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Karl Schembri
A delegation of Maltese police and Armed Forces of Malta members went to Gleneagles last week to see how their British counterparts organised security for the G8 summit ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held here in November. But logistics and security here promise to be a nightmare with police, AFM and public service employees stretched to the limit for the biggest ever political event to be staged on the islands.
One of the problems making the rounds among police officers regards the number of motorcycles and their drivers in the Traffic Branch. There are only 23 of them, but in November they are going to have 38 Dictators, Kings, Queens and Presidents to escort – all high dignitaries used to outlandish police escorts of up to seven motorcycles roving around their majestic, bomb proof cars.
The 38 high dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, would need 266 police officers on the same amount of motorbikes if they were to drive all at once – an impossible scenario that would still leave the over 3,000 delegates and the remaining 15 heads of state uncovered.
A logistical team comprising the Office of the Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Ministry, police, secret services and the army is holding internal meetings but discussions about operational procedures, contingency plans and organisational coordination are still at a very early stage.
The trajectories that will be used by the high dignitaries and their entourages have yet to be identified and properly assessed in terms of security and counter-terrorism measures, and protocol decisions will have to be taken bearing in mind the stressed-out police force.
The police will be mobilising officers in clerical and office posts onto the field as VIP protectors. Some of them are being trained at Ta’ Kandja for the job.
Apart from the training assistance given by UK special forces to Maltese security officers abroad, there has been no particular request so far for the direct intervention of foreign forces in the logistical planning and in the actual implementation of security measures.
However, the foreign delegations – some of them expected to be made of over 300 staff – will be equipped with all kinds of security and intelligence personnel operating overtly and covertly before, during and after the meeting that will be held between 25 and 27 November.
Held every two years in different former British colonies, CHOGM summits rarely leave their mark on the history of the world, if at all, but the sheer amount of dignitaries and world leaders meeting under one roof is a logistical nightmare.
“We don’t anticipate enormous problems as regards crowd control and surveillance, but we cannot take anything for granted,” sources said. “The world’s attention will be here, the media will be zooming in on us, and this kind of event is going to put to the test all of the country’s security and organisational resources.”
CHOGM will be the largest meeting ever of international leaders held in Malta representing about 25 per cent of the world's nations and nearly one-third of its population.
“We’ll manage somehow, don’t worry,” said a source involved in the logistical team, in typical Maltese fashion.
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