Terror won’t stop cup, Germans say
BERLIN – Terror attacks or the threat of violence will not stop the 2006 World Cup in Germany and should not be allowed to thwart any major sporting event, German Interior Minister Otto Schily said yesterday. Schily was speaking at a news conference in Berlin after a series of deadly attacks earlier yesterday in London, which has just won the right to stage the 2012 Olympic Games. Tight security Schily said security would be tight at the month-long World Cup soccer finals that Germany is hosting next year, as were precautions at last year’s Athens Olympics. But he said the threat of terrorism should not stop any major sporting event. «We cannot let terrorists dictate to us whether we let a major sporting event take place or not,» he said. «Obviously security questions must be given particular consideration wherever large numbers of people come together, such as at the World Cup or at last year’s summer Olympics in Athens,» Schily said. More vigilance «We’ve got to be on alert and be even more vigilant,» added Schily, who is the government minister responsible for planning security at the World Cup, where 32 teams will be competing in front of millions of soccer fans from around the world. «There is an increasing understanding that terror is a danger for all of the civilized world and will be with us for quite some time,» Schily said. (Reuters)
