Melbourne: The 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi could be cancelled if a security assessment one month from the start deemed them unsafe to proceed, said a leading Australian official.
However, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Hooper spoke to CNN-IBN and dismissed reports of Australia pulling out and that they would continue to monitor the security situation in India.
"We have not said that Australia will pull out of the Games. We will work with the Indian and Delhi government to ensure the safety of the athletes. And we will also be seeking independent advise from our own security advisors. We will assess the situation later as it's too premature to decide anything," said Hooper.
Security around the Games, due to be held from October 3-14, has come under scrutiny after the attack in Mumbai in November that killed at least 171 people and a recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan.
"At one month (out), if for whatever reason it's determined it is not secure, the Commonwealth Games Federation has got to determine whether the Games go on," Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) chief executive Perry Crosswhite told Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper on Sunday.
"From six months before the Games there will be information on security and we will speak to the (Australian) High Commission and the Foreign Affairs department on a regular basis. "I'd say a year out will be a crucial point in time and then six months, three months and one month," added Crosswhite.
The Indian government promised to spend an additional RS 782.6 ($15.2 million) to upgrade security at the Games after the attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers in Lahore earlier this month.
It also said it would instigate security methods similar to those employed at last year's Beijing Olympics. Crosswhite said the ACGA would provide additional private security for its team of up to 550 athletes and officials if required. "We want to make sure the security we have is acceptable.
If that (private security) was what was being recommended by the powers-that-be, then we would look at it for sure," he said.
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