ANOC delegates against politics interference in Olympics

BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Games should not be interfered in by politics, said delegates to the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) here on Tuesday.

The 16th ANOC General Assembly, which will focus on the preparation of Beijing Olympics, started on Monday and run through April 9.

"There should be no race, no religion, no language and no politics in the Olympics," said Egyptian delegate Khaled Eldin. "Look, everybody came here for sports instead of politics."

"I am strongly against the boycott concept," said Indian delegate Sardar Khan. "Just leave the Olympics alone and get politics out of any game."

"The Olympics is a pure arena for sports and it belongs to the Olympic committee," he added. "It should not be contaminated by anything else."

Khan's views were echoed by Kuwaiti delegate Ali Husain. "It is very wrong to boycott the Olympics and I think Beijing may hold one of the best games in history," he said.

"Think about it, who is going to lose if the Olympics is boycotted," said Bangladesh delegate Kutubuddin Ahmed. "Nobody but the athletes."

"Therefore, no true athletes would boycott the Olympics and they won't even think about it."

ANOC affiliates the national Olympic committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). There are205 NOCs to date, according to ANOC's official website.