Greece To Allow Armed Foreign Guards At Olympics

ATHENS, July 21 (AFP) - Greece has agreed to allow the US, Britain and Israel to send armed guards to protect their athletes during next month`s Athens Olympics, an informed source told AFP on Wednesday.
The New York Times had already reported that Greece had relented to pressure to allow 400 US Special Forces soldiers and US, Israeli and British security officers to be armed at the Games.
The agreements will not be formally acknowledged to avoid raising anti-American sentiment in Greece, Greek and US officials told the New York Times.
The source told AFP the Times report was accurate. "Everything that was written in the report is true," said the source.
But Greek Public Order Minister Yiorgos Voulgarakis denied athletes will be escorted by foreign, armed guards.
"Athletic delegations have escorts. But these escorts cannot be armed," Voulgarakis told private radio station Flash.
"It is not (just) one or two times that the New York Times have written things that aren`t true," Voulgarakis said.
"Greek authorities will be exclusively responsible for the security of athletic delegations," Voulgarakis added in a press release.
Foreign armed guards only come in question to accompany foreign leaders, as foreseen under international rules and bilateral agreements, Voulgarakis said.
"Leaders visiting a country follow a protocol separate from that of the Olympics," he added.
Voulgarakis also said that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not allow arms in Olympic venues.
But a North Atlantic Treaty Organization official quoted by The New York Times said the US government had persuaded Greece to ask for NATO sponsorship for the American Special Forces contingent in order to avoid stirring up a political storm in Greece.
NATO agreed last month to provide AWACS radar planes, maritime surveillance, intelligence sharing and a battalion trained to defend against chemical and biological attack.
NATO was also involved in the security of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics but Athens only asked the alliance for assistance after the Madrid terrorist bombings in March that killed 191 people.
Germany and Spain, who had also requested their guards to be armed, have now agreed not to send armed escorts to the Olympics.
The force of bodyguards, which could number 100, would be provided by the US State Department`s Diplomatic Security Service and would be deployed in the Olympic Village and on buses to escort the US athletes to their competitions.
The US government has also sought permission to operate in public areas outside the Olympic Village, but that has not been granted, the officials added.
Greek law forbids foreign personnel from carrying weapons inside Greece.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is also sending a hostage rescue team and experts in gathering and analyzing evidence in the event of an attack, all of whom will be armed, a US law enforcement official told the daily.
Israel will have at least two dozen armed agents in Athens, while another two dozen countries are sending extra security personnel who will not be armed, Greek and European officials said.
These countries include Japan, Belgium, Germany and Italy, all countries whose athletes are considered at higher risk because of their governments` support of the United States in Iraq, the officials said.
Greece is spending over a billion dollars on security for the August 13-29 Olympics, mobilising 70,000 security personnel, or about seven guards for every athelete.