The head of Afghanistan's re-established national Olympic committee declared Monday his country's desire to participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and to have a female athlete bear the Afghan flag at the opening ceremony.
Anwar Jegdalik made the remarks in an interview at his home in Kabul as the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City closed.
At the opening ceremony in Athens, he said, a female Afghan athlete bearing the country's new flag would lead the Afghan team into the stadium in order to mark the return of Afghan women to sports after years of being banned from participation under the Taliban regime.
The chairman said Hamid Karzai's interim administration wants to involve the whole nation in promoting women's participation in sports, and added that the national Olympic committee would likewise "keep supporting the return of women to sports in the future."