The Canadian Press reports possible threats against sponsors of the Vancouver 2010 Games have federal security agents concerned over “extremist elements”, according to a newly released intelligence report prepared last July by the government’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre. The centre includes representatives of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and several other security and police agencies.
The reports site vandalism of a corporate backer’s premises, theft of the Games flag, and skirmishes between protests and police during the unveiling of the Olympic countdown clock.
Key Games sponsor, the Royal Bank of Canada, “has been named specifically in anarchist and anti-Olympic Internet postings”.
The reports said “extremist elements…have publicly stated their intent to continue acts of protest and possible violence against both the Olympics and commercial symbols they perceive to represent the 2010 Olympic Games”.
According to the Canadian Press several portions of the threat assessment, labelled For Official Use Only, were withheld.
Chris Shaw, spokesperson for Vancouver 2010 monitoring group 2010 watch, found the reports amateurish. He said, “these guys need to get a serious grip, frankly. I think they’re really confusing legitimate political dissent, however disruptive it might be, with a threat. And it’s simply not”.