The Associated Press cites a report that says the Olympic Village at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games will be surrounded by twin concrete barriers and other fortress-like security measures to defend itself against possible suicide bombers and other attacks.
It’s all part of unprecedented security network costing more than $750-million (U.S.).
The Olympic Village will be home to 16,000 athletes and officials during the Athens 2004 Games that run from Aug. 13-29. About 10,500 workers will be assigned to the village complex.
According to the Associated Press, the two concrete-and-metal barriers around the Olympic Village should be impenetrable even to heavy trucks. All other venues will be surrounded by a single wall or other protection.
Also, hundreds of cameras and x-ray equipment that scan trucks and other vehicles will be placed around the village, which is located about 15 kilometres northwest of central Athens.
Meanwhile, Greece’s Defence Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said Tuesday that NATO forces will not be involved in providing security for the Games but Greece will be cooperating with foreign countries and foreign services.
Kathimerini writes that this was understood to be a roundabout way of confirming that Greece would soon request the deployment of NATO AWACS planes to monitor the country’s air space during the Olympics. But according to Kathimerini, Greece has not responded to the alliance’s offer to provide its rapid reaction force for the Games.
Public Order Minister Giorgos Floridis told a conference of consular officials that Greece was cooperating with Balkan and Arab countries as well as security officials on a committee of experts from seven countries including the United States, Britain and Israel.
