When Indonesia is Cornered by Doping

WADA’s sanctions have the potential for Indonesia to lose its host status in several events, but the venues already built can be used after the sanctions end. The loss that we will actually incur is the loss of integrity

Have we ever imagined when, in a coming year, Indonesia’s best athletes like Eko Yuli Irawan, L.M. Zohri and a number of our badminton players have won their games, but their medal ceremony is neither accompanied by the national anthem “Indonesia Raya” nor the “Red and White” flag?

Such a scene is certainly heartrending. Then how could this come to be? On 7 Oct. 2021, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declared that North Korea, Thailand and Indonesia were noncompliant.

The determination of oncompliance was handed down to Indonesia because the Indonesian Anti-Doping Agency (LADI) had not run an effective testing program. What really happened, and is there still a chance for Indonesia to make another attempt? What sanctions are there?

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WADA was established on 10 Nov. 1999 as an independent, international agency primarily to engage in scientific research, build anti-doping capacity and monitor the World Anti-Doping Code, or “the Code”. Indonesia is a WADA member country. The highlight came in 2007, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed Presidential Regulation No. 101/2007 on the Ratification of the International Convention Against Doping in Sports.

It seems to me that WADA appears as a very “trivial” agency in the eyes of the public, and (possibly) the athletes and the state. In fact, its existence considerably influences a country’s sports ecosystem. If any country is subjected to WADA’s sanctions for violating one of the rules in the Code, the contravening member country will face consequences ranging from the mildest to the gravest.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Laboratory workers test doping compounds at the DKI Jakarta Provincial Health Laboratory, Cempaka Putih, Jakarta, Tuesday (16/4).

Types of sanctions

With reference to Article 5.4 on International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI), anti-doping organizations that possess testing authority (including LADI) are required to develop and apply an effective, intelligent and proportional test distribution plan.

Based on the letter WADA issued on 15 Sept. 2021, LADI had failed to apply an effective test distribution plan, so WADA confirmed LADI’s placement on the noncompliance list.

What are the consequences and sanctions for noncompliance? For the potential sanctions on Indonesia, we can refer to Article 11.1 on “Potential Consequences for Non-Compliance with the Code” in the International Standard for Code Compliance (ISCC) by Signatories.

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What parties belong to the category of signatories here? They are international federations (like the Badminton World Federation/BWF, Federation Internationale de Football Association/FIFA and the International Basketball Federation/FIBA), major event organizations (MEOs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs, like the Indonesian Olympic Committee/KOI), National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), national anti-doping organizations (like LADI) and other organizations relevant to the world of sports.

The sanctions likely to be imposed on Indonesia are: First, withdrawing development funding for certain activities or prohibiting Indonesia’s participation in certain WADA programs provided through LADI. Second, declaring Indonesia’s signatory representative ineligible for a certain period to hold a position on a council, committee and agencies of other WADA signatories or associations of signatories.

Third, the signatory (in this case Indonesia) is declared ineligible to host or cohost the Olympics and/or Paralympics and is denied the right to host world championships and/or other international events. This is a real threat to Indonesia, because many upcoming international events will be held in Indonesia, such as the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and the MotoGP Indonesia at the Mandalika circuit.

Russia also encountered this issue after sanctions were imposed on the country for manipulating doping data. Several international sports events Russia was to host are to be hosted by other countries, such as the 2022 World Wrestling Championships that was originally planned to take place in Russia but in the end, was transferred to Serbia.

Kompas

Sportsmen train at a local stadium in the southern city of Stavropol, Russia, November 10, 2015. The Russian Sports Ministry said on Tuesday it was open for closer cooperation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in order to eliminate any irregularities committed by the Russian anti-doping watchdog and its accredited laboratory. On Monday an anti-doping commission report alleged widespread corruption in Russia, triggering one of the biggest doping scandals in sporting history.

However, there is a legal loophole that Indonesia can use. This is Article 11.1.1.5 in the ISCC, which essentially stipulates that if a signatory (Indonesia) has been confirmed to host/cohost an international event (prior to sanctioning), the country is permitted to evaluate whether it is legally and practically possible to withdraw and arrange the event’s transfer to another host country. If it is legally and practically possible, the signatory must do so.

Any interpretation of this article, of course, must adhere to strict procedures and brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for following up.

The fourth consequence Indonesia could face is that its athletes may still compete in international championships, but they are not allowed to use their national flag or national anthem.

State losses

In connection with the host status already granted to Indonesia for a number of upcoming international events, a considerable amount of the state budget is certain to have been spent. Billions, even trillions of rupiah are being disbursed to prepare a number of competition venues and other supporting facilities (like roads and accommodation). The state budget funds, distributed through the Public Works and Housing Ministry, have of course been substantially absorbed by these developments.

Will the state suffer losses if Indonesia’s host status is revoked or if Indonesia is replaced by another country as host? As a member of the House of Representatives executing the supervisory function, I believe that Indonesia will incur no losses from the perspective of long-term utility.

The loss that we will actually incur is the loss of integrity.

WADA’s sanctions indeed have the potential for Indonesia to lose its host status in several events, but the venues already built can be used after the sanctions end. The loss that we will actually incur is the loss of integrity.

In WADA attaching noncompliant status to Indonesia, we have essentially lost our integrity in the world of sports. The various reasons the Youth and Sports Ministry put forward for the late delivery of doping samples based on the test distribution plan are a form of indifference and neglect that must be accounted for.

ARSIP PRIBADI

Hinca IP Pandjaitan

Reasons like the Covid-19 pandemic, the tight preparation schedule of the National Games (PON) 2021 Papua and the process of replacing the LADI leadership are unacceptable. The government should maintain good management of such an important issue, especially since Indonesia had never earned noncompliant status in previous years. President Joko Widodo can summon the Youth and Sports Minister, LADI and related parties to thoroughly address Indonesia’s poor anti-doping management today.

Hinca I.P. Pandjaitan XIII, Member, House of Representatives Commission III, Democratic Party Faction; Acting General Chairman, Indonesian Football Association, 2016

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.