Waiting for action
Anne keeping public silence as bribery scandal unfolds
Posted: Thursday January 28, 1999 12:25 PM
LONDON, England (AP) -- Princess Anne, one of Britain's two IOC members,
will attend next week's world conference on doping in sports, her
office said Thursday.
The aides said Anne has no plans to speak out on the bribery
scandals which have rocked the International Olympic Committee.
A spokeswoman said Anne, a former Olympic equestrian competitor,
will take part in the debate at the Feb. 2-4 doping meeting in
Lausanne, Switzerland.
She has no plans to make a public statement afterwards, the
spokeswoman said.
There has been speculation in the British media that Anne would
make a major intervention on the widening vote-buying scandal
stemming from Salt Lake City' selection as host of the 2002 Winter
Games. Nine IOC members have resigned or been ousted so far.
But Anne's spokeswoman said Thursday that she has decided to
"await developments" and considers it inappropriate to intervene
publicly now.
The spokeswoman said Anne will not attend the emergency IOC
session March 17-18 because of scheduling conflicts.
That meeting has been called to confirm the expulsions of
members in the Salt Lake case and approve new bidding and voting
procedures for the 2006 Games.
In addition, embattled IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch will
seek a vote of confidence from the membership at the March meeting.
The March session clashes with a long-scheduled Far East tour by
Anne, said her spokeswoman, speaking on customary condition of
anonymity.
Anne, an IOC member since 1988, competed in the 1976 Montreal
Olympics.
She has long been portrayed as a critic of Samaranch. After the
publication in 1992 of "The Lords of the Rings," a highly
critical book by two British authors, Samaranch suggested it was
part of a British plot to oust him.
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