia

(N.Z.P.A. Ltaf? Correspondent) MUNICH, August 23. The New Zealand member of the International Olympic Committee (Mr Lance Cross) today cast his vote in favour of keeping Rhodesia in the Munich Olympics.

“This was a question of integrity. The 1.0. C. had sent an invitation in good faith to Rhodesia for a team to compete at Munich and it was accepted in good faith.

“I voted to let the invitation stand and told the committee that we should be prepared to take the consequences.” Mr Cross said that after two solid days of debate the question was obviously one of politics. Referring to the crucial meeting where the vote went against Rhodesia by 36 votes to 31, Mr Cross said that much had been made by some members of the committee about the question of passports for the Rhodesian competitors.

“Passports did not come into it. A year ago Rhodesia was invited to participate in the Games in Munich provided that it agreed to do so on the same conditions that it participated at Tokyo, namely that it used the old Rhodesian flag and that the recognised National Anthem would be ‘God Save The Queen.’ Not satisfied “The British Government supplied a document to say that the Rhodesians were British subjects but this did not satisfy the African countries,” he said. “I have no doubt it was the African Governments and not the African Olympic Committee which dictated the course that was followed. Twenty-one African nations said they would have pulled out of the Games but the

crucial test would have been to see how many would actually have withdrawn had the vote gone the other way.” Mr Cross said it was important that Christchurch should make it clear from the outset that irrespective of what countries withdrew or threatened to withdraw, the Commonwealth Games of 1974 would go on just the same.

The chairman of the organising committee of the Christchurch Games (Mr R. S. Scott) is in Munich to attend a meeting of the British Commonwealth Games Federation on Thursday. He is following closely the decision over Rhodesia. While declining any immediate comment. Mr Scott indicated he would be in contact with Commonwealth African countries over the next few days.