COMMUNITIES up and down the land have embraced the Olympic Torch Relay in a truly joyful way. Yet as the torch bearers approach the capital there is a military shadow lurking in the background that runs counter to the spirit of both the ancient and modern games.

I say ‘lurking’ but Defence Secretary Philip Hammond prefers the word ‘fading’. If only it were true. Instead, Londoners, spectators, tourists and athletes know that surface-to-air missile batteries will be nearby on the rooftops of people’s homes, with armed jets and  helicopters in the skies.

The Olympics weren’t supposed to be like this. They began in ancient Greece to give the people a break from war. Tradition has it that in 776 BC King Iphitos of Elis was told by the Oracle at Delphi to restore the Olympic Games every 4 years so as to break the cycle of civil war between the Greek city states.

Furthermore a Truce from fighting was declared from 7 days before the games until 7 days after to allow athletes, artists and spectators to travel in safety.

When the modern Olympic Games were established in 1894 the principles of Olympism were incorporated into a Charter, including respect for ethical principles and promotion of a peaceful society, something that Philip Hammond omitted from his interview with Andrew Marr on 13 May. 

Yet even recently, in 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which committed member states to promote an Olympic Truce at the 1994 winter games. In fact this led to a brief  truce in war-torn Sarajevo so that athletes could safely visit the Winter Olympics in Norway.

In 2000 the International Olympic Committee established the International Olympic Truce Foundation with the goal of reviving the ancient tradition of the Olympic Truce.

  That year the UN General Assembly’s Millennium Declaration urged member states “to observe the Olympic Truce, individually and collectively, now and in the future, and to support the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to promote peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic Ideal.”

And last October Lord Coe tabled a motion signed by all 193 UN member states that called on nations to promote peace, development and reconciliation in trouble-torn regions.

This truce is being flouted by the Government when they link the military with the Games. A genuine truce would give forces personnel a break, a time to enjoy the games themselves.  

Efforts should be made to extend the truce to the battlefields of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and Israel-Palestine. Instead the threat and reminder of war are being brought to our doorsteps.

If the Government does not know the way to peace, there are lots of people who do.  There is a protest against the missiles on June 30th in East London. And over recent months a campaign for ‘100 Days of Peace’ from 8th June - 28th October has been promoted in many London schools and churches. It has been taken up by the London Citizens organisation in its CitySafe campaign.

The Government can give people the ‘ultimate reassurance’ of safety during the Olympics and Paralympics, that Philip Hammond espouses: they should ditch the plan to locate missiles in London, then really fade into the background and actively promote the Olympic Truce.