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'Great disappointment' Afghanistan rulers appeal Olympics exclusion
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have written the International Olympic Committee, demanding that its athletes be invited to the Sydney Games. Shakoor Muttmain, the Taliban's minister for sports, called it a "great disappointment" for the country's athletes. He said this would be the first time since 1936 that Afghanistan has missed a Summer Olympics. "Our players have prepared for years for this, but now they are being denied participation in Olympics," he told The Associated Press on Sunday. Invitations to the Sydney Games were sent to IOC nations a year ago. The IOC last fall suspended Afghanistan's Olympic Committee on grounds that it can no longer function under the Taliban regime. Among other things, the IOC said the Taliban-run Olympic committee bans women from sports. Francois Carrard, director general of the IOC, said at the time the IOC would try to find a way to help any Afghan athlete compete in Sydney. The IOC was not immediately available to comment on the latest demand by Afghanistan. The United Nations does not recognize the hard-line Islamic Taliban militia, which rules nearly 90 percent of Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul. The world body considers the ousted government of president Burhanuddin Rabbani as Afghanistan's legitimate government. Only Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia recognize the Taliban rulers. The Taliban already have faced limited U.N. sanctions for their refusal to hand over suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden, whom the United States accuses of masterminding the bombing of its U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998. The United States and Russia are planning to impose tougher sanctions against Afghanistan through the U.N. Security Council. "We know that it is at the behest of the United States that we are being kept out of the Olympics," Muttmain said. He said Afghan athletes have been training in wrestling, boxing, soccer and track and field. The Afghan men who compete must follow strict rules that prohibit them from wearing shorts and require that they grow beards. International boxing and wrestling tournaments require athletes to be clean-shaven. In addition, most Afghan sportsmen are too poor to afford three meals a day. A good diet, modern training facilities and proper coaching are out of question in Afghanistan, which has been devastated by years of civil warfare. Ghulam Dastagir, who is on Afghanistan's national wrestling team, said it was his dream to compete at the Olympics. "But I don't see my dream ever coming true," he said. "I spent months working hard, but it has been of no use."
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