On the Scene - IOC EB Tackles Troubled NOCs

(ATR) Director of National Olympic Committee relations Pere Miro says the IOC will do everything possible to get athletes into the Games despite the ongoing Arab Spring.

"We continue watching everything around and observing what happens," he told a group of reporters Tuesday in Lausanne after briefing the IOC Executive Board on the status of certain NOCs.

According to Miro, "very good change" is underway in Tunisia, he is satisfied with Libya's reconstituted NOC, Egypt is doing "very well" and the IOC has "less information" on Yemen but is expecting its athletes to compete in London.

Syria, he said, is of particular concern given the ongoing civil turmoil that the United Nations estimates has killed more than 7,500 people.

"The situation in the country is not normal," he said, but the IOC remains in contact with both the Syrian NOC and four or five Olympic hopefuls in both swimming and athletics.

"We will continue supporting them, and we hope they will end up in London," Miro said, adding that the IOC support went through the NOC in the past but is now delivered through "more direct" methods to the athletes themselves.

Still, the Syrian NOC remains "normal" in that it's neither suspended nor sanctioned, according to Miro.

Asked whether the IOC would be forced into action against the NOC should the UN take measures against Syria, he stressed that the Olympics are nonpolitical but that the EB could discuss such a situation at future meetings.

"We prefer the normal means" for athletes to get into the Games, he said. "Through the National Olympic Committee is the normal way."

Miro added that EB members would, however, explore "ad hoc" solutions such as athletes competing under the Olympic Flag – a scenario seen at Sydney 2000 for Olympians from East Timor – should the unrest in Syria compromise its NOC.

"Wait and See" with India

In the case of India, EB members decided Tuesday to leave the precarious leadership arrangement atop its NOC alone.

"For the moment, we wait and see," said Miro, confirming that neither the Indian Olympic Association nor Suresh Kalmadi is under any sort of sanction and that none will follow should the present situation persist.

Kalmadi stepped away from his responsibilities as IOA president following corruption allegations around his organization of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games. He has yet to relinquish the role to acting president VK Malhotra but did send a letter to the IOA effectively retiring from the "first line" of its administration.

Despite the messy situation, Miro said, the IOC respects the autonomy of the IOA, a juridically independent body just like other NOCs.

Panama "Normalized"

Asked by Around the Rings about a pair of contending NOC leaderships in Panama, Miro confirmed EB members discussed the matter but declined to comment in more detail.

In a press briefing later Tuesday, communications director Mark Adams said the EB declared the situation with the NOC "normalized" on the basis of information provided to the IOC since an April 2011 request .

Panama was suspended before the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro because of a similar conflict but was subsequently reinstated.

Ways to Go for South Sudan

It's going to be "very difficult" for any new NOCs such as South Sudan to join the Olympic Movement in time for the 2012 Games, according to Miro.

Despite declaring its independence in July 2011 and gaining admittance to the UN shortly after, South Sudan still must fill a second requirement in addition to recognition by the international community.

Per the Olympic Charter, at least five national federations must be recognized by the international federations of Olympic sports.

South Sudan has zero but is working on athletics.

According to Miro, the EB will study the situation ahead of its May meeting scheduled for the sidelines of SportAccord in Quebec City, the "last chance" for NOCs to get in on London.

Kuwait's Dubious Distinction

Kuwait is the only suspended NOC for the time being, Miro confirmed, and will remain so for London unless the EB decides otherwise in Quebec.

"The IOC will analyze the situation of the athletes," he said, adding that competition under the Olympic Flag is a possibility following its earlier use for Kuwaiti athletes at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games, Guangzhou Asian Games and Muscat Asian Beach Games.

The IOC suspended Kuwait's NOC in January 2010 after two years of fruitless negotiations to change a law that gives the government the power to influence the leadership of sports federations. FIFA at one time suspended Kuwait over the conflict as well but has since restored its status for football.

Reported in Lausanne by Matthew Grayson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.