IOC to discuss possible Kosovo Olympic
recognition: spokesman
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[October 22, 2014]
BELGRADE (Reuters) - The
International Olympic Committee will discuss the possibility of granting
Kosovo Olympic recognition on Wednesday, an official said, a move that
has angered Serbian Olympic officials.
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"We can confirm that Kosovo will be addressed at the Executive
Board (later on Wednesday)," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told Reuters.
The Serbian Olympic Committee (OKS) said it had been informed that
Kosovo will be granted full membership, the OKS said on its official
website (www.oks.org.rs).
"The Serbian Olympic Committee has been informed by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) an official initiative by the
unilaterally recognized Republic of Kosovo for full IOC membership,"
the body said.
"For four years now, the Serbian Olympic Committee has successfully
blocked attempts by the unilaterally declared Republic of Kosovo to
gain IOC membership through various channels, while the Serbian
authorities have also been timely informed of these attempts.
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"We have information that the IOC is now prepared to support the
initiative although we have stated several times, in cooperation
with the Serbian government institutions, that such activities are
unacceptable."
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Belgrade
refuses to recognize it, saying the territory, which has a majority
Albanian population, is a heartland of the Serbian nation.
Olympic membership through a national Olympic Committee allows
athletes to compete in the summer and winter Games while also
accessing IOC funds for the development of sport in their region.
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Athletes also march with the flags of their nation at the opening
and closing ceremonies.
"Such course of action would amount to a precedent which has not
occurred in recent history, given that no national Olympic Committee
has been admitted into the IOC without the country previously being
granted United Nations membership."
There are currently 204 NOCs over five continents that includes
nations as well as some territories.
(Reporting by Zoran Milosavljevic and Karolos Grohmann; editing by
Sudipto Ganguly)
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