Thailand apologizes for SEAG outburst

Thai sports officials apologized to the Philippines yesterday for the remarks reportedly made by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra complaining about the alleged unfair officiating in the ongoing 23rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Manila.

Chaiyapak Siriwat, vice president of the Thailand Olympic Council, extended his apologies to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco and other members of the Southeast Asian Games Federation Council (SEAGF) over the issue.

"The report was inappropriate and I feel sorry for this. On behalf of the Thailand Sports Council, I apologize for whatever inconvenience brought about by the senseless report," Siriwat told the SEAG Federation Council meeting at the Hyatt Hotel yesterday.

Siriwat neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying they are still awaiting a formal communication from the Thai premier.

Siriwat said the Thai deputy prime minister will be arriving tomorrow to clarify the issue.

Thai newspaper reports had Thaksin expressing doubts about the fairness of judges officiating at the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG). "I often watched these games and kept thinking ‘Why do results turn out to be that way?’ I don’t know what to say," Thaksin was quoted as saying.

Siriwat said he was surprised after being informed by Cojuangco and other SEAG members of the comments during the meeting.

He said he had yet to receive any complaint of irregularities or any kind of manipulation from the Thai athletes, officials or technical groups.

"As far as I’m concerned I haven’t received any complaint from the athletes," Siriwat said.

Thai sports minister Gen. Charouck Arirachakaran and Thai chief of mission Charoen Wattasin accompanied Siriwat in extending their apologies.

Philippine sports officials led by Cojuangco readily accepted their apologies.

"Our Thai friends were here even before the start of the (SEA) Games," Cojuangco pointed out.

He added the Thai sports officials were also witnesses to the judging of the events.

"Their continuing support will prove only that they see nothing wrong with our hosting," Cojuangco said.

POC chairman Robert Aventajado, for his part, said the issue should now be disregarded with the apologies offered by the Thai sports officials.

"I think this is a non-issue considering that our Thai counterparts personally saw the whole picture and have no complaint," Aventajado said.

‘Misunderstanding’

ventajado said the Thai sports officials believed Thaksin might have made the remarks out of a "misunderstanding."

Aventajado said the POC will consult with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regarding the alleged complaint aired by the Thai PM. He said the issues would be handled on a diplomatic level.

"At our level, we already received their apologies and they were able to explain their side," Aventajado told station dzMM.

He noted officiating of every contest is under the supervision and control of the SEAG Federation and its pool of international referees and judges drawn from participating countries and various international sports governing bodies.

Aventajado clarified no Filipino referees or judges were used in any of the events in which a Filipino athlete was competing.

President Arroyo earlier ordered an investigation into questions raised by Thailand over the SEAG officiating.

Mrs. Arroyo said she was concerned by remarks made by Thaksin expressing doubts over officiating in the biennial tournament, in which the Philippines is on top of the medals standings.

"I’m directing the officials of the games to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into this matter and submit an impartial report within 24 hours," Mrs. Arroyo said earlier yesterday.

Thaksin has yet to make a formal statement on the issue before the Philippine government, according to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Susan Castrence.

Castrence told a news conference that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is awaiting word from the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on whether the statement actually came from Thaksin.

"I’m not aware of any apology or statement issued by the Thai Embassy in Manila. We’re awaiting a report from the embassy as to the exact statement made by the (Thai) Prime Minister. It’s just a report based on what we read in the papers," Castrence said.

She added the DFA would reserve any comment or statement until Ambassador to Bangkok Antonio Rodriguez submits his report to the home office.

"It’ll be more prudent for us to await the report from the (Philippine) Ambassador from Bangkok. Then the department would know what action to take," she said.

The DFA directed the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday to verify with the Thai government the statements attributed to Thaksin expressing doubts over the results of the SEAG.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Gilberto Asuque declined to comment further on the matter.

Asuque also declined to answer questions on the possibility of the DFA summoning the Thai ambassador to explain Thaksin’s statements.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, for her part, said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo must summon the Thai ambassador to the Philippines to clarify the allegedly disparaging statements made by Thaksin.

Santiago said the insinuation of Thaksin that the Philippines cheated in the SEA Games merits an explanation considering the comments were reportedly made by a head of state.

"It would not have been so bad if the remarks had been made by someone lower in the bureaucratic hierarchy. But for a head of state to make this kind of remark is highly impolitic," she said.

Santiago expressed concern that Thaksin might be revealing the truth after all.

With the Philippines currently at the top of the medal rankings, Thaksin was quoted as saying that the SEAG "will become less popular because they have put a priority for medals over athletic spirit."

‘Griping of a loser’

antiago, meanwhile, described Thaksin’s reported statements as sounding "very much like the griping of a loser."

"Suppose my country was losing, would these same comments have been made?" she asked.

Santiago said Thaksin’s statements could cause a stir and cast aspersions on the country hosting the SEAG.

Instead of issuing a general comment on the quality or integrity of the games, Santiago suggested Thai sports officials should file protests immediately to question the results of specific events.

This is proper procedure, Santiago said, since it would enable fact-finding processes to take place.

Thaksin said he might raise the issue on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia later this month. Although he did not mention who might benefit from alleged poor officiating, the host country was apparently implicated.

Santiago said a discussion between the foreign ministers of Thailand and the Philippines during the ASEAN summit would be better and more diplomatic but "it was extremely unfortunate that he (Thaksin) had to unburden himself of this remark before the media."

"It is so politically incorrect," Santiago added.

There is no need to demand an apology at this point, she said, but "when it is justified, that should not be excluded as an option or an alternative."

"I wish that there had been more prudence about public discussion about this alleged failure or inadequacy of the host state since the Philippines is winning," Santiago said.

"The procedure in world-class competitions is that when a person or a party, meaning to say a country that is represented, loses, it makes no excuses for the loss," she added.

As of yesterday, the Philippines was still leading the medal tally on the fifth day of the games, which conclude Dec. 5.

The President, on the other hand, called for sobriety and prudence, and said it was everyone’s duty to be "just and fair without bias towards any country or team."

"We must treasure the solidarity and friendship among the competitors and their respective nations as a tribute to the Southeast Asian neighborhood to which we all belong," she said.

She stressed that there must be lack of bias in the competition among 11 Southeast Asian countries. – With Pia Lee-Brago, Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, AFP, AP