Thaksin slams Philippines for biased judging
Thaksin slams Philippines for biased judging
Associated Press, Bangkok
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra joined his country's
sporting officials on Wednesday in saying that host Philippines
was unfairly favoring its own competitors.
The situation had gotten so bad, Thaksin said, that the
leaders of the participating countries should consider holding an
official summit meeting to discuss fair play in sport.
Thaksin suggested the Philippines had made accumulating gold
medals a greater priority than upholding the sporting spirit at
the 23rd staging of the biennial event, leading to Thai
participants losing out in unfair scoring.
"I have been following the SEA Games closely and believe that
the SEA Games should exist to help athletes lift their
standards," Thaksin told reporters in Bangkok. "It should not be
about winning gold medals."
Thaksin said several winning competitors at the Games were not
up to par, but win honors anyway because "the organizer aims only
to favor their own athletes.
"We may have to have an unofficial summit among (Southeast
Asian) leaders to discuss how to uplift the spirit and standard
of the games, otherwise the SEA Games will be no longer be of
interest for the region," he said.
It wasn't clear if he was serious about suggesting such a
meeting. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
meets regularly on economic and security issues.
Jaruk Areerajakaran, secretary-general of Thailand's Olympic
committee, which oversees international competition, has
complained that the Philippines have cheated Thai competitors out
of victories in several sports, including boxing, gymnastics and
tae kwon do.
"It is hard to win at the Games since the hosts are cheating,"
Jaruk told reporters, as he conceded that the Thai team would not
be able to win its targeted 110 to 118 gold medals.
In an official statement, the Philippine Southeast Asian Games
Organizing Committee said that while the Philippines was hosting
the Games, the officiating for each contest was conducted by the
Southeast Asian Games Federation and its pool of international
referees and judges.
Eric Buhain, chairman of the Philippine Games and Amusement
Board and ambassador to the SEA Games, told the local INQ7.net
website that Thaksin should not question the Philippine
performance.
Buhain said the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian
countries, did not complain when Vietnam won 150 gold medals
while hosting the previous SEA Games in 2003.
"He (Thai prime minister) should not question our performance
at all," Buhain said.