Insidethegames reports security forces in Canada are anticipating terrorist attacks and local protests ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games after the discovery of threats from several groups, including al-Qaida, which was revealed by secret documents.
The Vancouver Sun published Thursday “threat assessments”, copies of which it obtained, reports insidethegames, which show police have identified several threats to Olympic security, including anti-globalization, anti-corporate and First Nations activists, and international extremist organizations like al-Qaida, which has also targeted London 2012.
Insidethegames reports that according to the Vancouver Sun the Integrated Security Union (ISU) is tracking a number of potential domestic and international threats and warned that Canada’s increasing role in Afghanistan has changed people’s perceptions of Canada as a peacekeeper.
The report warned “Canada is viewed as a priority target because of the country’s high-profile role in Afghanistan and its close relationship with the United States in the war on terrorism”.
One section of the report said that the ISU “has or is conducting several intelligence probes” but does not identify the groups targeted.
Also there have been protests from Vancouver’s homeless people and the report calls it a crisis that “has been the impetus for numerous contentious protests” and says “protest activity is expected to increase as the Games near and international exposure grows”.
According to the report there is the potential for domestic protests, particularly against RBC, one of Vancouver 2010’s backers.
Also a group called the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement planned to stop at 20 places in Eastern Canada and the US East Coast to promote opposition to the Games.
There are also public reports about a meeting in Mexico of 1,500 aboriginal delegates from North and South America who adopted an anti-2010 Olympics resolution.
Meanwhile the federal and British Columbia governments have been in discussions over a significant revision to the current $175 million (89.1 million pounds) security budget, 510 million pounds less than what London has allocated for the 2012 Games which is expected to rise to 1.5 billion pounds by the time the Games are staged.
