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LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee has recommended global sports federations cease holding events in Indonesia after the country barred Israeli athletes from the ongoing gymnastics world championships in Jakarta.
The IOC’s executive board issued a statement Wednesday saying it was also ending “any form of dialogue” with Indonesia about hosting future Olympic events.
An Indonesian government official declared earlier this month that Israeli athletes would be denied visas to participate in the world championships, which started last Sunday and run through this weekend.
Israel was among 86 teams registered to compete, and its squad included 2020 Olympic gold medalist and defending world champion Artem Dolgopyat in the men’s floor exercise.
“These actions deprive athletes of their right to compete peacefully and prevent the Olympic movement from showing the power of sport,” the IOC’s executive board said.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation and has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinians. The scheduled participation of Israeli athletes had sparked intense opposition within the country.
Jakarta Gov. Pramono Anung earlier this month said the humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the Israel-Hamas war is unbearable and that the arrival of Israeli athletes would cause deep emotional distress to the majority of Indonesians.
The IOC’s executive board met remotely this week to further discuss the situation in Indonesia, and also the “recurrent global issue regarding athletes’ access to international competitions.”
The IOC said “all eligible athletes, teams and sports officials must be able to take part in international sports competitions and events without any form of discrimination by the host country.” It added that the fundamental principles that govern the Olympic movement include “non-discrimination, autonomy and political neutrality.”
It said it was ceasing dialogue with Indonesia over hosting the Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Olympic events and conferences until the government gave “adequate guarantees” that all participants would be granted access to the country regardless of nationality.
In addition, it said it would recommend international sports federations don’t stage tournaments, events or meetings in Indonesia until those guarantees were given.
The Indonesian Olympic committee has been invited to IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland to discuss the issue.
In response to the IOC’s announcement, Indonesia’s Youth and Sport Minister Erick Thohir said the government understood its decision to block the arrival of the Israeli gymnastics delegation would have consequences.
“Indonesia will continue to play an active role in various sporting events at the Southeast Asian, Asian, and world levels, so that Indonesian sports can be an ambassador and a reflection of the nation’s greatness in the eyes of the world,” Thohir said in a written statement Thursday.
Indonesia is among the countries which have either confirmed or is considering a bid to host the 2036 Olympics, a list that also includes India and Qatar. The next two Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028 and in Brisbane, Australia in 2032.
Indonesia was stripped of hosting rights for soccer’s Under-20 World Cup in 2023 only two months before the scheduled start of the tournament amid political turmoil regarding Israel’s participation. FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, later awarded the Under-17 World Cup to Indonesia — Israel wasn’t among the 24 teams that qualified for that tournament.
Since the 1962 Asian Games when Israel and Taiwan were excluded from Jakarta, Indonesia has maintained a consistent refusal to host Israeli delegations.

WELLINGTON: More than 100,000 New Zealand teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters and support staff walked off the job on Thursday demanding more money and resources for the public sector in a sign of growing discontent with the country’s center-right government.
Public servants marched with placards and banners in towns across New Zealand, chanting and listening to speeches. Protests in Wellington and Christchurch had to be canceled because of dangerous weather conditions.
The unions in a joint statement last week billed the strike as the largest in decades with more than 100,000 public servants taking part.
Middlemore Hospital emergency doctor and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Vice President Sylvia Boys told the crowd at Aotea Square in Auckland the government had been elected on promises to reduce the cost of living while maintaining frontline services and it was “fair to say these are the issues on which they are failing dismally.”
“The cost of living has worsened, and in health and education we have seen cuts across the sector. We are losing more talent than ever before,” she added in her speech, which was published on Facebook by the ASMS union.
The government has dismissed the protests as a union-orchestrated political stunt, even as the demonstrations highlight growing public unease over the administration’s direction. Recent opinion polls indicate support for the ruling coalition has slipped, though the opposition has yet to open a clear lead.
Since coming to power in 2023, the conservative government has reduced new public spending as it tries to return the government’s accounts to surplus. It has said the cuts would be in back office operations and would keep interest rates low and ensure New Zealand continues to be seen as a good place to invest.
However, the economy has struggled, contracting in three of the last five quarters, and historically high numbers of New Zealanders are leaving the country. While inflation is off its peak, it has ticked higher in the past couple of quarters.
Public Service Minister Judith Collins said in a statement on Wednesday that the proposed strike was unfair, unproductive and unnecessary.
“It is a stunt targeting the Government but the people paying the price are the thousands of patients who have had appointments and surgeries canceled, and the hundreds of thousands of kids who will miss another day at school,” she said. The government said that it was ready to negotiate.