KOI To Conduct Diplomacy With WADA To Accelerate The Lifting Of Sanctions

Chairman of KOI Raja Sapta Oktohari (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) Raja Sapta Oktohari said he would resume diplomacy with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in an effort to accelerate the lifting of sanctions against the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI).

In a joint working meeting with LADI, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), and Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) at the Parliament Building, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday, Oktohari said that further diplomacy, which will be carried out after LADI has completed fulfilling WADA's request, is needed to discuss the possibility of reducing the duration of sanctions.

"We will carry out diplomacy again to WADA that all the challenges that are the basis for the sanctions given to Indonesia have been resolved so that if possible the process of lifting sanctions can be accelerated," Okto said as quoted by Antara, Friday.

"So, apart from the flags that cannot be flown, the international activities (in Indonesia) that have just been obtained cannot be announced, but activities that were previously obtained before the WADA sanction was imposed can still be carried out according to schedule," he added.

Although the duration of the sentence is valid for a year, since it was enforced in early October 2021, Indonesia, according to Okto, is still the host of international events that were scheduled before the sanctions were imposed.

There are several championships scheduled to be held in Indonesia over the next year, including the BWF badminton tournament, World Superbike, MotoGP, and the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup.

Okto explained that the task force is currently still focused on accelerating the process to comply with the anti-doping code set by WADA, including the fulfillment of doping samples.

LADI chairman Musthofa Fauzi added that the reason for WADA's sanctions against Indonesia was not only due to the lack of doping testing samples, but also related to the independence of LADI.

"This is because the problem is not only technical (checking doping samples), but also administrative problems concerning the independence or independence of LADI, as well as several other administrative obligations that must be fulfilled in order to comply with the World Anti-Doping Code," he said.

Therefore, Musthofa hopes that LADI can be included in the National Sports System Law (UU SKN) in order to get recognition and also have planned to fund.