Pere Miro, Director of Olympic Solidarity at the IOC, and the OCA Manager and Technical Director, Husain Al-Musallam, have written a letter to the NOC backing Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan as the legitimate president of NOC despite being aware of the controversy it is embroiled in. [break]
The SC had ruled the NOC led by Pradhan as illegitimate on October 4, and recognized the former working committee of NOC led by Rukma Shumsher Rana as authentic. The IOC and the OCA, however, have termed it unacceptable.
"The IOC and the OCA are aware of all sides of the dispute regarding the NOC.
The IOC and the OCA, therefore, want to attest that the NOC whose president is Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan and the general secretary is Jeevan Ram Shrestha is the only legitimate body because the election of NOC held on March 3, 2007 was completely lawful," states the letter signed by Miro and Al-Musallam. "Only this committee has the rights to use the five rings of Olympics and to launch the campaign of Olympics," states the letter.
Miro, who came to Guangzhou for the ongoing 16th Asian Games, said before his return that the five rings of Olympics and its name are the copyrights of IOC and no institution other than the authorized one can use them.
"IOC has its own charter and we can function only according to it. No one else can use the Olympics rings and its name in any country without our permission," said the NOC General Secretary, Shrestha, quoting Miro, with regards to the SC decision.
Anyone is free to operate sports activities of their country in their own way without using the name and the rings of Olympics. But Miro has warned, if they do so, it will break the relations with the IOC family, according to Shrestha.
Shrestha further said that the IOC and the OCA have written letter to the Nepal Rastra Bank to unblock the accounts of the NOC which was frozen on the direction of the National Sports Council following the SC verdict.
President of the erstwhile working committee of the NOC, Rukma Shumsher Rana, and other members have also arrived at Guangzhou with the SC documents to meet the officials of the IOC and the OCA.
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