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Terrorists may target Brisbane summit: experts

Paritosh Parasher in Sydney

The Commonwealth summit scheduled to be held in Brisbane next month has come under cloud, with Australian experts fearing terrorist attacks like the one in the United States on Tuesday.

A number of high-level meetings are being organised to review the situation and see if there is an increased danger to the Brisbane meet of the Commonwealth heads of government because of Australia's close ties with the US.

India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, scheduled to attend the four-day meeting beginning October 6, is one leader under threat of terrorist violence, officials in Sydney say.

Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe have also been declared top security risks.

Peter Beattie, premier of the host state Queensland, convened urgent meetings with officials and security authorities. The security officials are believed to have assured him that security arrangements for the conference were satisfactory.

The final decision on hosting the conference rests with Australia's Prime Minister John Howard, who was in Washington when the Pentagon was attacked. He is believed to have been in touch with the Commonwealth head office in London to discuss the renewed security concerns.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain and 45 other world leaders are scheduled to attend the Brisbane summit, to be presided over by Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth.

Beattie wants the meeting to proceed as planned. He is reported to have said that terrorism must not be allowed to prevent the meeting. Commonwealth officials are of the same opinion.

The meet's spokesman Andrew Reynolds told reporters that routine preparations for the meeting are continuing and there is no indication that it will be cancelled.

"That said, if John Howard arrives back from the US, having been smack bang in the middle of what's going on, and decides to ring other Commonwealth leaders and say 'let's put this off for a month', so be it," he added.

The Commonwealth summit has been facing security threats from various militant organisations. Anti-globalisation bodies are already planning mass protests in Brisbane.

Authorities, however, are confident that they can meet any such threats and are planning to increase security cover for the participants.

Australia's Attorney-General Daryl Williams said: "Security arrangements have been put in place for quite some time." His department is one of the principal bodies involved in making counter-terrorism arrangements in the country.

Indo-Asian News Service

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