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| International-UN-NGOs |
| Interpol mobilises against bio-terrorism |
| 2005-02-27 |
| PARIS - International police chiefs gather this week at the Interpol headquarters in Lyon to grapple with the threat of bio-terrorism. More than 400 delegates from at least 120 countries "will discuss the risk of bio-terror attacks, case studies, prevention of attacks, preparation and training of law enforcement personnel, and the related legal and political framework," Interpol said in a statement. Interpol's role is to raise awareness and link the world's police and medical services in light of a lack of information and a tendency to underestimate the threat, said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble. "After 9/11 and the investigations on Al Qaeda, we know now that the terrorists have investigated the possibility using nuclear materials to make weapons, how to use bio-agents and also the chemicals," Noble told AFP. "Now we have to let our imagination run wild and prepare for anything," he added. "From the anthrax attacks (in the United States in 2001) we know that a small amount of a bio-agent can have an extraordinary global impact, beyond the target area. That's why Interpol believes it has a central role to play." After opening speeches by French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin Police will discuss in particular the Malaysian approach to prevent, detect and combat bio-terrorism, the release of biological agents in three British mail centres, and the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, which killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000. Interpol's aim is to give police the information and contact with the global medical community to help them understand the complex menace. The conference will be followed by training workshops, the first in South Africa at the end of 2005, the second in Chile in 2006 and the third in China the same year. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Amazing. The U.S. has been working on this since, what, 9/12/01? I do realize that Interpol has been busy, but surely three and a half years is a bit excessive! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-27 3:35:11 AM |