Pubdate: 2 Feb 1999 Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Copyright: 1999 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.phillynews.com/ Forum: http://interactive.phillynews.com/talk-show/ IOC DRUG SUMMIT FACES FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENTS The IOC, scrambling to keep its drug summit from being overshadowed by the Olympic corruption scandals, ran into disputes over key issues in the anti-doping fight yesterday in Lausanne, Switzerland. Differences emerged over the structure of a proposed international drug agency, the definition of doping and the severity of sanctions. The International Olympic Committee executive board, meanwhile, met under tight secrecy to discuss the twin crises of corruption and drugs. In action directly linked to the bribery scandal, the board started the IOC's first ethics commission and code of conduct. Director general Francois Carrard said the ethics panel would police "the general conduct of IOC members and their business practices." He said the five-member panel would include three officials from outside the IOC. The creation of an Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Agency is a centerpiece of the 2-day conference. The agency would be responsible for instituting random, out-of-competition drug tests. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said Sunday he would oversee the agency as president or chairman. And he proposed that the IOC medical commission chairman, Prince Alexandre de Merode, should run the agency on a day-to-day basis. But there were calls for the drug agency to be fully independent, including one from White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey, part of the U.S. delegation to the conference. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Atlanta's Olympic bid team spent $7.8 million lobbying the IOC in the final two years of a whirlwind campaign to win the 1996 Summer Games. No one has suggested the millions spent by the Atlanta bid team circling the globe to secure votes and hosting IOC members in high style was excessive or improper. - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski