Greece has deployed another 35,000 troops to protect the summer Olympic
Games, with the whole country finally getting mobilized for next week's
opening.
There are already some 70,000 soldiers and police deployed to protect the
Athens Olympic Games, in what Greek authorities are calling the biggest
peacetime effort ever made by the country's armed forces.
But in a decision made only nine days before the August 13 opening ceremony,
the government decided on Wednesday to draft in another 35,000 troops, mostly
for patrolling duties in Greece's less populated areas away from Athens.
It seems that every street corner in the Greek capital now has its own
highly armed security agent. They are only the tip of the iceberg. On Wednesday,
a navy minesweeper scoured Piraeus harbor for potential explosives. The
harbor, used by thousands every day to escape to the Greek islands, will
be home to VIPs living on luxury cruise liners during the Games. Chief among
them is former U.S. President George Bush, who is leading the American delegation
to Athens.
Harry De Quetteville, depuis Athènes pour Voanews,
le 06.08.2004
