Samaranch May Ask for Help From Gorbachev : Castro Already Has Offered IOC Assistance in Solving North Korean Situation

Juan Antonio Samaranch, International Olympic Committee president, said Thursday he may ask Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for assistance in settling an impasse between the IOC and North Korea.

Samaranch’s announcement came three days after he received a telegram from Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who offered to mediate in future discussions concerning North Korea’s role in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

“Maybe I will ask Secretary General Gorbachev to do the same,” Samaranch said during a news conference at IOC headquarters after three days of executive board meetings.

Samaranch said he and Gorbachev have exchanged letters and that he would like to meet the Soviet leader before Jan. 17, the deadline for countries to accept invitations to the Summer Olympics, scheduled Sept. 17-Oct. 2.

Invitations were mailed to 166 of the 167 National Olympic Committees in a ceremony here Thursday, one year before the opening ceremony is scheduled for Seoul. The other country, South Korea, had representatives here to personally accept its invitation. The ceremony was televised live to South Korea.

A source close to the IOC said Samaranch also has spoken of the possibility of a meeting early next year with President Reagan to discuss U.S.-Soviet relations.

“He would like to see an atmosphere of good will created between the two nations,” the source said. “He sees that as a barometer of the political situation within the IOC.”

According to reports earlier this week, the U.S. State Department also has asked the Soviet Union to use its influence with the communist government in North Korea to expedite an agreement with the IOC.

As a neutral third party in negotiations between North Korea and South Korea, the IOC proposed at the fourth set of talks in July that North Korea play host to five Olympic events--archery, table tennis, women’s volleyball, a 100-kilometer cycling race and a preliminary round of the soccer tournament.

While South Korea immediately accepted the proposal, North Korea has not responded.

“As you are already aware, many meetings have taken place between both Korean committees under the auspices of the IOC in order to envisage the possibility of organizing certain events on the territory of (North) Korea,” Samaranch wrote in a letter to National Olympic Committees that was included with their invitations.

“The discussions have not yet reached a conclusion. However, should an agreement be reached in the near future, we shall not hesitate to inform you immediately.”

Samaranch told reporters the IOC has not set a deadline but that the international federations of the five sports involved in the proposal have informed him they would have difficulty organizing competitions in North Korea unless they begin preparing early next year.

That corresponds with a statement early this week by South Korean Olympic Committee President Kim Chong Ha, who said he believes it is necessary to have an answer from North Korea by Jan. 17.

“Even now, I am in a hurry,” Kim said Thursday. “In my opinion, Jan. 17 of next year will be a very, very important date.”

Kim said South Korea will not accept significant changes in the IOC’s proposal and that five is the maximum number of events that can be offered to North Korea. The North Koreans have asked for two additional events as well as the entire soccer tournament.

Kim said he regrets that South Korea agreed to allow North Korea to have a preliminary round of soccer.

“Soccer is a very popular sport in South Korea,” he said.

As for other North Korean demands, such as a change of the name of the Olympics to “Pyongyang-Seoul Games,” its own opening and closing ceremonies and one-third of the television revenues, Kim said they can be resolved only after North Korea accepts the events it has been offered.

“Even if they agree to the proposal, there will still be a lot of headache problems,” Kim said. “I don’t want to think about them now.”

After a meeting with Samaranch Thursday night, Kim said the IOC President agreed with the South Koreans’ decision to reject an invitation from North Korea for a direct meeting between their two Olympic Committees without IOC involvement.

Samaranch said he has suggested an Oct. 7 meeting in Lausanne between the IOC and North Korea but only if North Korea accepts the current IOC proposal.

Even if North Korea does not have a role in the Seoul Olympics, Samaranch said he is confident other socialist countries will not boycott. He said he will attend a meeting next week of the Eastern European sports ministers in Soukhoumi, a Soviet resort on the Black Sea.

“The position of the Soviet Union is clear,” Samaranch said. “They sent an important delegation to Seoul three weeks ago to check the facilities and conditions for Soviet athletes.

“The position not only of the Soviet Union but of all the socialist countries is no problem. They are taking part in the Games.”

In another development, Samaranch said Thursday the U.S. State Department’s decision to deny a visa to a Chilean shooter who was scheduled to compete in the Pan American Games last month in Indianapolis will not adversely affect the United States’ chances to play host to future international competitions.

That elicited a sigh of relief from representatives of the Anchorage Olympic Committee, which is bidding for the 1994 Winter Games.

Two IOC members, including U.S. Olympic Committee President Robert Helmick, said in Indianapolis they believe the State Department’s action would negatively impact Anchorage’s candidacy. IOC members will select the host for the 1994 Winter Games next Sept. 15 in Seoul.

“That is excellent,” said Rick Mystrom, leader of the Anchorage committee, when informed of Samaranch’s comment. “That certainly confirms what we had hoped would be cleared up in time.”

The State Department denied a visa for Francisco Zuniga, a former police captain who is alleged to have committed human rights violations, including torture and murder, against anti-government demonstrators in Chile in 1983.

Samaranch said he questioned the State Department’s decision to prevent Zuniga from entering the country only because the shooter received a visa to participate in a competition in the United States in 1986.

“It’s not easy for me to understand why this athlete was authorized to enter some months before he was denied the visa,” Samaranch said.

“But this incident at the Pan American Games will not harm the position of cities in the United States trying to organize future Olympic Games.”

Mystrom said he has received the same assurances from several other IOC members.

“We’ve talked to the people who are supporters of the Anchorage bid, and it has not had any impact on their support of Anchorage,” he said. “For those who are opponents of Anchorage, it’s probably going to come up.”

Anchorage is one of six cities bidding for the 1994 Winter Games but is considered to be trailing only Sofia, Bulgaria, the runner-up last year when the 1992 Winter Games were awarded to Albertville, France.