Indonesian national swimming coach Albert Susanto said that an ongoing copyright row between Indonesian sports federations over the use of the Olympic rings symbol "has been specified as the cause for the withdrawal of funding for local swimmers," according to Patrick Johnston of REUTERS. Susanto said, "I don't want to comment on the current situation but yes, we're facing the same old problem about the budget." The IOC has threatened to ban Indonesia and strip it of the 2018 Asian Games hosting rights if the Indonesian National Sports Committee (KONI) continues "to use the rings" in its logo. The IOC said that only the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) was "allowed to use the iconic symbol." Talks between the Indoneseian federations "have so far failed to find a resolution." With the Southeast Asian Games taking place in Singapore in June, Susanto said that "his athletes had been forced to wait on precious money which had delayed preparations for the region's biennial event." Susanto: "So the payment of athletes' salaries was delayed. They have just received their January salaries this month, though they have been training since January." Susanto said that the Indonesian Aquatic Association (PRSI), like most sporting bodies in the country, was "wary of getting involved in the ring row between the two federations," which split a decade ago. KOI now takes responsibility for the participation of Indonesia at major sporting events, such as the Asian Games and Olympics, while KONI "heads the sporting associations in the fourth largest country in the world by population" (
REUTERS, 3/12).
