Apr 23, 2008 12:00 pm US/Eastern
Olympic Torch Kept Away From Protests In Australia
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ―
Scuffles erupted Thursday as pro-Tibet activists and China supporters gathered in Australia's capital for the start of the Olympic torch relay. Police manned crowd-control barriers and vowed that nothing would stop the flame from completing its trip.
Organizers of Australia's portion of the relay worried that chaotic demonstrations that marred the event elsewhere could be repeated.
Protests of China's human rights record and its crackdown on anti-government activists in Tibet have turned the relay into a contentious issue for the Olympic movement. Many countries have changed routes and boosted security along the flame's six-continent journey to the Aug. 8-24 games in Beijing.
People carrying Chinese flags appeared to strongly outnumber those carrying Tibetan flags or placards supporting independence for the territory or criticizing Beijing's human rights record.
Television footage showed dozens of China supporters facing off against a group carrying blue-colored flags representing the China's Muslim minority Uighurs. Minor scuffling broke out as officials sought to separate the two groups into different areas of the park. Police said one person was arrested.
On a cool but sunny autumn morning, thousands of people were lining the planned route of the relay. Most places were peaceful.
Security to guard the 80 torchbearers for the three-hour relay has been boosted -- officials say the expense doubled in recent weeks to $1.9 million -- although the several hundred police expected to be deployed is far fewer than the thousands who guarded the flame in India and Indonesia.
Pro-Tibet groups said they expect about 500 people in Canberra for peaceful protests. In response, Chinese student groups organized bus trips from Sydney and other cities for those wanting to support the relay.
The Canberra route was shortened out of security concerns, but it still threads along a 10-mile path past Parliament House and within 200 yards of the Chinese Embassy.
"We are determined that this torch will run its full route," Police Chief Mike Phelan told reporters.
Three-foot-tall crowd-control barriers have been set up along the route, and federal police will jog beside the torchbearers, Phelan said. More would be on hand if needed, although he declined to give the number.
Three Chinese torch officials would be allowed near the flame, but they would have no security role, he said. Australian officials have sought to play down the role of the Chinese security team that has surrounded the flame on the relay.
There were small protests Wednesday.
In Sydney, activists unfurled a banner over a prominent billboard for relay sponsor Coca-Cola that urged China to open talks with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. Police charged four people with trespassing.
Earlier, police stopped two people from unfurling a pro-Tibet banner on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. They were fined.
In Canberra, about 150 people attended a vigil outside the Chinese Embassy and spelled out "Free Tibet" with candles.
George Farley, chairman of the Australia Tibet Council, urged the crowd not to be violent on Thursday, even if provoked, because it could only harm their cause.
"The world believes the cause of Tibet is moral," Farley said. "If they spit on you, just wear it. If they attack you, run away. Do not approach the Chinese, do not interact with them."
E-mails and postings on Internet Web sites frequented by Chinese students urged people to go to Canberra to "protect the flame," although the messages also said violence was unacceptable.
In Nepal, authorities forced an American mountaineer with a "Free Tibet" banner in his bags off Mount Everest. Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic torch plan to ascend their side of the world's tallest peak in the early days of May.
The climber, who was identified by a guide company as William Brant Holland, was caught with the banner at Everest's base camp, said Nepalese Tourism Ministry officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The climber is the first to be stopped by soldiers and police stationed on the Nepalese side of Everest during the torch relay.
Qu Yingpu, the senior official of Beijing's organizing committee who is traveling with the flame, said the relay had been a success despite the problems.
"Like everything else, we have ups and downs, but we are quite easy with that," he said.
The flame arrived at an air base and was greeted by government and Olympic officials and Aboriginal elder Agnes Shea, who said she hoped the flame's stay would symbolize "good will for all mankind." It was then whisked away to a secret location.
Although he confessed to "some anxiousness" about security, Australian relay organizer Ted Quinlan said the effort was worth it because the ultimate message of the Olympics was one of harmony.
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