AFP Photo
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The Olympic flame arrived here Tuesday under heavy security as games officials dismissed suggestions that the global relay could be abandoned amid protests over China's human rights record.
The symbolic flame arrived at San Francisco International Airport around 4:00 am (1100 GMT) for its only stop in the United States, a day after angry protests forced officials to snuff out the Olympic torch five times in Paris.
Police guarded every entrance to the airport's international terminal and officers in riot gear patroled outside the building, before the flame was whisked to a secret location ahead of Wednesday's torch relay.
Pro-Tibet activists were holding events in San Francisco on Tuesday which will culminate in a rally and candlelight vigil attended by Tibetan leaders, actor Richard Gere and archbishop Desmond Tutu at around 6:00 pm (0100 GMT).
Around 800 protesters carrying Tibetan flags attended a rally at the city's United Nations Plaza early Tuesday before marching to the Chinese consulate, flanked by police officers. Protesters chanted "Shame on China" and "Free Tibet Now" as they demonstrated outside the consulate buildings.
San Francisco organizers have already trimmed the route of the torch relay to six miles, and mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday further changes could be made even after the event gets underway.
Meanwhile in Beijing on Tuesday, Olympic chief Jacques Rogge raised the prospect of a possible abandonment of the relay's ensuing legs after confirming that the flame's odyssey would be reviewed at a meeting this week.
But he later moved to dampen speculation of the relay being stopped. "It's a false rumor," Rogge told France 3 television. "There is no discussion underway on the matter and we do not envisage such a scenario.
"We will of course analyze the route of the torch since the beginning, from Olympia to Paris although the next stage is San Francisco. That's what we are doing and we will make regular evaluations."
However, Rogge emphasized: "We are not in the dynamic of stopping." Pro-Tibet campaigners have shadowed the flame from the moment it was lit in Greece on March 24, as demonstrators accuse China of violating human rights and protest a crackdown in Tibet that they say has left 150 people dead.
China says "rioters" killed 20 people. International leaders have also come under pressure to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing on August 8. Although US President George W. Bush has consistently said he plans to attend, arguing that the Olympics is about sport not politics, the White House on Tuesday did not rule out the possibility of Bush missing the event.
"We haven't provided any schedule on the president's trip," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. In San Francisco, meanwhile, an increasing number of rights campaigners called for calm on Tuesday, urging protesters not to attempt to disrupt the relay and warning that a repeat of the scenes in Paris could backfire.
"We are calling on all of our supporters to remain calm, not to disrupt the torch relay as much as to come out in great numbers and show the strength of the movement," International Campaign for Tibet president John Ackerly said.
"There is certainly a danger if people jump in front of it and try to grab the torch, but such actions could sway public opinion against us. We stand by non-violence." Lucie Morillon, of press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, said a repeat of the scenes in London and Paris could hand China a propaganda victory. "We want demonstrators to show restraint," Morillon said.
"Violence against the torch could backfire and give ammunition for Chinese propaganda." However some groups have hinted they may attempt to obstruct the torch route in San Francisco.
Nyunt Than, president of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance, said his organization was planning "direct action" during the relay. "That means civil disobedience. It's still considered non-violent. We might be sitting across the street but that is not violent," he said.
Chinese officials have reacted strongly to the idea of stifling their effort to stage the most ambitious Olympic torch relay ever, visiting 19 countries plus China over a 137,000 kilometer (85,000 mile) journey.
"The disruption and sabotage of the torch relay is a challenge to the spirit of the Olympic charter, the world laws, and peace-loving people around the world," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. After San Francisco the torch heads to Buenos Aires and 12 more countries before arriving in China in early May.
No comments:
Post a Comment