Security questions rile South Africa
Source: Agencies |
January 13, 2010, Wednesday
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THE man in charge of organizing the World Cup in South Africa is bristling at security questions sparked by violence in Angola, saying his country should be judged on its own record, not events more than a four-hour flight away.
Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the World Cup organizing committee, also said South Africa was taking extensive precautions to ensure a safe tournament.
Since suspected separatists ambushed a bus carrying Togolese players arriving in Angola for a continental tournament that began on Sunday, South African officials have been pressed to explain why similar violence can't happen here during the June-July football World Cup, the premier event for the world's most popular sport.
Jordaan said it was unfair and ill-informed to assume that because South Africa and Angola share a continent, they share similar security challenges. He said that would be akin to having questioned Germany, which hosted the 2006 World Cup, about terror attacks in London a year earlier, or proposing that all sporting events in Asia be called off because of the war in Afghanistan.
"We don't apply the same standard to any other country," he said, accusing questioners of applying double standards. "If something happens on the African continent, we cannot condemn the whole continent."
Jordaan said South Africa, which will be the first on the continent to host the World Cup, has hosted more than 100 major sporting events since 1994 without experiencing violence.
South Africa was welcomed back into international sports after apartheid ended in 1994, and the events it has hosted include the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 1996 African Cup of Nations football tournament, and last year's Confederations Cup and Twenty20 Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The latter was hastily moved to South Africa from India because of security concerns.
"We surely must be judged on the reality, not just on flights of fantasy and imagination," Jordaan told the assembled media.
Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the World Cup organizing committee, also said South Africa was taking extensive precautions to ensure a safe tournament.
Since suspected separatists ambushed a bus carrying Togolese players arriving in Angola for a continental tournament that began on Sunday, South African officials have been pressed to explain why similar violence can't happen here during the June-July football World Cup, the premier event for the world's most popular sport.
Jordaan said it was unfair and ill-informed to assume that because South Africa and Angola share a continent, they share similar security challenges. He said that would be akin to having questioned Germany, which hosted the 2006 World Cup, about terror attacks in London a year earlier, or proposing that all sporting events in Asia be called off because of the war in Afghanistan.
"We don't apply the same standard to any other country," he said, accusing questioners of applying double standards. "If something happens on the African continent, we cannot condemn the whole continent."
Jordaan said South Africa, which will be the first on the continent to host the World Cup, has hosted more than 100 major sporting events since 1994 without experiencing violence.
South Africa was welcomed back into international sports after apartheid ended in 1994, and the events it has hosted include the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 1996 African Cup of Nations football tournament, and last year's Confederations Cup and Twenty20 Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The latter was hastily moved to South Africa from India because of security concerns.
"We surely must be judged on the reality, not just on flights of fantasy and imagination," Jordaan told the assembled media.
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