The sacred flame of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on early Sunday arrived in the Malaysia capital of Kuala Lumpur, the 13th leg of its global torch relay.
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — The Olympic flame arrived in Kuala Lumpur amid heightened security early Sunday after earlier demonstrations fuelled Malaysian fears that foreigners might disrupt the April 21 leg.
The torch, accompanied by Chinese security, arrived by charter plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at about 2:19 am (1819 GMT Saturday) from Thailand.
The symbol of the Beijing 2008 Games is on the Asian leg of its world tour, which has so far been largely trouble free after embarrassing protests in Europe and the United States earlier this month.
Two Malaysian Olympic officials joined the Chinese Ambassador to meet the torch party, said witnesses.
The torch will now be kept at a secret location before it appears in public on Monday for Malaysian leg, officials said.
Malaysian police have increased security for the torch relay, with local Olympic officials concerned that foreign protesters will try to disrupt the event.
"We are well prepared to counter any form of disturbance from anyone or any organisation," the city's public order chief, K. Kumaran, told The Star daily.
Special forces will accompany the torch bearers, and the number of police officers manning the 16.5-kilometre (10-mile) route has been increased from 600 to 1,000, Kumaran said.
On Friday, 30 Falungong supporters demonstrated outside the Chinese embassy, alleging that Beijing was using the Games as a reason to persecute the group's practitioners.
China outlawed the Falungong, which combines meditation with Buddhist-inspired teachings, as an "evil cult" in mid-1999, and many practitioners have faced brutal repression there in the past.
A Chinese crackdown on recent demonstrations in Tibet has also put the spotlight on China's heavily criticised record on human rights -- and ignited protests at many of the torch's previous stops, notably London and Paris.
Local personalities and celebrities are among the 80 torch bearers who will carry the flame from Independence Square in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to the capital's iconic Petronas twin towers on its four-hour journey.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Vajrayana Buddhist Council is holding a prayer session on Sunday to call for a smooth torch relay and a peaceful Olympics.
The Asia torch relay includes stops in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam before heading to China.
AFP
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