Friday, May 24, 2002

Canadian soldiers have the green light to use "lethal force" to protect world leaders at the G-8 summit, says a top-level military commander.

"We are very serious . . . we have lethal weapons and we will use force if we think there is a serious threat," Brig.-Gen. Ivan Fenton said Thursday in an editorial board meeting with the Calgary Herald.

Fenton also warned that protesters and "limelight seekers" who intend to test summit security in Kananaskis will be risking their lives.

Fenton said terrorists could very easily use the "peaceful" protesters as a cover to slip into Kananaskis.

"We're not interested in protesters, except that protesters complicate our job," Fenton said. "They can . . . distract us and the police from the person who is camouflaged, carrying a weapon and moving at night."

Given that threat, Fenton said he's very concerned his soldiers might mistake a protester for a terrorist if there's a confrontation in the dark, forested environment of Kananaskis.

"We're really worried about the blurring of what's coming toward us," he said. "There is a risk and it's a very big concern."

The G-8 summit, a meeting of the seven major industrialized democracies and Russia, will take place June 26 and 27. The meeting will be held at Kananaskis Village, a collection of resort hotels in the Rockies about 115 kilometres west of Calgary.

The world leaders will be protected by a security perimeter that will cover a 6.5-kilometre radius around Kananaskis Village. It will be patrolled by hundreds of RCMP officers and likely several thousand soldiers.

Fenton said it could be a stretch, but with Canada pulling its troops out of Afghanistan, there will be enough troops to secure Kananaskis and meet other military commitments.

RCMP Chief Supt. Lloyd Hickman, the officer in charge of G-8 security in Kananaskis, also advised activists to steer clear of the Kananaskis security zone for their own good.

"When people go out on a lark to try to test the security measures . . . they're putting themselves at peril because they are going into a tight security zone," Hickman said.

Air threats will be countered by ground-to-air missiles and by Canadian fighter jet patrols.

The air response will be led by Norad (North American Aerospace Defence Command).

Air security will be enhanced by a 150-kilometre no-fly security zone around Kananaskis Village.

Despite the air security buffer, Fenton said fighter pilots will have a huge challenge dealing with rogue planes should they enter the no-fly zone.

Fenton said modelling of air attack scenarios shows pilots will have only an eight-minute window, from the moment a rogue airliner enters the no-fly zone, to scramble and shoot it down before it reaches Kananaskis.

"We have very little time -- basically eight minutes," Fenton said. "It's very, very tight."

Fenton said military officials had wanted a larger no-fly zone, but were overruled by Ottawa because of the added disruption it would cause to regular air traffic in the region.

If a rogue airplane does buzz Kananaskis, the final decision to shoot it down rests with Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Fenton said.

However, since Chretien will be at the summit, Fenton said shoot-down authority could be handed to a cabinet minister, possibly Defence Minister Art Eggleton.

Fenton said soldiers will take their lead from the RCMP when dealing with protesters, adding his troops will use an "absolute minimum" of force when assisting the RCMP.

Some radical activist Web sites have urged protesters to swarm Kananaskis, using roadblocks and "Ewok" tactics such as tree climbing, to disrupt the summit in Kananaskis.

However, most major protest groups say they will stay far away from Kananaskis during the summit.

"It's post-Sept. 11. The thought of going into the woods, knowing there's this kind of security force waiting, is ludicrous," said Natalie Southworth, a Greenpeace spokeswoman in Vancouver.

"We want to be peaceful. We want to try to get our message out. Hiding out in the bushes, where there is potential for injury, if not death, would not be the way to achieve that objective."

© Copyright 2002 Calgary Herald