A little 'whitemail'?

Press, 31 March 1981, Page 18

A little 'whitemail'?

PA : Masterton A Cabinet ' Minister, Mr Couch, has .challenged the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa ■ tc> concentrate on doing a proper job of staging the All-Africa Games, and to do it .on a non-racial basis. ' • ’ i ' >. ' , If the Games were nonracial,it would give other countries a chance to “try a little ‘whitemail’ and boycott them because there are countries entering whose policies we do not agree with,” he said. . Mr Couch, the Minister of Police and member of Parliament for Wairarapa, said the main task of the council tVas staging the Games, “now reported to be on the verge of yet another postponement because Kenya cannot organise them. “The Commonwealth Games, by contrast, have a waiting list of countries

ready and eager to be host for them each time.’’ Mr Couch also accused Dr Abraham Ordia, president of the council, ■■ \ of. suffering from “a Kind of conveniently selective morality. ; “He wishes to punish all New ’ Zealanders because soip e have invited South African- Sportsman’ to play their sport in this country. I 1 “He spoke on' television recently' of sports bodies being autonomous and then insisted they must do what their government wishes. This: is a definition of autonomy that we, in a democratic country, ,do not recognise.”- - Mr Couch, said that this posed the question: “If autonomy does not mean freedom to make decisions, what does it mean?” He said Mr Ordia’s definition made no distinction between autonomy and dictatorship.