Fences, Guards at Beijing Olympics

Posted by Susanna McLeod Aug 4, 2008

In 1976, the sailing section of the water sports during the Olympics based in Quebec was held in Kingston, Ontario, only a couple of hours west of the host city, Montreal. Kingston is known world-wide for winds that never die down and is a treat for racers. CORK, the Canadian Olympic Regatta Kingston is still held here every summer with sailors participating from around the world.

During the Olympic weeks, tall wire fences were installed at many locations around the city, including a small water reservoir in the north end of town. All vicinities were patrolled day and night with armed military guards, briefly posted here from bases across Canada. The public was kept away from these sites and soldiers were strict in their duties. Hmm… that seems a lot like what I saw on the news today from China, except the reported seemed to imply that such protection was unusual, perhaps a sign of Chinese repression.

But it’s not. The Olympic Games have long been targets for terrorists. Remember the Munich Olympics in the summer of 1972, where terrorists first killed two Israeli athletes and held nine others hostage? And then, after a gun battle, the rest of the hostages were murdered. Vicious and gruesome. Thereafter, military protection seems to have become the norm, and for good reason.

Let’s not scrutinize every move China makes as repressive. Let’s look at some of their actions as obligatory security in a world where anything can happen… possibly even in Canada when our turn at hosting the games arrives in 2010. A few fences and armed guards just might be a necessary thing.