Helen Lenskyj Joins ORN in Condemning Olympic Security Exercises

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HELEN LENSKYJ JOINS OLYMPICS RESISTANCE NETWORK IN CONDEMNING OLYMPIC SECURITY EXERCISES

Press conference: Tues Feb 10th at 3:30 pm at Beatty Street Armoury (620
Beatty at Dunsmuir)

February 9, 2009, VANCOUVER, Coast Salish Territories - In preparation for
the 2010 Olympics, this week over 1000 military personnel are engaged in
training exercises throughout the area; including the presence of military
on the ground in public places, as well as the use of helicopter flyovers.
New training facilities have also been secured in Chilliwack for the
Canadian Border Services Agency.

On Tuesday, February 10th at 3:30 pm the Olympics Resistance Network (ORN)
will be hosting a press conference to address these military displays, massive security spending, military displays and police state tactics in relation to the upcoming 2010 Olympics.

Helen Lenskyj renowned author and recently retired professor at the University of Toronto will be speaking at Tuesday's press conference. Her
books include: Inside the Olympic Industry (2000); Best Olympics Ever?
(2002) and the most recently: Olympic Industry Resistance: Challenging
Olympic Power and Propaganda(2008). Scholar and activist Lenskyj has
researched how basic rights and freedoms, are compromised as result of the
Olympics.

Lenskyj will be joined by Ange Sterritt, Gitxsan Nation and the Olympics
Resistance Network; Hill, Kwakwaka'wakw, the Olympics Resistance Network
and editor of no2010.com and Mike Krebs local Indigenous activist
approached by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

To protect the Olympic Industry, security for the 2010 Winter 'Games' are
now anticipated to cost just shy of $1-billion - more than five times
what was budgeted in 2003, when less than half of eligible voters in
Vancouver agreed in a non-binding plebiscite to host the Games. An
estimated 4,000 members of the armed forces will be seconded to Olympic
duties in 2010 to join local and national policing efforts in concert with
international military forces including the United States. Further,
structures such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems and the
expansion of local policing that will be put in place for 2010, may well
be permanent. Intimidation tactics such as targeting individuals in
processes called 'consultation' and displaying weapons and military
personnel to mark the one-year lead-up to the Olympics indicate intent to
silence dissent and instill fear.

The clear agenda involves prioritizing corporate interest, advancing urban
development with blatant disregard for displacement of people and
destruction of the environment. According to Gord Hill of the Olympics
Resistance Network "We are seeing increasing dissatisfaction to the 2010
Olympics because it is more evident to Vancouverites that the Games are
not bringing prosperity. While Olympic corporate sponsors are getting
bailed out with taxpayer dollars, Indigenous lands are being stolen, more
people are becoming homeless, the environment is being destroyed, and
millions of dollars are being sunk into invasive security and military
measures."