''It is stolenwealth Games'' say aboriginal Australians

Melbourne, Mar 14 (UNI) The absence of two top sportspersons has taken some sheen off the 18th edition of the Commonwealth Game which will be inagurated by Queen Elizabeth II here tomorrow.

And to add to the confusion, the Aboriginal leaders have described it as ''stolenwealth Games''.

''They have have stolen our land, our heritage and deprived us of our culture,'' Aborigenes of Australia said.

The organisers, however, are confident that the Games will be a great success and people will pack the stadia to watch them.

''In every sport or event, players withdraw due to several reasons and this happens in Olympics, World Champiionships, Wimbledon, Australian Open, you name it, and we will tell you, so why this big issue of the absence of Ian Thorpe or Paula Redcliffe,'' countered the organisers.

With 4,500 athletes from 71 countries taking part, they say it is still a world-class event despite the absence of Thorpe and Radcliffe.

''The Games aren't about one person,'' said chief executive John Harnden.

''We have the world's fastest man, Asafa Powell, and these Games will be the biggest ever staged.'' But, despite Harnden's upbeat assessment, the event has so far failed to grip sports-mad Australia.

The cost of staging the Games has spiralled to more than 450 million dollar and ticket sales have been sluggish, with 395,000 tickets unsold.

More UNI HSB PDS BD1848