Wellington: Insisting that Fiji's exclusion
from next year's Commonwealth Games in India amounts to mixing
sports with politics, the country's Olympic Committee has
decided to challenge the debarment in the Court of Arbitration
for Sport in Switzerland.
Fiji was banned from participating in the Games,
scheduled October 3 to 14 in New Delhi, after a meeting of the
Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad yesterday. The decision was
taken after the military government in Fiji failed to restore
democracy in the timeline set by the Commonwealth.
Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee
head Vidya Lakhan said the Commonwealth Heads' decision was
"disappointing".
"We reiterate our position and that is that we see
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting's (CHOGM) stance in
this matter as political interference in sports," Lakhan said.
"We will now take our case to the Court of Arbitration
for Sport and this is our last straw. The decision made there
will stand and we will all have to abide by it," he added.
Prime Minister Bainimarama's secretary Pio Tikoduadua
said the decision to bar the country's athletes from
participating in the quadrennial extravaganza was
unacceptable.
"We hope that the Commonwealth will reconsider this
decision," Tikoduadua said.
"They should not mix politics with sports. This is not
helping in finding solutions to our problems."
Lakhan said Fiji has a strong case to present at the
Court of Arbitration for Sport and the proceedings will start
in the next two weeks.
"I would suggest that they (CHOGM) get into communication
with the IOC and learn how sports and politics are separate,"
he said.
"Politicians are playing their game and of course their
intention is to deprive athletes of opportunities. I guess
politicians are only good at depriving people of
opportunities," he added.
Bainimarama staged a military coup in 2006 to grab power
in Fiji and the country was suspended from the Commonwealth in
September this year after going back on its promise to hold
elections by 2010.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 01, 2009, 12:18