Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Massive Security Measures In Lima For Apec Leaders' Meeting
By Liza Mohd in Lima, Peru

Bandar Seri Begawan - the Peruvian capital city of Lima is beefing up security and allocated volunteers at prominent locations in the city to receive the Apec leaders who will meet for the 16th Apec Economic Leaders Meeting which is to be the most significant international meeting ever hosted by Peru.

Telecommunications Advisor of the Security and Communications Area of the Apec 2008 High-Level Commission Mr. Carmen Berrocal informed that the movement of the senior representatives of the Asia-Pacific region that will meet for the Apec Leaders' Meeting at the Ministry of Defence Convention Centre is controlled and monitored by an integrated security system that will keep the agents and security officials on a 24-hour alert.

The system is designed to guarantee the safety execution of the joint and bilateral sessions that Apec Economic Leaders will follow on November 22-23 and has security cameras and interconnected cutting-edge digital equipment installed for the first time in Peru allowing

continuous monitoring of the venues, both indoor and outdoor.

The different areas by which the Apec Leaders will pass through have been facilitated with 360-degree vision security cameras and a system to detect to minimum detail in an attempt to beef up security measures to ensure the safety of the Apec leaders.

All this equipment is interconnected to a control room with a digital s stern that is located in the same venue where the Apec Leaders' sessions will take place and to a Virtual Communication. Coordination and Monitoring Centre located in the headquarters of the Apec 2008 High Level Commission (CEAN APEC).

The local newspaper Peru 21 reported that under the Plan of Operations Apec 2008, Peruvian authorities have deployed some 99,000-security personnel so far to protect the leaders, ministers and business leaders attending the summit.

Nineteen leaders are scheduled to arrive, which include His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, US President George W Bush, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo among others. Chinese President Hu Jintao is the first of the Apec leaders to arrive in Peru yesterday to participate in the leaders' summit this weekend.

It was also reported that the vehicle of each Apec leader will be protected by a team of two police motorcycles, followed by a patrol sedan and two trucks carrying police officers. Police helicopters will guard the leaders' vehicles from the air to prevent any possible terrorist attacks. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin