The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided today to suspend the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Kuwait , effective 1 August 2009, which should provide the Philippines a warning about the dangers of government interference in sports.

The interference of Philippine courts which are considered a branch of government alongside the executive and the legislative as well as actions of the Philippine Sports Commission in internal disputes of the Philippine Olympic Committee and its National Sports Association may be regarded as government interference in sports which the IOC frowns on.

In an email received by www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, the IOC pointed to Rule 28.9 of the Olympic Charter which states that “the IOC Executive Board may take any appropriate decisions for the protection of the Olympic Movement in the country of an NOC, including suspension of or withdrawal of recognition from such NOC if the constitution, law or other regulations in force in the country concerned, or any act by any governmental or other body causes the activity of the NOC or the making or expression of its will to be hampered.”

The IOC noted that “The Olympic Charter states that NOCs must preserve their autonomy and resist pressure of any kind — including, but not limited to, political, legal, religious or economic pressures — which may prevent them from complying with the Olympic Charter.”

The IOC maintained that the suspension of the Kuwait NOC was decided upon “in order to protect the Olympic Movement in Kuwait from interference by the Kuwaiti public authorities.”

It stated that the deferred suspension will give public authorities responsible for sport in Kuwait time “to amend a national sports law currently in force that is not compatible with the principles and rules of the Olympic Movement. The law prevents the NOC and the Kuwait Olympic Movement as a whole from complying with the principle of autonomy of sports organizations as set out in the Olympic Charter.”

The IOC said that together with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Kuwait Olympic Committee, it has tried for nearly two years “to find an appropriate and concerted solution with the local and government authorities in Kuwait . However, the IOC was informed that the government authorities were not in a position to respect their commitments within the set deadlines.”

The IOC statement said that on the basis of the provision of the Olympic Charter (Rule 28.9 in particular), and in order to protect the Olympic Movement in Kuwait, the IOC Executive Board ruled as follows:

The Kuwait Olympic Committee will be suspended on 1 August 2009 if, by 31 July 2009 at midnight (CET), the process of amending the local law is not duly finalized, as per the agreements signed and the written commitment from the Kuwaiti authorities.

The director of the IOC’s department of National Olympic Committee Relations Pere Miro said “It is critical that this situation is resolved as soon as possible for the sake of sport and in particular the Kuwaiti athletes. I am hopeful that satisfactory measures will be put into place before the 31 July deadline in order to avoid the implementation of such a sanction.”

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