06 09 04 - Violation of Neutrality

Jean Eckian Inhomage.com aug 31, 2006-News.softpedia.com
It seems that not only football has a problem with political intrusions.
Soon after FIFA launched a series of warnings towards the Italian Football Fderation ­ for Juventus turning their Calciopoli appeal to a civil court ­ the International Automobilist Federation (FIA) might do the same related to the latest Turkish GP happenings.

³The FIA has launched a full investigation into the podium presentation at the Turkish Grand Prix and is concerned that its political neutrality may have been compromised. No compromise or violation of this neutrality is acceptable², said a spokesman from FIA earlier today.

What really happened after the Turkish GP? During the prize-giving ceremony, the Turkish GP officials designated Mehmet ali Talat to award Felipe Massa with the winning prize. And that wouldn¹t have been such a big deal, if the above-named individual hadn¹t been presented as ³President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus².

As history tells us, Cyprus has become an independent country in 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern part of the island. The centre & south, however, has been controlled by the Greek-Cypriots ever since, and they are the ones representing the whole island inside European institutions. Turkey is the only country still recognizing the north.

The Cypriot officials also made a statement concerning the issue, blaming the Turkish government for trying to use whatever purpose to create political instability. ³The government will protest these theatrics organised by Ankara, casting Talat as the leading actor. They deceived the FIA and tried to exploit for political purposes a purely sporting event, through provocative manoeuvres and absurd propaganda methods², said the Cypriot government spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis, according to Eurosport.

As for FIA, the world body is still to decide what will be the consequences of the ³Turkish case². Despite the Turkish GP being part of next season¹s Formula One calendar, they might face exclusion due to this incident.

V.V