[Thigmaswams]

Russia plans color-coded anti-terror alerts

MOSCOW | Wed Oct 27, 2010 5:31am EDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia plans to introduce a color-coded security alert system to help it tackle the country's growing terrorist threats, a government anti-terrorism advisor said on Wednesday. Fighting a growing Islamist insurgency on its southern flank, Russia has been criticized for its failure to prevent violent attacks on civilian and infrastructure targets.

The proposed system would have three alert levels: blue for an increased threat, yellow for a high threat and red for a critical threat, the main advisor to Russia's anti-terrorism board told the Rossiskaya Gazeta daily. "The head of the government ordered the creation of a more effective security system, demanding adequate action from law enforcement to deal with new rising threats," said Andrei Przhezdomsky in an interview published on Wednesday.

" the creation of a system in which terrorists will receive an effective response, not only from the government but also from organized, united citizens," he said. Earlier this year, Islamist suicide bombers blew themselves up in Moscow's metro system, killing nearly 40 people at two crowded metro stations.

Numerous insurgent attacks in Russia have occurred since then including a shootout in the regional parliament of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya. The color-code system, which operates in the United States and parts of Europe, has been criticized for its vagueness and potential to be used as a tool of political manipulation.

Media reports say the United States, which introduced the system after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, has begun a review of the system. Russia's color-coded alert system would not affect civil liberties, Przhezdomsky said. Russians would be given recommendations to stay away from crowded places or avoid contact with objects that could be used to hide explosives.