Arrows aim for peace in archery meet
Arrows aim for peace in archery meet
By Arief Suryobuwono
JAKARTA (JP): Arrows can harbinger enmity, but can also herald
reconciliation.
The run-up to the 38th World Archery Championships here was
marked with a diplomatic dispute over the participation of Israel
and Portugal, two countries which have no diplomatic ties with
the host country.
The row finished with Israel opting out of the world archery
meet and Portugal accepted in along with the other participating
countries.
Lisbon broke off diplomatic ties with Jakarta following the
integration of East Timor in 1976.
"We decided not to participate when we heard from the World
Archery Body (FITA) on June 21 that Indonesia demanded that we
come under the name of `FITA A' and conceal our national identity
during the championship events," Nuno Simoes, president of the
Portuguese Archery Association, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
"Then we sent letters stating our stance to the Indonesian
Archery Association, FITA's president and the Portuguese Olympic
Committee. We asked that committee to inform the International
Olympic Committee of the restrictions," Simoes said. "We also
wrote to our foreign ministry," he added.
Despite seemingly dismal chances of taking part in the meet,
Portugal kept preparing its archers and even completed and
returned the final application forms.
"Principally, we're always prepared to participate. So, while
we were trying to solve the problem, we were preparing our
archers as if nothing had happened," Simoes said.
"We returned the preliminary entry forms on time. But we sent
several final application forms because there were changes in
both the number and names of our athletes whom we plan to field
in the Jakarta championships," he explained.
President Soeharto is scheduled to officially open the week-
long archery meet today. As of yesterday, 47 teams had arrived.
The organizing committee is expecting another nine teams.
Originally Simoes planned to field four male archers, four
female archers and two officials. But in the selection process
only three of the archers met the minimum score of 1,230 required
by the Portuguese Archery Association.
The three are female archer Ana De Sousa, first place winner
in last year's national championships, a senior male archer, Joao
Freitas, and a junior male archer, Nuno Pombo.
"If we had not come to Jakarta, we would have had to take the
European and Mediterranean qualification archery tournament in
order to get a ticket to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,"
Simoes said.
Simoes's guarded optimism paid off. "On July 12 or 13 I was
informed by our foreign ministry that a representative of the
Indonesian government had contacted our representative in the
United Nations, informing us that all of the restrictions had
been lifted and that we would be treated just like the other
participating countries."
That there were no more restrictions was confirmed by FITA's
president, James Easton, and also by the president of the
Indonesia-Portugal Friendship Association, Simoes said.
More confirmations later came from the Indonesian Archery
Association and the organizing committee through phone calls and
facsimile messages, he added.
"So, we came here on July 28. We were granted visas upon
arrival," Simoes said. "I hope that one day sports will once and
for all be separated from politics," he added. (arf)