THE 1978 PAN AMERICAN GAMES : Helmick Criticizes State Department for Banning Chilean

INDIANAPOLIS — Robert Helmick, president of the United States Olympic Committee, said Tuesday that the U.S. State Department’s refusal to grant a visa to a Chilean shooter may affect U.S. chances to hold future Pan American and Olympic games.

“We’re very disappointed in light of the fact we had a letter from the government allowing athletes who were approved by their nations’ Olympic committees to enter the United States,” Helmick said of the state department’s decision not to allow Chile’s Francisco Zuniga into the country.

“We were awarded these games on that basis. This will have a very, very negative impact on the United States in the international sports world.”

Zuniga, a former police captain, has been accused of using armed force in 1983 against demonstrators protesting human-rights violations by Chile’s government.

State Department spokesman Charles Redman said: “Based on our review of reliable information, we concluded Zuniga has been personally linked to a number of acts of political violence of the most extreme kind, including murder.

“As a consequence, his entry into the United States is prejudicial to United States human rights and anti-terrorism policies.”

Helmick said Zuniga received a visa and entered the United States in April and has attended other shooting events in the United States since 1983.

Chilean officials said last week that they would remove their athletes from the games if Zuniga’s visa was denied, but they said Tuesday they have decided to stay.

“We had guaranteed that all athletes could come,” Helmick said. “As a matter of fact, that didn’t happen. To all the delegates here, they feel they were lied to.”

Asked if he shares that sentiment, Helmick said he will defer comment until meeting today with Ed Derwinski, the Under Secretary of State. Derwinski also has requested a meeting today with Mexico’s Mario Vazquez Rana, president of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO).

In their meeting Tuesday morning, PASO delegates discussed methods of protesting the State Department’s decision.

Rejected was a proposal by the Honduran delegate to suspend the games. A proposal by the Costa Rican delegate to boycott the closing ceremony on Aug. 23 is under consideration.

Helmick said it is unlikely that that proposal will be adopted.

“We don’t want to do anything to affect the athletes,” Helmick said. “We don’t want to suspend the shooting competition, we don’t want to suspend the games, and we don’t want to deprive the athletes the pleasure of attending the closing ceremony.”