Political turmoil casts new shadow over Asiad glory

Political turmoil casts new shadow over Asiad glory

BANGKOK (AFP): Political turmoil has thrown up a new threat to
Thailand's plans to host the 1998 Asian Games, with an important
deadline looming.

For the second straight week, the cabinet failed Tuesday to
reach any agreement on a sports complex, accommodation and a
rapid-transit link meant to be built for the Games.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has made growing noises in
recent months that Bangkok risks losing the event unless a start
is made on multi-million dollar preparations.

Thai government leaders have been concentrating instead on
keeping their coalition in power after a rift that threatened to
force new elections. Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai saved the
alliance by bringing in an opposition party.

But no ground has been broken on facilities, although an OCA
mission is scheduled to visit Bangkok next month to check on
progress.

And, according to OCA officials, the perceived procrastination
of the Bangkok organizers will be discussed when many of the
continent's sports leaders gather at an International Olympic
Committee (IOC) executive board meeting this week in Atlanta,
Georgia.

Officials from the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and Thai
Olympic Committee also flew to Atlanta on Monday. Officially they
were to examine the city's efforts for the 1996 Olympics.

"This is a very important month," said the SAT's Somchai
Prasertsiriphan in a recent interview with AFP.

Thailand must, in any case, speed up the pace of preparations.
Thai officials were first warned here last March by OCA president
Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah that the Games might be moved
unless construction began immediately.

The prime minister gave assurances at the time, but the work
did not start and OCA executive officials, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said there was concern.

Politics

Thailand was given the 1998 Games in part because it has twice
hosted them when other countries could not: in 1970 for Seoul and
1978 for Pakistan. Both times, the host countries were swept up
in political unrest.

But domestic politics have been a problem since Thailand won
the right in 1990 to host its fourth Asiad.

Thailand has had four governments in four years, one via a
coup d'etat, and each change has derailed preparations.

At the Hiroshima Asian Games in October, Thai officials cast
doubt on plans for an ambitious sporting complex and talked
instead of restoring existing facilities.

The OCA executive said it would accept either proposal but
remained worried about what is reputedly the world's worst
traffic and pollution in Bangkok.

Concerns about the financing of the event also encouraged the
South Korean city of Pusan to believe it might step in as an
alternative host.

Nevertheless, Sheikh Ahmad and Thai Deputy Prime Minister
Banyat Bantadtan signed a memorandum of understanding in October.

But new worries emerged when on Nov. 1 the government sacked
the company assigned to develop a workable plan which failed to
come up with financing or blueprints.

The Sports Authority drafted alternative plans, in record
time, for a $600 million sports complex and a 10-kilometer (six-
mile) subway for another billion dollars.

"We could use designers and construction companies from
abroad," the SAT's Somchai Prasertsiriphan told AFP. "We know
that there are companies in Australia, South Korea and the United
States which are interested."

Expensive

But the plans, said by Banyat to be too expensive, have yet to
be endorsed by the Thai cabinet.

The prime minister gave a new promise last month: "I want to
assure you that the Games can be organized in time."

He vowed that the government would pay the bill itself if
necessary. But the sudden political reshuffle had newspapers and
analysts predicting the death of the Chuan administration long
before the 1998 Games.

"No one knows the future," Santiparp Teachavanich of the Thai
Olympic Committee said.

But "the reputation and the dignity of the country, no matter
who is in government, is at stake here. All Thais concerned
should give their full support to the Asian Games.

"Then, no matter what happens, no matter what government comes
along, we can be proud of the Games," he added.