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Iraq to be invited to 2004 Olympic Games: Rogge

LAUSANNE: Iraq will be invited to take part in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday.

Rogge said a provisional Iraqi national Olympic committee had been set up to replace the one run by Saddam Hussein’s late son Uday, who was accused of torturing athletes who performed below expectations. “We’re going to send that (invitation) to the Iraqis who make up this provisional committee,” Rogge told journalists.

Three Iraqis competed at the world swimming championships in Barcelona last month, the first athletes from Iraq to compete in an international sports event since US-led forces invaded the country. The US-led provisional administration in Iraq and the IOC have been working to get Iraqi sports off the ground since the overthrow of Saddam’s regime and the end of the conflict there, following a visit by IOC technical experts in July.

The new Iraqi national committee is still awaiting full clearance to join the IOC and affiliation with other international sports federations, Rogge said, hinting at likely full recognition at the end of the procedure. “It is very dear to our hearts that we will have (in Athens) Afghan athletes, Iraqi athletes, we will have athletes from East Timor, three countries that were affected by war in the last years,” Rogge said. “This is a truly unifying factor that is fundamental to the preoccupations of the IOC,” he added.

The first invitation for the 2004 Olympics was handed over to the hosts, Greece, at a ceremony here on Wednesday. —AFP

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