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In September 2010, Escoto published an article in masTaekwondo.com titled “In the political networks of Taekwondo “ (Only published in Spanish). Today, PATU is giving us more questions than answers, Adalberto Escoto (former President of PATU and former Executive Committee Member of the WTF), gives us once again details of different internal situations of PATU that probably many do not know.
Although I make an effort to remain silent and beyond political discord within our Taekwondo, I confess that it is difficult for me and I am in the dilemma of writing, even though my students from the Dominican Federation have warned me not to do it to avoid any infallible reaction of the President of PATU.
There was once a claim to the Dominican leaders about an abnormal situation that I had discovered in PATU two years ago and I asked questions to the other board members but with this I opened a can of worms, which was finally suppressed efficiently by the current leader of the organization. For this I clarify that my ideas and things I say in this paper have nothing to do with what the FEDOTAE leaders think and I release them from any responsibility in what I write.
At that time I accidentally received an electronic invitation to participate in a “certification course Poomsae” offered by PATU in the United States, which instructed participants to register by paying a large sum of money in a bank account under the name of a teacher of a local gym. I found this very strange knowing that this person was not the treasurer or auditor or official member of PATU. I started consulting different members of the executive committee and none had information or knowledge about this activity, not even my friend auditor Mr. Eduardo Labadie from Uruguay or the local vice president, who was then the Managing Director of USAT, Mr. David Askinas, who informed me that he didn´t know of this and that USAT was not organizing this and wasn´t involved in it. I crossed a number of e-mails with a group of executives of the organization, including the General Secretary of Mexico and several Vice Presidents, but I noticed that they did not want to confront this situation and ask President Choi an explanation.
The same President Choi in an attempt to calm me down and stop me from asking, assured me this was all a mistake that was already taken cared of and all the funds for the event would go to the PATU account, and asked me to write no more about the matter. To my surprise, nobody in the organization, no member of the Executive Committee other than the president, knew of this fundraising event which was offering an official certification of the organization and the name PATU was being used. I wonder, Is that the only event of its kind presented by Mr. Choi to raise funds? Who controls or regulates such funds if the executive committee has not met? How many similar events are presented by Mr. Choi in a year? … What kind of financial controls are exercised by the executive committee (the same that does not meet ever)? What kind of interest ties this man that is not accepted in his national federation in any leading position, but is inserted in a Latin American conglomerate with which it has absolutely nothing in common?
But my biggest question is: How is it possible to distrust ourselves, that we are not able to select once and for all our own leaders as responsible for our own sports destiny?
In recent months I have heard of the threats of resignation and the resignation of several members of the executive committee acting as a rejection of President Choi for leading the Corporation unilaterally. But all these leaders yielded due to the pressure exerted on them in Colombia four years ago to elect Mr. Choi! These leaders that now complain about President PATU, heard cheerfully deceitful offers at the free food restaurants, where they will be brought again at the end of May in Portland, Oregon. They know they will be fed back again with new promises that everything will change, they know … and are happy and ready to celebrate.
Every four years in PATU happens the same as in party politics of our countries, a war of bidding and purchase of consciousness gets uncover in which many of our national leaders put their personal interests to those of their countries and their national federations, (as stated by the Secretary General Ramonetti), they find a space in the picture to register. For this, they gladly hear and defend the spectacular and inexplicable or illogical proposals of candidates who come from distant lands to conquer, with promises of travels to Korea and packages of Taekwondo uniforms, and once again we revere them and let them submit us to the same. It infuriates me that that they take us as fools… and we give them the reason again and again.
It is time we realize that no Mecias will save us, stand up to the Olympics and give us a medal without a sports development plan supported in short and long term, as Europe and Asia does it. The solution to the limited performance of our Taekwondo competitors in international events can only be generated by ourselves, working together as a group, without being used by people who have nothing in common with us and only have a personal interest in Taekwondo and use us as a mean to achieve them. As I said before, we have grown enough to walk by ourselves. Shall we do it…?
Adalberto Escoto. Exclusive masTaekwondo.com