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'No foreign commandos at Dubai 2003'

"We have a strong security apparatus here, and our (police) capabilities have been supported by the UAE Armed Forces. It is not reasonable at all to request special forces or commandos for the Annual Meetings", Major General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, said.

Maj-Gen Dhahi had, on Thursday, declared that the security arrangements that had been put in place for the prestigious meetings, was an unprecedented success. It was an effort that involved all security and Armed Forces capabilities in a show of force that highlighted the superb levels of coordination and cooperation, he said.

The police chief strongly denied rumours about foreign commandos, describing them as 'absolutely baseless'. "We have enough forces that are fully qualified to defend the country and fulfil their duties", he underlined.

Maj-Gen Dhahi said Lieutenant-General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, had provided all the necessary back-up that enabled the internal security apparatus to handle its duties and achieve absolute control over the country's borders, territorial waters and airspace.

He stressed the fact that the resources of the UAE Armed Forces had been placed at the disposal of the Dubai 2003 Security Committee.

The police chief disclosed that 4,500 to 6,000 security personnel had shouldered the responsibilities associated with the prestigious event. "They comprised policemen from Dubai and other emirates as well as the Armed Forces", he said. "Of course, we had policemen that were given other assignments other than the WB-IMF meetings", he explained.

Maj-Gen Dhahi also denied rumours about any security-related emergencies during the period from September 10 to 24. He said no emergencies, or undesirable incidents, had taken place during this period. The police official said state-of-the-art equipment had also been provided by the security agencies in other emirates and the UAE Armed Forces, including night vision cameras mounted on helicopters, provided by the UAE Army.

He said it was the first time ever that highly sophisticated communications equipment and facilities had been used. An integrated Operations Room at the Dubai International Convention Centre (DICC) and another at the General Directorate of Installations Security and Emergency linked all security departments and the main army units around the UAE.

The new systems, he said, worked in harmony with the existing advanced systems operational at the Dubai Police headquarters. There were also emergency systems that served as an integrated security setup, tracking the movement of official delegations and participants in the Annual Meetings.

More than 18,500 people had converged in Dubai for the event. All buildings around the area of the venue of the event had been secured totally and had been provided with surveillance cameras. Besides, there were also portable cameras mounted on the helicopters of the Dubai Police Air Wing. Snipers had also been assigned to handle special tasks.

Maj-Gen Dhahi said Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Under-Secretary of the Interior Ministry, had allocated special funds, which had been put on the disposal of Dubai 2003 security committee. He extended his thanks to Shaikh Saif and said his initiative was a major boost to the efforts made by security committee members.

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