Australia not Considering 2010 Commonwealth Games Withdrawal

Security advisers are not recommending that Australia pull out of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi because of fears of a terrorist attack.

Following a report that England was poised to pull out of the event, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ASGA) has confirmed that it believes that security arrangements for the competition are well organized.

ASGA Chief Executive, Perry Crosswhite, who is charged with helping to prepare the Australian team for participation at next year's Games, has this week stated "I was in Delhi two weeks ago and the security arrangements were well-organised and also had improved since we had seen them previously.

"Also Australian Government and our security advisers are certainly not recommending similar action for ourselves.

"In the past I've seen similar stories which have proved to be groundless and I would be looking to speak to the English Commonwealth Games Association before I would really want to say anything more."

Asked about the security arrangements in Delhi, Crosswhite said that during his recent trip as a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation Coordination Commission, he was pleased with Delhi's progress on security arrangements.

"We had a full presentation from the Delhi security officials and authorities and all of us were pleased with the progress and we certainly had no other information that suggested there was any security threats."

An extra 8,000 Delhi police officers would be employed for the Games, Crosswhite said, and a new coordination group would bring the country's armed forces and security agencies under the control of one authority.

Crosswhite advised Australian athletes concerned about the English report to "settle back, we'll get you some more information as we don't know any basis of this and we will be seeking some more information".

An Australian government spokeswoman said the decision to send a team from Australia ultimately rests with the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, which gets security advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A leading intelligence chief at past Commonwealth and Olympic games, Neil Fergus, from the Sydney-based security company, Intelligent Risks, said of the English report “it’s not true.”

Fergus is officially involved in helping to oversee security for the Games in India but was speaking in his capacity as Chief Executive of Intelligent Risks.

Fergus conceded that there were issues with security in Delhi, but stressed ââthere are always issues 10 months out ... there are always issues to be managed, but the Indians have made tremendous progress in security planning."

India has promised foolproof security for October's Commonwealth Games following a recent international security liaison conference. After the conference, organised by India's Home Ministry and attended by experts from 26 of the 71 participating nations, Union Home Secretary G K Pillai stated “all countries who had come ... have seen not only the games village, they have seen the presentation and the security arrangements whether it is perimeter security within the games movements or from the games to the training and other venues and they were quite happy with that."

Pillai also mentioned that as a part of the security measures, the venues may be sealed a week or a fortnight prior to the commencement of the mega event, stating "we hope to seal the venue seven to 14 days before the start of the games."

India formed the liaison group due to heightened safety fears over travelling to New Delhi for the competition. 

Image shows construction work on the main venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. 

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