(by Michelle Ruelle).
(ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 25 - The entire Sicilian seaside town
of Taormina is on lockdown ahead of the G7 summit taking place
there on Friday and Saturday, with no one allowed to enter or
exit without a specially issued, color-coded photo ID.
Even residents, both adults and children, have to wear their
own color-coded badges, issued as part of an entire system with
different colored badges assigned to event technicians, military
personnel, law enforcement and intelligence officers,
journalists, and summit delegates.
The town is eerily quiet, with armed military personnel
stationed every 10 metres along the town's main street, Corso
Umberto.
Security for the summit has been arranged in a series of
concentric circles whose circumference begins with checkpoints
in the nearby town Giardini Naxos and at the Messina-Catania
highway exit, and ends at the summit location, Hotel San
Domenico, where one employee said he's had to undergo "50 checks
a day; but by now they know me".
The only entrance points to Taormina's city centre - two
historic arches, Catania and Messina, standing on opposite sides
of the centre - are equipped with airport-standard metal
detectors that can also detect whether the color-coded entry
badges are authentic or counterfeit.
Surveillance cameras are strategically placed everywhere, and
all the data gets sent back to the main operations centre inside
the city hall building, where 7,000 people are temporarily
working within the historic Palace of the Dukes of Santo
Stefano.
Video images come from as far as the town of Giardini Naxos
and also include those transmitted from body cameras being worn
by hundreds of undercover law enforcement agents.
Messina police chief Giuseppe Cucchiara said although the
coming days will require intense effort, "we're giving it our
all".
The ground floor is set up for those managing bodyguards,
public safety and checkpoints, while downstairs are offices
where local and national law enforcement and intelligence agents
are working alongside agents from European police agency Europol
and international police agency Interpol.
Roberto Maugeri, the police staffer managing the operations
centre, said it's equipped to handle "any situation that might
occur".
"We can immediately share any information and access all
databanks," he said.
Local residents are mostly resigned to the situation,
although some complain that it should have taken place earlier
than now, before tourist season hit.
Outside a coffee shop called the Wonderbar, whose 16 tables
are vacant, thoughts turn to the philosophical.
"We've adapted; we knew it was coming and we can't do
anything about it. And in any case, this will be great publicity
for Taormina".(ANSAmed).
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Taormina in lockdown for G7 Summit
Even residents and children must wear special photo ID