Aus avoids chaotic scenes
2008-04-24 09:18
Canberra, Australia - Runners carried the Olympic torch unimpeded through Australia's capital on Thursday cheered by thousands waving Chinese flags, but critics of China protested nearby and a skywriting airplane wrote "Free Tibet" overhead.
Australian organisers claimed victory because they largely avoided the chaotic scenes that marred the relay in Europe and the United States, which prompted Olympic officials to reconsider holding the event in the future.
Seven people were arrested. Some pro-Tibet demonstrators said they were heckled and harassed by some China supporters who vastly outnumbered them, and police at least once had to break up angry scenes between the two sides.
Protests over China's human rights record and its crackdown last month 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 August 8-24 games in Beijing.
The Australia leg began without major incident as a half dozen officers in jogging pants, T-shirts and baseball caps formed a loose cordon around the runner while other police manned crowd-control barriers.
However, an airplane skywriter wrote "Free Tibet" in white letters overhead.
About an hour into the relay, a man leaped out from the crowd and sat cross-legged about 10m in front of the runner. Police quickly hauled him away and the runner didn't stop.
'It was just a mob mentality'
It was the closest any protester came to the torch during its three-hour journey as 80 runners carried it for 17km through Canberra's tree-lined boulevards.
Away from the route, three Tibetan women blocked the street in front of Parliament. Police also took them away. Another protester shouted "Stop killing in Tibet", and he was led off.
People carrying Chinese flags - and sometimes chanting "One China!" - strongly outnumbered those carrying Tibetan flags or placards criticising Beijing's human rights record. Along the route, eager supporters waving Chinese banners tried to keep up with the relay.
At one point, three protesters jumped crowd-control barricades and walked along the route waving "Free Tibet" signs, and were chased by a larger group carrying Chinese flags who tried to cover up the signs with the flags.
"They mobbed the sign. They were really aggressive, insulting and swearing," said Marion Vecourcay, one of the activists. "It was just a mob mentality."
"We didn't expect this reaction from the Chinese community, which is obviously a well-co-ordinated plan to take the day by weight of numbers," Ted Quinlan, the chief organiser of the Australia relay, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Pro-Tibet protester Thanh Tan Huynh charged that his side was so outnumbered by China supporters because Chinese government officials had paid travel and meal expenses for ethnic Chinese to travel to Canberra from other cities. A Chinese Embassy official, who refused to give his name, rejected the claim.
"We have never organised or provided assistance to these people," the official said.
- AP