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| June 29, 2005 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1426 |
Singapore beefs up security for Olympic meet
SINGAPORE, June 28: Singapore authorities will undertake one of the biggest security operations in the nation’s history for next week’s Olympics meeting with more than 2,000 personnel to be deployed, police said Tuesday.
About 3,500 foreigners are expected to attend the International Olympic Committee’s 117th session, the focus of which will be the vote on July 6 to determine which city will host the 2012 Games, police chiefs told reporters.
“We have deployed, from the police, army and civil defence force, more than 2,000 personnel for this event,” the Singapore police operations department director, Senior Assistant Commissioner Aubeck Kam, said.
“It’s certainly one of the largest international meetings that Singapore is hosting in terms of the number of delegates.
“For the police, yes, it would count as of one of the biggest (security) operations in terms of the number of police and the scale of the operations.”
A host of world leaders, sporting greats and celebrities are preparing to descend on Singapore to support the five cities — Paris, London, New York, Madrid and Moscow — in the running for the 2012 hosting rights.
Among the heads of state and political leaders due to come to Singapore are French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, King Juan Carlos of Spain and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Police said they had ensured maximum security at the Raffles City Convention Centre, the venue for the Olympic meeting which is in the heart of the city’s financial district.
The police force’s assistant director for security and counter terrorism, Jarrod Pereira, said concrete barricades had been placed around the building and other measures taken to prevent “vehicle bombs and close confrontation attacks”.
Police also warned foreigners intending to protest against a city’s bid or use the global spotlight on Singapore to stage any kind of demonstration that they would not be exempt from the city-state’s famously tight security laws.
“We would advise they do not hold unauthorised demonstrations because this is unnecessary and this is in violation of our laws,” Kam said.
Police permits are required, and rarely given, for individuals wishing to make a political speech in public.
Public gatherings of five people or more also require a permit and are routinely denied if the object of the meeting is to voice dissent against the government or other issues authorities deem sensitive.
Kam indicated even gatherings of fewer than five people next week would not to be tolerated if the intention was to “demonstrate”.
“It’s basically people gathering to make a point,” Kam said when asked what would not be allowed in regards to public protests.—AFP
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