'Options open’ for decision on Moscow Olympics

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 1

'Options open’ for decision on Moscow Olympics

PA Wellington The New Zealand Olympic Committee is keeping its options open about sending a team to the Olympic Games at Moscow.

The chairman of the NewZealand Olympics and Commonwealth Games Association (Mr Lance Cross) made this clear after talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Tab boys) at Parliament yest terday evening. ' >

Mr Cross will attend a meeting of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board in Switzerland, starting on April 21. Mr Cross sought a’ meeting with Mr Taiboys because, “The subject .will be Moscow, so I felt it was important that I should be up to date on what is happening round the world, from a Govemment-to-Government point ' of : View,”. Mr /Cross said. ! -Mr Taiboys told Mr I Cross that the Govem- ) ment’s stand on -the Olyml pics was the same as in ■February. “While they would welicome a change in venue, l in no way will they interfere with the'decision, or influence the decision, of the Olympic Committee,” Mr Cross said. Mr Cross said the association stood by its decision to continue to plan land prepare for the Games, ibut, to defer any reply to Moscow’s official invitation ' until it was known what other nations were going ijto" do. 1 But he said, “We are I Still keeping our options iopen. The last date for reI plying to the invitation is ;May 24, but we could ■make the decision any ‘ time.. between now and ■ then. 1 ’ The Labour Party yesterday repeated its call for ■ the Government to take the “strongest possible Bland” against competing In' the Moscow. Olympics. , After meeting yesterday the Labour shadow cabinet called on either Mr Taiboys lor the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) to make an urgent appeal to the New Zealand Olympic committee to withdraw from the Games. . /.‘lf the * Government is sincere in its condemnation of Russian action in Afghanistan, and if it- is sincere in its claim to be a loyal ally to the United States, it has to come off ‘the fence and be seen to

make the strongest possible case to the New Zealand Olympic committee,” Mr Rowling said. It was Labour’s view that financial support should be withdrawn from any team or individual who ignored a Government call to boycott ithe Games. But the Labour Party also believed there should be compensation for sporting organisations, in recognition of the sacrifice they should be asked to make.

In Washington, the United States Vice-President (Mr Walter Mondale) said yesterday the United States Government believed it has agreements from more than 50 countries to join in. the boycott- of the Olympics.' ‘‘l’m. not. going to announce those countries,- but we think we will undermine very .substantially the effectiveness, of the Moscow Olympics>” he said. So far, 13 rother nations officially have said their athletes will not be at Moscow. “‘Until mow, 50 has been a target figure for an effective boycott. In Los Angeles it was reported that an official will go to Dublin this week to see the president' of the International Olympic Committee (1.0. C. (Lord Killanin) in a bid to secure the 1984 Olympic Games. The 1.0. C. may take away the 1984 Olympics from Los Angeles on the grounds that the United States Olympic Committee (U.5.0.C.) has breached rule 24 of the Olympic Charter. This rule governs the conduct of the 142 recognised . national Olympic committees (N.O.C.s) throughout the world, and says in part: “National Committees must-be autonomous and must- resist all pressures of any kind whatsoever, whether of a political, religious, or ecohomic nature.” The danger for Los Angeles lies in the feeling that the U.S.O.C. has worked with' the United States Government ih settling its boycott policy. If any move is made to switch the games from Los Angeles,.. nothing can be done until the full session of the 1.0. C. at Moscow next July.

European Olympic committees are not fully united on a policy on Moscow. The N.O.C.s of Austria, Britain, -Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and Yugoslavia have said they will send teams.

No N.O.C. in western Europe has said it will boycott the Games. But the committees in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and West Germany have yet to make up their minds. . The West German Government said yesterday it would probably call for a boycott, but the president, of the German N.O.C. and a senior member of the 1.0. C. (Mr Willi Daume) said he did not expect the Government to put pressure on the committee.

European N.O.C.s are due to meet in Rome on May 10. The West German committee is expected to make its, decision at a meeting in Frankfurt five days later. ' ' In Teheran, the chairman of Iran’s Olympic committee said yesterday that the ruling Revolutionary Council had agreed to reconsider its decision to boycott the Olympics after receiving an appeal from Iranian athletes. The Iranian athletes were ready to go to Moscow and use their presence there to protest against the Kremlin’s policy. The New South Wales Olympic Council secretary (Mr Philip Coles) has predicted that the Australian Olympic Federation meeting on April 19 will vote to send a team to Moscow. His comment was prompted by the unanimous vote of the New South Wales Olympic Council on Monday to join the growing contingent of Australian sports bodies to support the Olympics. British yachtsmen will not take part in the Moscow Olympics, the sport’s national association announced in London yesterday.

The decision means that three British sports associations have decided on a Moscow boycott: yachting, hockey, and the equestrian squads. The rest, with, the approval of the British Olympic Association, have decided to attend.