Protests against China dog Olympic run

The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, offered a rare rebuke to the Chinese government on Apr. 10, calling on the authorities to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights and to provide the news media with greater access to the country ahead of the Beijing Games. Rogge's comments on China, made at a news conference during which he described protests that have dogged the torch relay as a "crisis" for the organization, were a departure from his previous statements that strenuously avoided any mention of politics. The Chinese government immediately rejected Rogge's remarks, saying they amounted to an unwelcome meddling in the country's domestic affairs. "I believe I.O.C. officials support the Beijing Olympics and adherence to the Olympic charter of not bringing in any irrelevant political factors," Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told reporters. Rogge has long avoided criticizing China, saying that pressuring the government on Tibet and other human rights issues was likely to backfire. "China will close itself off from the rest of the world, which, don't forget, it has done for some 2,000 years," he said in an interview broadcast the day before in his native Belgium. Rogge also condemned the protesters who had hounded torch bearers. Olympic committee members have been taken aback by the scope and ferocity of the protests, which are marring what has traditionally been a festive event involving 20,000 torch bearers. Although protests in San Francisco were not as violent or disruptive as in London and Paris, the torch's sole North American visit was a disappointment to thousands of spectators after the relay route was changed at the last minute in an effort to avoid the kind of tussling between protesters and the police that had characterized earlier ceremonies. After officials moved the planned closing ceremony at the San Francisco waterfront to another location on Apr. 9, the Olympic flame was taken aboard an airplane bound for Argentina, the next stop on its worldwide tour. The committee members who gathered at a hotel in central Beijing offered harsh words for demonstrators who used the relay to publicize issues ranging from Tibetan religious freedom to environmental concerns. Gunilla Lindberg, a vice president of the committee, likened some of the more vociferous protesters to terrorists and said they had emboldened committee members to keep the relay going. "We will never give into violence," Lindberg said. "These are not the friendly demonstrators for a free Tibet, but professional demonstrators, the ones who show up at G-8 conferences to be seen and fight." The Olympic flame's procession through San Francisco drew world-wide ridicule when the torch-bearers ran only a few yards before disappearing into a warehouse, only to re-emerge on a bus half an hour later. After furious clashes between Free Tibet protesters and pro-China demonstrators, the authorities seemed to panic and abruptly changed the route, cutting it by half and scrapping the closing ceremony. What Chinese Olympic organisers have called a "Journey of Harmony" quickly became the mystery tour of the missing flame. By 1:20pm local time–20 minutes after the scheduled start" even the TV news helicopters had lost track. Then the runners were glimpsed at last for a brief moment, only to vanish into a warehouse on Pier 48 seconds later. Eventually the torch-bearers, flanked by their Chinese minders in blue shell-suits, got off the bus and posed for photographs before jogging down Van Ness Avenue, their destination unknown. To add to the confusion American officers in blue track suits almost identical to their Chinese counterparts also made an appearance, mingling with the battle-hardened "flame-guards" from Beijing. The city's Mayor defended the decision to scrap the original route by citing security fears. "We assessed the situation and felt that we could not secure the torch and protect the protesters and supporters to the degree that we wished," Gavin Newsom said. "I think it's cowardly. If they can't run the torch through the city, it means that no one is supporting the games," said Matt Helmenstine, 30, a teacher carrying a Tibetan flag. When San Francisco first agreed to host the Olympic torch on its way to the summer games in Beijing, no-one could have imagined such scenes. But since the torch began its world tour from Greece, outrage over China's military crackdown in Tibet has sparked increasingly bitter protests. In London and Paris, pro-Tibet groups tackled the runners and used fire-extinguishers to try to put out the flame. China's heavy-set "flame minders" only aggravated matters. In Paris, city officials said at least 28 people had been taken into custody. Earlier, just after midday, a large group of protesters howled as the lights on the Eiffel Tower rippled from top to bottom. This was the display Chinese organizers wanted seen around the world, as the former French hurdler Stéphane Diagana received the flame on the first floor and carried it down the steps at the start of its journey. Soon after, the howls turned to cheers as protesters managed to hang a black banner from the tower itself. For a few hours until it was finally removed, the image of five Olympic rings designed as handcuffs -- fast becoming the alternative symbol of the Beijing Games -- was clear for all to see. Three members of Reporters Without Borders who had climbed up to display the banner were arrested.