FMJD and FSHR

[Russkiy]

What is your opinion about the relationship FMJD and Draughts Federation of Russia?


Dear Mr. President of KNDB,
Dear Members of KNDB Bureau,

The Draughts Federation of Russia is writing to you in connection with extraordinary circumstances.
The Dutch representatives in the FMJD management have been regularly taking illegal decisions for almost ten years, inflicting great damage to the Draughts Federation of Russia (hereinafter referred as to DFR). Moreover, Mr. Pieter Hildering took the liberty of expelling DFR from the FMJD contrary to the Statutes. The current President of the FMJD is actually doing the same thing. We won’t talk about reasons for their actions now. We can give dozens of examples confirming the Statutes’ violation by these Heads. These people deliberately have inflicted damage to DFR what is proved by the fact that only DFR is being persecuted even though it regularly pays fees, but not those countries which don’t pay fees. The fact that at first Mr. Hildering , and then Mr. Otten actually replaced DFR with a certain regional federation from Russia to please their friends, shows their intentional actions as well. Such aggressive interference into the internal affairs of independent national federation has no precedent in sports. Mr. Otten ignores one of the basic articles in the Statutes – Article 3.1. Members, which states: “The Executive Board of the FMJD officially only deals with national federations, continental conferederations, and official representatives of the players organizations”. Reference to a certain agreement between DFR and the FMJD is not acceptable, inasmuch as it was imposed by Mr. Ptitsyn and Mr. Otten upon the previous President of DFR under the threat of non-access of Russian players to the Games in Beijing. This agreement was contrary to the Statutes and is illegal.
Mr. Otten also took the liberty of expressing in public his disagreement both with those people who were elected to the Presidium of DFR and with the fact that his friend Mr. Chertock was not elected. Moreover, he took the liberty of writing a letter to the Ministry of Sports regarding this matter. We tried to solve the problem in amicable way and invited Mr. Otten to visit Moscow to discuss disputable matters.

However, his latest letter again was written in improper tone not only towards DFR, but towards Russia as a whole. As a result our patience is almost exhausted and we don’t believe that further co-operation with Mr. Otten on the settlement of these conflict matters can be fruitful.
We have been always friendly towards KNDB and were very flexibly even in a such delicate matter as joining of Russian players to KNDB at the request of the Dutch Federation to play for clubs. According to the Statutes of the FMJD and the other world federations double membership is forbidden. We can give you other examples as well.
At the same time KNDB seems to back illegal actions of Mr. Otten. The fact that the KNDB Board member Mr. Marcel Kosters, who is also the representative of KNDB at General Assemblies, was mentioned in the FMJD Council’s reports and in some letters as an advisor of Mr. Ottern, testifies to it.
It is obvious for us that Mr. Otten usurped the power in the FMJD. We are afraid that the adoption of new FMJD Statutes suggested by him can split the draughts community. He hopes to adopt new Statutes with the aid of countries where the draughts are actually absent. He is ready to strike draughts 64, especially the Russian variant, a serious blow, though it was draughts 64 that led most European countries into the FMJD. He practices a dictatorial style in his relationships with national federations, and that’s why he is unable to be at the head of international democratic sports federation.
Since your federation proposed the candidature of Mr. Otten to the FMJD and bears responsibility for his activities in the FMJD in a way, KNDB should make all efforts to normalize the situation.
We believe that it’s necessary to take the following steps:
1. To meet the demands of five countries made in their request application dated 15 October, 2010 and set up an independent commission to check the conformity of the FMJD Council’s activities to the Charter;
2. To recall the Draft Statues suggested by Mr. Otten and establish a commission consisting of the experts from approximately ten countries and on three draughts versions to work out Draft Statutes, main articles of which will not differ from the similar ones in democratic Statutes in other sports;
3. The members of the FMJD Council proved guilty of repeated violations of the Statutes should be expelled from the FMJD;
4. DFR should be assured that discrimination measures towards them and correspondingly towards draughts 64 along with improper treatment will be stopped.

KNDB is a major federation in the FMJD and has a strong influence on the FMJD activities. Since the FMJD management repeatedly applied to the Russian Ministry of Sports, we have full moral right to appeal National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands and SportAccord.

If the current situation doesn’t change for the better in the nearest future, we’ll have nothing to do but to explain to the NOC of the Netherlands and SportAccord the concrete state of draughts 100 in the world, actual number of countries-members of the FMJD, and real number of countries where people know and play draughts 100. We’ll also explain that the FMJD turned into the place where the FMJD Presidents from Holland demonstrate their dictatorial management methods and ignore the rights of players and national federations.

The Soviet draughts players and then the Russian ones have been getting on very well for over the dozens of years. We jointly have been serving our common cause – the development of draughts 100 in the world. We don’t want our good relationships as well as our common cause to be stopped by your representatives in the FMJD.

Dear Mr. Johan Haijtink and the members of KNDB Bureau, having applied to you, we do hope for common understanding and settlement of these matters.


Sincerely Yours,

[Bert Zwart]

I miss a name below sincerely yours.

I remember this guy, Klimashev. Based on what I read on this forum. I think it was a great idea of Hildering to kick him and his buddies out.