ATHENS: The final day of the Beijing Games torch relay through Greece was cut short by several hours yesterday ahead of the Olympic flame's scheduled handover to China, amid concern over anti-Chinese protests by human rights activists.
“We have changed the programme,” Hellenic Olympic Committee spokesman Tassos Papachristou told AFP.
“The flame will now run a small distance through the centre of Athens before (the handover ceremony) at 3:00pm (1200 GMT),” he said.
The torch was originally supposed to be taken to the Olympic Stadium yesterday but this was done on Saturday instead.
Greek organisers have repeatedly changed the Beijing torch relay's passage through Athens over the last few days as sporadic protests by groups protesting against China's human rights record multiply.
On March 24, the flame-lighting ceremony in Olympia, southwest Greece, was disrupted by three members of the Reporters Without Borders press freedom group and Tibetan protesters later staged a street protest in Olympia despite a massive security cordon around the small town.
As the flame entered Athens on Saturday, a few dozen members of Tibetan human rights groups and Falungong – a spiritual movement outlawed in China – staged a peaceful protest beneath the Acropolis against the Chinese clampdown in Tibet and the holding of the Olympics in Beijing in August.
“Our intention is not to stop people from demonstrating but to avoid having an incident that disrupts the torch relay,” Papachristou said. – AFP
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