Kuwait's chief negotiator said that a ban imposed on the country by the IOC last year over what it says is government interference in the autonomy of sport "is unfair," according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS.
The two sides "had talks in January that included the United Nations, to try to resolve the dispute over changes to a law that the IOC says is interfering with the autonomy of sport, but could not come to an agreement." If the ban remains in place for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August, Kuwaiti athletes "will not be competing under their own flag but will have to do so under the Olympic flag." Mohammad Alfili, who headed the Kuwait government negotiation team, said that "the proposed agreements were rejected because they insisted on changes to Kuwaiti legislation." He said,
"We -- the negotiation delegation -- refused the proposal from the IOC because they requested that our delegation give approval for changing the laws of Kuwait. Kuwait is a democratic country with due process to follow -- if a law needs amending it must be voted on at the Parliament. Therefore, no delegation from our country has the right to approve such requests" (REUTERS, 3/19).
