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With so much planning going into the safety of athletics, dignitaries and officials, spectators and visitors to Athens are starting to look like a soft target – particularly after the March 11 indiscriminate bomb attacks at Madrid’s central train station. Though incidents on Athens’ public transport system are rare, the city must still earn its spurs when it comes to providing reliable security during the August 13-29 Olympics. Transport Minister Michalis Liapis himself raised the alarm a few weeks ago, when he reported serious delays in security planning for bus depots, train stations and airports. A ministry spokesman later narrowed the problem down to a lack of security guards and surveillance equipment. "Some transport organisations lack one or the other, some lack both," the official said. He added that even plans to secure the transport ministry building are behind schedule. Bus crunch Critics argue that Liapis has personally exacerbated the problem by delaying the appointment of new management at key public transport authorities. This includes the company running the new suburban railway to the airport and the Athens urban transport company (OASA), which runs the city’s bus and trolley fleets. "The minister has some nerve talking about delays, when the leadership of some of these authorities has been in limbo for two months," says a Greek transport expert. The security shortfall seems at its worst on Athens’ bus fleet, where a tender to bolster the defences of seven depots is still mired in procedure. "We’re waiting for a lawsuit by one of the competing companies to be adjudicated on May 11," says Pantelis Stavrou, head Olympics coordinator of the Athens bus authority (ETHEL). "Once this is over, we can have the equipment installed in 2-2 ½ months." Stavrou notes that ETHEL’s security preparations are at least two months off track. The March 7 elections are partly to blame, he says, as the company only had its first post-election board meeting a few days ago. The inertia is apparently even worse at parent company OASA, where staff cannot comment on any issue prior to the appointment of a new chairman. The incumbent chairman, an appointee of the previous government, stepped down this week. Back at ETHEL, Stavrou says the company is also 1,000 drivers short for the Games. "We’ve asked for them, and we hope we’re going to have them," he says. "If not, existing staff will have to cut into their holidays." Starting in mid-May, bus drivers are to be trained by Greek police on how to respond to hijacking incidents and be alert for suspect items left on board. But an ETHEL request for armed bus guards has been turned down. "It’s true that our drivers are exposed, because we cannot screen every passenger," says Stavrou. "But it would have taken over 4,500 guards to secure every bus." Metro assurance Confidence is highest at the Athens Metro, where security chief Dimosthenis Giannispoloulos says company plans include protection against conventional, chemical and biological forms of attack. Giannispoloulos’ list of security goodies includes bullet-proof glass, anti-blast doors and biometric palm readers for the Metro’s control center, jamming devices and cameras linked to special software tracking unattended items at stations, and personal evacuation kits for every member of staff. "The kits contain a special mask, special gloves, decontamination soap and detectors that can identify which agents are being used in an attack," he says. "All our staff carry them on their belts." Aside from their equipment, Metro staff have also received special training, says Giannispoloulos. "We will not usurp the tasks of authorised emergency response teams, but we will be keeping crowds clear of danger zones, and inform the authorities of what they may be up against," he says. Metro staff have also been told to be vigilant for suspicious items. "We will not allow several unattended objects to enter a station without notice, which is what happened in [the March 11 Madrid train attack]," says Giannispoloulos. Security details are harder to obtain from the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), which carries responsibility for the new 32km suburban railway to the airport, though the company professes to having a comprehensive plan. While admitting that the procurement of security equipment has been delayed here as well, OSE insists that all preparations will be in place in time for the Games. "In truth, we should have been testing the equipment already," says a senior OSE official who did not want their name published. "This cannot be done before the end of construction works, which is in early July. But the fact that there are delays does not mean we will not be ready." OSE plans a mixed force of private security, police and army personnel for its network. The hired hands will be employed to keep stations clear of beggars and illegal peddlers, while the police and army units will concentrate on more specialised duties, the official said. "The plan is pretty similar to that of other transport authorities – securing installations and critical areas," he said. "More than that we cannot say, as it would make the plan vulnerable." The suburban railway is the company’s top Games priority. And although still in heady construction, it is apparently the one potential target giving OSE the least worry. "It makes sense for terrorists to plan a strike here, but they’d be wiser to look for other targets," says the OSE official. "Because of its importance to Games transport, the suburban railway will be armed to the teeth. In fact, we’re confident that we can protect this system better than any other railway line nationwide." Patchy Piraeus At Piraeus harbour, where several cruise ships belonging to Athens’ Olympic hospitality programme will berth during the Games, the security clampdown is still in embryonic stage. Coastguard commandos and uniformed staff patrol some gates, but other entrances are completely unguarded and freely open to pedestrians and motorbike riders. "We cannot stop people from coming in, this is still a public area, you know," said one commando. "Some of these people pass through here every day." A suggestion that visitor logbooks be kept at each gate is rapidly dismissed. "Can you imagine how many thousands of people we would have to pen down?" protests another guard. "Which is not to say that security won’t be tighter during the Games," he swiftly adds. "I’m sure the brass will have thought of a solution to that period, we just don’t know anything about it right now." Games organisers stress that Olympic ships accommodating thousands of VIPs, sports officials, sponsors and guests will have their own security perimeter and access roads out of harbour. But on the issue of checks for the rest of the harbour, the coastguard could not respond in time for this story. Likewise, competent staff at the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railway (ISAP) did not return calls on the security issue. |
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