Athens ordered a major boost in military involvement in security for the Olympic Games today, as the Greek public order minister denied reports of problems with its massive surveillance system.
An additional 35,000 military personnel have been assigned for "secondary" duties to free the 70,000 police and soldiers already detailed to guard Olympic sites in Athens three other Greek cities.
Police spokesman Mr Lefteris Ikonomou said the additional manpower will be used to guard rail stations, borders and other areas, mainly outside Athens.
Olympic security has stretched resources to the limit in Greece, which is spending a record €825 million on protecting the games which run from August 13 to 29.
The military also will provide 500 vehicles, 50 ships and more than 200 planes, including fighters to monitor a no-fly zone over Athens, as well as US made Patriot and Russian S-300 air defence systems.
Athens has revised its security budget and commitments upwards several times this year amid continued international concern surrounding the safety of the first summer games held since the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
Athens' main port of Piraeus was closed for nearly two hours today as a navy minesweeper inspected the area where luxury cruise ships will moor during the games to serve as floating hotels.
Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis denied reports that the city's elaborate surveillance systems was not fully operational.
The Athens newspaper Ta Nea reported that 20% of surveillance images from street cameras and other sensors will be lost because of delays in wiring up the monitoring equipment and problems with command centre created to gather all the information.
"There is no problem with the system," Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said after an Olympic planning meeting with Premier Costas Caramanlis as well as games and city officials.
"The security systems that Greece has purchased are in full deployment, they are all working smoothly, and the personnel who are using them have become familiarised with them," he said.
Athens' massive surveillance grid, with 1,300 cameras, spy vans, underwater sensors, chemical "sniffers" and an airship, is at the heart of the security program.
PA