Security uncertainty shadow over sports events

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The country has again shown its vulnerability to security fears in the wake of rife anti-U.S. rallies, which have cost it a lot of sports opportunities.

Cancellation of the Wismilak Open WTA Tour tennis championship, which was to have taken place in Surabaya from Oct. 27 to Nov. 4, was the latest example of how the development of political issues at home can have an ill effect on sports.

It was the second time in three years the tournament was scrapped due to security uncertainty. The previous cancellation followed the fall of president Soeharto.

Various Muslim groups in the country have rallied against the U.S. to protest the U.S. and British-led air and missile attacks on Afghanistan, a move dubbed a retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Muslim radicals have even threatened to hunt down American and British expatriates if the government fails to respond to their demand that Indonesia sever ties with the two western countries.

"The current situation has proved unwelcome for the event organizers because we have had difficulty in bringing in foreign players," Maya Hidayat, from the International Management Group (IMG), told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

U.S.-based IMG did proceed with the Philip X-rage competition last month as scheduled, but without the presence of American competitors, who withdrew at the last minute.

Maya said the failure to bring in top players, especially from overseas, and assure them that the country was safe had hurt the image and promotional efforts made by the sports event organizer.

"The event became less prestigious when top players failed to turn up," he said of this year's Indonesian Open badminton championships, which were deprived of some of the world's top players.

"The crowd attendance dropped and this is bad for promotion," she said.

IMG, which organizes local events every year, will stick to its plans to stage two international tournaments next year -- the Philip X-rage and the Indonesian Open.

While the dates had yet to be confirmed, Maya hinted that withdrawals or the failure to bring in foreign players would still threaten the tournaments if the security situation did not improve.

"We can't ensure their arrival until the authorities say that security is guaranteed," she said.

However, Bali seems to be a safe hub for foreigners to engage in sport, as organizers confirmed that there was no withdrawal of foreign competitors from the Indonesia Power Bali 10-kilometer run, which took place on Sunday.

The race offered a total Rp 200 million in cash prizes.

"We still have in our pocket the 110 names of athletes planning their participation in the event," said Komang Budiarta, the chairman of the organizing committee, as quoted by Antara on Friday.

The run, which took the route from the Ngurah Rai Statute to Nusa Dua, saw world-class names such as Paula Radcliffe (Britain), 2000 Sydney gold medalist Naoko Takayasahi (Japan), Dorthe Rasmussen (Denmark), Yamma Belkacem (France), Olga Apell (Mexico) and Maria Luisa Servin (Mexico).