Arrests as torch arrives in Aus
2008-04-23 09:34
Canberra - Two people were arrested as the Olympic flame arrived in Australia on Wednesday for the latest leg of a troubled global torch relay which has been beset by anti-China protests.
A chartered airliner carrying the flame touched down under tight security at a military airfield in the capital Canberra after a six-hour flight from Jakarta and was met by Australian and Chinese officials.
There were no incidents at the tightly guarded airfield, but police said a man and a woman were arrested in Sydney while trying to display a banner on the iconic Harbour Bridge as the aircraft approached Canberra.
The flame has become the focus of international demonstrations against China's role in Tibet and the Olympic host's human rights record.
"Two people, a man and a woman, were detained by security officers as they tried to unfurl a banner on the bridge," a police spokesperson told AFP, adding that they faced a small fine for doing so without a permit.
Local media reported that the pair had planned to unveil a Tibetan flag, but the spokesperson said she could not confirm that.
Overnight, a laser light display was used to project the slogans "Don't torch Tibet" and "One Dream: Peace in Tibet" onto one of the bridge's pylons.
The Australia Tibet Council said the display was designed to protest a plan to carry the Olympic Torch through Tibet, saying it had "nothing to do with sport".
"It is a blatant political manoeuvre by the Chinese leadership to symbolically cement and legitimise their control over the region," said spokesperson Paul Bourke.
Officials have expressed concern over the potential for clashes during the torch relay through Canberra, which is expected to be attended by thousands of Chinese supporters as well as pro-Tibet protesters.
Barriers have been erected along the 16km route and more than half of the city's police force will be patrolling the spectacle after violent incidents in Europe and the United States.
Australia will handle security for the relay but Chinese Olympic torch attendants will have a "technical role", Australian International Olympic Committee representative Kevan Gosper said.
"If there's difficulty with the torch, the Beijing torch attendants are trained to get that torch moving again," Gosper told reporters after the flame arrived in Australia.
The flame was carried off the plane by Chinese officials and greeted on the airport tarmac by Aboriginal community leaders.
- AFP