 
CHANNELS SPACEWAR WIRE MILITARY SPACE UAV NEWS MILITARY COMMS CYBERWARS MISSILE NEWS RAYGUNS TERRORWARS SPACEDAILY TERRADAILY MARSDAILY SPACE TRAVEL SPACEMART SPACE DATABASE  SERVICES |  
Turkey said on Thursday there was no serious threat of terrorist attacks against an upcoming NATO summit in its largest city Istanbul, which will be attended by US President George W. Bush and several other Western leaders. "There is no serious threat. We have the strength to prevent such a threat," Istanbul governor Muammer Guler told a press conference here on planned security measures for the summit set for June 28-29. Turkey is taking unprecedented security measures for the summit -- the first such large-scale meeting to be hosted by the country -- and has drafted more than 25,000 police officers, backed by military forces, manning warships and combat aircraft. Fears of attacks in Istanbul have grown since four suicide attacks, blamed on local extremists linked to the Al-Qaeda network, claimed some 60 lives and caused massive destruction in the city in November. Guler said Turkish security officials were exchanging intelligence with several countries through bilateral and multilateral agreements, and pointed to a nationwide crackdown on left-wing militants and Islamists in recent months. "We are taking and will continue to take every measure to ensure that the summit is safe," the governor added. "Istanbul is ready for the NATO summit," he declared. Measures to be taken include a ban on air traffic over the venue of the summit and its vicinity as well as restrictions on the passage of oil tankers and ships with dangerous cargo through the narrow and winding Bosphorus which bisects the city. Barriers will be erected inside a 10-kilometre area around the congress hall, the press center and hotels where the guests are staying. Several NATO AWACS aircraft will patrol the sky over the city on a rotating basis. All traffic into the so-called "NATO valley" will be banned and those who have homes or offices in the area will need to show identification to gain access. "There is no measure that would obstruct daily life or prevent people from going to their homes and offices, but there will be ID checks and precautionary searches," the governor said. The NATO summit is expected to be attended by the heads of state or government of 46 countries, in addition to some 3,000 delegates and about 3,500 journalists. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
|
|
| The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |