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From the Olympics Toword Tomorrow
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U.N. calls for observance of Olympic Truce
The messages arrived as IOC members, meeting in Nagano prior to the Feb. 7-22 games, expressed concern about the increasing tensions between the United States and Iraq over Baghdad's refusal to allow unfettered U.N. weapons inspections.
In one of the messages, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said the ''Olympic ideals closely resemble those of the United Nations in seeking peace and understanding among nations and peoples,'' and urged U.N. members to observe the truce resolution adopted by the General Assembly last November.
The Olympic Truce, adopted for a third time by the U.N. for an Olympic Games, is an attempt to revive the ideals of the ancient Olympics in which the city-states of classical Greece would cease all hostilities during the quadrennial games.
Annan said the truce ''expresses humankind's perennial aspiration to peace, goodwill and reconciliation.''
IOC members are reportedly concerned about remarks over the weekend by U.S. Secretary Madeleine Albright that the U.S. was ready to take military action against Iraq in a matter of weeks if the country did not allow U.N. inspections.
In the other message, Hennadly Udovenko, president of the U.N. General Assembly, said the Olympic Truce ''epitomizes a bridge from the old and wise tradition to the most compelling purpose of the United Nations -- the maintenance of the international peace and security.''
''If the Olympic Truce can help us to bring about even a brief respite from conflict and strife, it will send a powerful message of hope to the international community,'' Udovenko said in his message.
(Kyodo News)
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun