Anton Keller
www.solami.com/bremer2.htm | www.solami.com/mvc.htm | www.solami.com/UNGA.htm | www.solami.com/assyriansawake.htm
January 9, 2004
Najim Khedher Al-Sourchi
Mosul Vilayet Registrar & Keeper of Records
Suleimanyia, Mosul Vilayet, Northern Iraq
Dear Najim,
Your letter to Ambassador Bremer of November 18, 2003 (www.solami.com/bremer2.htm) has accurately outlined our project as follows:
"Iraq’s participation in the Olympic Games in August 2004 will be a defining moment. It will foster the spirit of national unity, reconciliation and reconstruction the more so as Iraq’s athletes will be well prepared. To these effects, we have sought and obtained offers of support by Swiss sports clubs, lawmakers and the Swiss Federal Council. And we are looking forward to work with the Coalition Provisional Administration in order to fully realize the potential of the corresponding training project (www.solami.com/olymp.htm). Please make the necessary arrangements on your side and advise us of how best to communicate with your [CPA] office on this subject."I understand your repeated visits to Baghdad to have given you an opportunity not only to present this letter directly and personally, but also to appraise Ambassador Bremer of our ideas and programs, and to make contact with those among his staff who are responsible for sport and particularly for Olympic matters - notably with the CPA's Marc Clark. Already last September, those responsible at the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne for relations with Iraq and Iraqi athletes had pointed out to me their vivid interest in the Mosul Vilayet Council's efforts to facilitate the training in Switzerland for qualified Iraqi athletes - perhaps with their Iraqi trainers. At that time the sporting disciplines involved were mentioned to be: athletics, swimming, taekwondo, weight-lifting and wrestling, and my preliminary contacts with corresponding Swiss sporting clubs were all positive. Since then, other sources have mentioned boxing, and again, I received the green light from Swiss Olympic sources for qualified boxing athletes to be trained in Switzerland, perhaps with suitable Iraqi trainers. Upon further consultations with you, and with the active support of over a dozen Swiss federal parliamentrians, I obtained last December a favorable disposition of the Swiss Government for such a project which, essentially, was to be funded by interested Swiss citizens and companies (www.solami.com/olymp.htm). On Christmas Eve, I received the following message from the IOC:
Tout d'abord, permettez-nous de vous remercier à nouveau, pour votre intérêt et votre engagement en faveur des sportifs Irakiens.The subsequently produced exchange of letters by the lead Swiss lawmaker, NR Juerg Stahl (www.solami.com/stahlkaegi.doc), and the Swiss Olympic Association (www.solami.com/kaegistahl.doc) of January 7/9, 2004 produced the following requirements:
Comme suite à nos différents entretiens téléphoniques à ce sujet, nous vous encourageons vivement à coordonner les actions que vous souhaitez
entreprendre dans ce domaine avec l'Association Olympique Suisse.
A l'heure actuelle, nous ne pouvons que considérer qu'il s'agit encore d'un projet qui devrait être finalisé puis accepté et soutenu par l'Association
Olympique Suisse afin qu'il puisse être présenté au CIO. Vous conviendrez que ce sujet est hautement sensible et qu'il ne conviendrait pas de faire "rêver" qui que ce soit avec l'espérance de stages en Suisse, stages qui ne pourraient finalement pas avaoir lieu.
Il est donc impératif que la communication de ce projet soit conduite avec la plus grande prudence et soit supervisée par Swiss Olympic.
Nous vous remercions de votre compréhension et vous prions de recevoir, Cher Monsieur, nos salutations respectueuses.
En vous souhaitant d'excellentes fêtes de fin d'année,
Michel Filliau, Manager Operations and Relations, IOC - NOC Relations Department, michel.filliau@olympic.org
+ 41 21 310 26 51 (direct line) + 41 21 310 26 99 fax ICQ - 264325977 www.olympic.org
1. The full name, as reflected in the athlete's valid passport, together with all relevant passport data (date and place of birth, maritial status, passport number, date and place of issue, expiry date and photo), must be provided soonest to the undersigned who, for the time being, acts as coordinator (the corresponding passport pages must be faxed to: 004122-7400362, and an e-mail version of the data, together with the athlete's private or club address, telephone number and e-mail address, must be e-mailed to: swissbit@solami.com).
2. The athlete's sporting discipline in which he/she intends to compete, must be identified, and a brief sportive curriculum vitae should also be e-mailed soonest to the coordinator at: swissbit@solami.com. This curriculum should list notably the sports club affiliations and the trainers which may be qualified to accompany the athlete in question.
3. Candidates must furnish authoritative confirmation that they have the qualifications for competing at the Olympic Games in August in Greece, as set by the International Olympic Committee and/or the involved discipline's international sports association; the Iraqi Olympic Committee or its representative (CPA?) may provide written confirmation for these requirements to be met.
Those in a position to help are herewith invited to effectively and promptly address the above and related requirements, so that we can get the pieces of the puzzle together and do our part - including securing the necessary funds in a timely fashion - in the realization of this widely supported Swiss contribution to the reconstruction of Iraqi's social fabric.
With best wishes
for the New Year
Anton Keller
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