Indonesian IOC Member: Olympic Rings Dispute Endangers Asian Games

(ATR) IOC member Rita Subowo tells Around the Rings that potential IOC reprimands put the 2018 Asian Games "clearly at risk."

The Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) could face sanctions from the IOC due to a separate sports body, the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI), using the Olympic rings in their logo.

KONI uses the Olympic rings in their logo because, until 2005, the body was the national Olympic committee for Indonesia. Ten years ago, the KOI was formed and KONI took charge of national athletes before they went off to international sports competitions.

"KOI has been working very closely with the IOC and [the Olympic Council of Asia] in this matter over the past 18 months," Rita Subowo, IOC member and president of the KOI, told Around the Rings in a letter.

Subowo says that the IOC and OCA notified the KOI in March 2014 that KONI was not able to use the Olympic rings in its logo despite its previous IOC affiliation. Subowo added that the KOI never authorized KONI to continue to use the Olympic rings after the formation of the separate Olympic committee.

OCA sent the KOI a letter on Feb. 1 that said "appropriate measures must be taken by the Ministry of Sports Indonesia" to get KONI to remove the Olympic rings from its logo.

If the government of Indonesia did not comply, OCA said in its letter that "failing to do so may result in the cancellation of the Asian Games but also appropriate sanctions from the IOC/OCA and the suspension of the NOC of Indonesia."

KONI is trying to use section 3.5 of the Olympic Charter, which allows for IOC recognition of non-governmental bodies to keep using the rings, and are resolute in not removing the rings from their logo.

Subowo says it is up to the IOC to make a decision on whether KONI could be successful in this challenge.

"KONI’s continued use of the Olympic symbol, when repeatedly requested to stop using it by the IOC/OCA, is not an activity which is in conformity with the Olympic Charter and it is hard to see how this section of the Olympic Charter could be successfully applied to KONI," Subowo told ATR.

If the IOC were to suspend the KOI, it would put the 2018 Asian Games at risk of needing a third host.

Jakarta was chosen to host the Asiad after original host Hanoi, Vietnam gave back the hosting rights for the 2019 Asian Games due to financial difficulties.

Subowo says that losing the rights to host the Games due to KONI’s logo would be "a great pity."

"The [KOI] worked very hard with the Jakarta provincial government to secure the rights to host the Asian Games in 2018," Subowo said.

"Therefore we hope that KONI will decide that the best course of action for the athletes and team officials of Indonesia is to stop using the Olympic rings in their logo so that we can focus on developing our athletes and coaches and hosting a successful Asian Games in 2018."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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