No security fears before World Economic Forum meeting

Police in the Swiss resort of Davos are playing down suggestions that this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will be marred by violence, after a firework shattered windows at the congress centre where the meeting is to be held.

Police in the Swiss resort of Davos are playing down suggestions that this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum will be marred by violence, after a firework shattered windows at the congress centre where the meeting is to be held.

The attack has re-inforced fears that anti-globalisation protesters might try to disrupt the event, as they did during November’s meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Seattle.

But Davos police dismissed security fears as groundless. Spokesman Martin Accola said, “We don’t expect the security situation to be any different compared with past years.”

However, he said the congress centre would be cordoned off during the meeting as a precaution.

The firework attack over the weekend was originally thought to be a bomb. But it was later discovered that a rocket was fired at the building. It resulted in Sfr15,000 worth of damage.

An anonymous fax was sent to local media from a telephone booth, claiming the blast was an “attack on the World Economic Forum”, which starts later this month.

President Clinton and the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, are among those attending the five-day meeting.

From staff and wire reports