Hong Kong Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) Suen Kwai-leung said Tuesday the police had come up with a comprehensive manpower plan for the Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events, noting 2,000 to 4,000 officers would be deployed for the events.

"It will be a great challenge for Hong Kong Police since the whole operation will last for 55 days," Suen told a press conference Tuesday. "But we have been working closely with the Equestrian Company on the security arrangements."

Leave restrictions will be imposed for the police officers from Aug. 1 to 24 and any training activities unrelated to operations or the events will be suspended, Suen said.

He said the internal security of the competition venues will be mainly handled by the security guards from the equestrian company and there are operation rules for the guards to follow and the police have got involved in their training.

Despite noting Hong Kong's security threat is moderate, Suen did not rule out the possibilities of any changes in future as the threat assessment is ongoing.

He reiterated that Hong Kong Police will continue to maintain close liaison with the Chinese mainland and overseas law-enforcement agencies.

On the arrangements for demonstrators, Suen urged organizations which plan to stage demonstrations during the events to contact the police for better coordination.

While the Police will do their best to facilitate demonstrators' requests, they will also try to keep the inconvenience caused to the public to a minimum, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2008)