/ 9 October 2007

Mandela fund asks Player to step down

Gary Player has been asked to step down as the host and honorary guest of the Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) said on Monday.

”We have … asked Mr Player to stand down as guest of honour and host for this year’s event,” it said in a statement.

”Mr Player shares with us a desire to protect Mister Mandela’s good name and ensure that nothing be allowed to detract from the potential success of a prestigious event aimed at improving the lives of children in South Africa.”

Player’s company apparently has business ties with Burma, where a golf course he designed is allegedly used by members of the brutal ruling junta.

The NMCF said that while the it was ”not fully aware of the extent and nature” of Player’s involvement in Burma, ”nor of the political impact of this involvement” it took note of the ”international campaign in support of greater freedom in that country”.

A weekend newspaper report quoted journalist George Monbiot as calling for ”Nelson Mandela to remove his name” from Player’s Nelson Mandela Invitational tournament.

Player, considered one of the best players in the history of golf, has helped design hundreds of courses around the world. The Player-designed 18-hole Pun Hlaing Golf Club in Rangoon was launched in November 2002.

The fund, however, said that the tournament was an annual fundraising event ”owned by the NMCF” and implemented by an events company called Octagon.

”Gary Player, because of his links to golfers and his intimate knowledge of the game, has traditionally been host and guest of honour. It must be stressed however that Nelson Mandela Invitational is an ongoing, independent initiative not permanently tied to any individual golfer,” the statement read.

The NMCF said it intended to continue with this year’s event in partnership with Octagon.

The weekend report said Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu had called for a boycott of Player’s company because he designed a golf course which was ”a playground of the ruling junta in the murderous dictatorship of Burma, now called Myanmar.”

Tutu reportedly backed a call by Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for an international boycott of all foreign companies, including Player’s, doing business in Burma. – Sapa