Atlanta bomb prompts dispute over whether Rome should host the Olympic Games in 2004

THE pipe bomb that shattered the Atlanta Olympics has prompted fresh controversy over whether Rome, scene of countless guerrilla…

THE pipe bomb that shattered the Atlanta Olympics has prompted fresh controversy over whether Rome, scene of countless guerrilla attacks in the 1970s and 1980s, should host the 2004 summer games.

Rome, which hosted the games in 1960, wants them again. Its rivals are Cape Town, Athens, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, Stockhom, Seville, St Petersburg, Lille and Istanbul.

The Atlanta bomb sent a chill through many Italians, who still remember the so called "years of lead" when homegrown and Middle Eastern guerrilla attacks made Italy's capital what investigators called a "crossroads of international terrorism".

President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, in a telegram of condolence to President Clinton, said Italians understood precisely what Atlanta was undergoing because they had lived through the "tremendous years of terrorism".

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The controversy flared at the weekend when Mr Carlo Ripa di Meana, a Greens leader and former European Commissioner, took the cue from the bomb to step up his opposition to Rome staging the 2004 Games.

"The scenes of panic and pain we see coming from the United States has strengthened my determination to convince those who are still uncertain that Rome should not run equal or greater risks [than Atlanta]," Mr Ripa di Meana said in a statement.

"The question is not just if the giant nature of the modern Olympics can he environmentally compatible but if they can be compatible with the security of the people and the city that hosts them," he said.

The Mayor of Rome, Mr Francesco Rutelli, who cut his political teeth in the Greens party, acknowledged that security would be a key concern wherever the games were held.

"We must defend the Olympics from nuts and fanatics. The Olympics are a positive heritage of the world and no terrorist can hope to destroy them," Mr Rutelli said.

"Violence, unfortunately, belongs to the world but the world cannot belong to violence," Mr Rutelli said.

Mr Rutelli believes that holding the 2004 Olympics in Rome would be the natural continuation of celebrations in the capital to mark the start of the third millennium of Christianity in 2000.

Promoters of the 2004 games say much infrastructure such as an upgraded transport system will be in place after Rome hosts tens of millions of pilgrims in the year 2000.

Mr Ripa di Meana also came under fire from Mr Raffaele Ranucci, head of the Rome 2004 Association spearheading the promotion.

"Exploiting the tragedy of Atlanta to back up your own mistaken positions is a squalid and petty thing to do," Mr Ranucci said. "We intend to respect this moment of mourning for America and for all the world of sport."

Mr Ripa di Meana had already opposed the 2004 games in Rome on environmental and political grounds, saying that commercial aspects seemed to have taken over the modern games.

Supporters of the games seemed irritated by his latest outburst because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) looks for united and wholehearted political backing in a candidacy.

Some left wing Italian politicians believe the 2004 Games should go to Cape Town as a symbol of brotherhood in post apartheid South Africa.

Some Greens members said Mr Ripa di Meana should suspend himself from the party.

Mr Dario Esposito, the Greens leader on Rome's city council, accused Mr Ripa di Meana of using "the terrorism of words".

"In a day of pain and tragedy, there are people like Mr Ripa di Meana, who, instead of expressing solidarity with victims use this above all to seek publicity for themselves." Mr Esposito said.