Olympic torch lit amid protest
ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) - March 24, 2008 Forecasts of clouds and rain had been considered the main threat
to the pomp-filled torch-lighting. But in the end, while the sun
sparked the flame to life, it was the protesters who turned the
joyful bow to the Olympics' roots into a political embarrassment
for China over its crackdown in Tibet and other rights issues.
Three men advocating press freedom evaded massive security and
ran onto the field at the ceremony in Ancient Olympia before they
were seized by police. Minutes later, a Tibetan woman covered in
fake blood briefly blocked the path of the torch relay.
The incidents came after International Olympic Committee
President Jacques Rogge told The Associated Press in an interview
that he was engaged in "silent diplomacy" with the Chinese but
wouldn't intervene in politics to try to change their policies.
"We are discussing on a daily basis with Chinese authorities,
including discussing these issues, while strictly respecting the
sovereignty of China in its affairs," Rogge said.
Protests are bound to follow the torch throughout its 136-day
route across five continents and 20 countries. China pledged strict
security measures to ensure its segment of the relay won't be
marred by protests.
Tibetan activists have already said they plan to demonstrate
elsewhere on the route.
"Later we will do protests in London and Paris," said Tenzin
Dorjee, a member of Students for a Free Tibet who protested in
Ancient Olympia.
China's communist leadership has faced a public relations
disaster since protests of its rule turned violent March 14 in the
Tibetan capital of Lhasa, sparking waves of unrest in surrounding
provinces. China reported a death toll of 22 from the violence, but
Tibet's exiled government says 80 Tibetans were killed. Nineteen
died in subsequent violence in Gansu province, it said.
A rising chorus of international criticism and floated calls for
a boycott have unnerved the Chinese leadership, which has turned up
efforts to put its own version of the unrest before the
international public.
China has blamed the riots on followers of the Dalai Lama,
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice again urged China to start talks with him in order to begin a
dialogue that "is going to be the only policy that is sustainable
in Tibet."
Edward Friedman, a China specialist at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, said he expects Beijing to rally national pride
by attacking its critics.
"My speculation would be that the conversation within the
ruling group, the first thing they'd likely say is that people are
out to tarnish China's image," he said. "The speed of this one
coming at them makes one worry that this group's first instinct is
not very helpful. ... They're much more likely to be pulling the
bridge on the moat and manning the castles and battlements."
Friedman said he expects China to put pressure on other
countries to stay neutral and "to not do things to politicize the
Olympics."
Luciano Barra, deputy CEO of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin,
recalled how the torch relay in Italy was dogged by protesters
opposed to construction of a rail tunnel. Organizers diverted the
route at one stage to avoid the demonstrators.
"It makes me laugh compared to the current problem," Barra
said.
Another potential flashpoint is the route through Tibet. The
flame is due to be carried to the summit of Mount Everest in May
and pass through Lhasa in June.
"It's crucial for everyone who works in Tibetan movement to
emphasize to the public and get the message to the Chinese
government that the Olympic torch should not be allowed to go up
Mount Everest and through Tibet," said Anne Holmes, acting
director of the London-based Free Tibet campaign. "The very idea
that they will be able to parade the torch through Tibet after the
crackdown is obscene given what's going on in Tibet."
Tibetan groups have also urged the IOC to keep the relay out of
the Himalayan region. Rogge, speaking before the incidents, said
there were no plans by Beijing organizers, known as BOCOG, to
change the route, but he didn't rule it out.
"The original torch relay route has been confirmed by BOCOG and
Chinese authorities," Rogge said. "So far, as I speak now, the
IOC is in agreement with that. No one can foresee the future."
China hopes the Olympics will showcase its emergence from
developing country into a world power. But as the games approach,
various groups have used the Olympics to leverage their causes.
Apart from Tibet, China has come under international criticism
for support of Sudan and its role in Darfur. Last month, Hollywood
director Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic adviser to the
opening and closing ceremonies over the Darfur issue.
The IOC has faced calls to take a hard line with China. But
Rogge reiterated his long-standing position that the Olympic body
is not a political organization and stressed he is involved in
private dialogue with Chinese leaders.
"The IOC is engaged in what I call a 'silent diplomacy' with
Chinese authorities since day one of the preparations of the
games," Rogge said.
At Monday's ceremony, one of the three protesting members of the
Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders ran behind BOCOG
President Liu Qi as he was giving a speech. The protester unfurled
a black banner showing the Olympic rings as handcuffs.
"If the Olympic flame is sacred, human rights are even more
so," the French group said. "We cannot let the Chinese government
seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the
dramatic situation of human rights in the country."
China state TV cut away from the protest and showed a
prerecorded scene, preventing Chinese viewers from seeing the
incident. Chinese TV commentators did not mention the
demonstration.
The first torchbearer in the relay was Greece's Alexandros
Nikolaidis. After the torch left the stadium, a Tibetan woman
covered in red paint or dye lay in the road approaching the village
of Olympia while other protesters chanted "Free Tibet" and
"Shame on China."
Japanese runner Haturi Yuuki came within a few feet of the
protester, then stopped and ran in place while plainclothes police
removed her. They also dragged off a man accompanying her who was
waving a Tibetan flag.
Police said the woman and the three members of Reporters Without
Borders were being detained. One of the men arrested was Robert
Menard, the group's general secretary.
The three Frenchmen said that they were told they could face
misdemeanor charges of offending national symbols. They were to
appear before a prosecutor later Monday in the nearby town of
Pyrgos.
"We're asking the heads of government to boycott the opening
ceremony," one of the three protesters, Vincent Brossel, told AP
Television News. "We're not calling for a boycott of the games."
Marcelle Roux, president of the French association France Tibet,
said her group staged a demonstration at the Foreign Ministry in
Paris, and planned more soon.
"These are the games of shame," Roux said. "The Chinese
government must have expected this kind of thing."
Tsering Palden, president of the New York-based Tibetan Youth
Congress, said Tibetan activist groups will urge Coca-Cola this
week to pull its sponsorship of the Olympic Games.
Coca-Cola Co. spokeswoman Kerry Kerr said the company remained
committed to supporting the torch relay. "The Coca-Cola Co. joins
others in expressing deep concern for the situation on the ground
in Tibet. We know that all parties involved hope for a peaceful
resolution," she said.
China has promised a smooth run-up to the Summer Games and is
hoping a successful games will bolster its international image.
"The more determined the Dalai clique is to ruin the torch
relay and the Olympic Games, the more hard and good work we need to
do on the preparation and the implementation of all aspects," Yin
Xunping, a Communist Party official, was quoted as saying by the
Tibet Daily newspaper. Yin is party secretary of the Tibet Mountain
Climbing Team, which is participating in the Mount Everest segment
of the torch relay.
Meanwhile, Germany rejected calls for an Olympic boycott. Some
German athletes had reacted to the Chinese crackdown by supporting
boycott calls.
In Nepal, police in the capital of Katmandu broke up at least
two separate protests by Tibetan refugees and monks and arrested as
many as 475 protesters, officials said.
Chanting "China, stop killings in Tibet. U.N., we want
justice," protesters were marching to U.N. headquarters in
Katmandu when police stopped them about 300 feet away and snatched
their banners.
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Associated Press writers Audra Ang and Tini Tran in Beijing,
Binaj Gurubacharya in Katmandu, Nepal, Nesha Starcevic in
Frankfurt, Germany, Angela Doland in Paris, Tariq Panja in London,
and AP Television News staff in Greece contributed to this report.