4/20/2008

New Delhi...

NEW DELHI (AP) - Runners carried the Olympic flame Thursday along a heavily guarded route through central New Delhi, protected by about 15,000 police spread through the capital to try to keep Tibetan exiles and other protesters from disrupting the ceremony.

Much of New Delhi's leafy British colonial-era center—the administrative heart of India, home to the presidential palace, Parliament and government ministries—was sealed off to traffic and pedestrians in some of the tightest security ever seen in the capital.

To avoid the chaos that has marked the torch runs in London, Paris and San Francisco, Indian authorities cut the relay route to less than two miles. That meant each of the 70 runners in the relay could jog with the flame for only a few seconds before handing the flame to the next person.

The torchbearers were surrounded by rings of jogging security forces—first Chinese forces in blue tracksuits and then Indians in red ones—as they ran from the presidential palace to the historic India Gate monument, where an Olympic cauldron was lit. Several buses of police followed the runners.

The public was allowed nowhere near the relay, and crowds amounted to just several hundred young people sitting on bleachers wearing T- shirts of an Olympic sponsor, Coca-Cola, and several hundred members of India's Chinese community.

India is home to the world's largest Tibetan exile community, and on Wednesday, about 100 protesters tried to breach the security cordon around the Chinese Embassy. Police dragged away about 50 of them, loading them into police vans—but not before they managed to spray paint "No Olympics in China" on a street near the embassy.

Some two dozen Tibetan exiles chanted anti-China slogans and protested along a busy highway as the torch made its way into the city early Thursday after being greeted at the airport by flag-waving traditional dancers and Chinese cheerleaders. Several of the protesters were detained by police.

Because of repeated protests at the embassy in recent weeks, it is now surrounded by barricades and barbed wire. Exiles also have gone on hunger strikes and shaved their heads to protest China's crackdown on protests in Tibet.

Thousands of Tibetans also took part in their own torch run to highlight the Tibetan struggle. That run began Thursday morning with a Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh prayer session at the site where Indian pacifist icon Mohandas Gandhi was cremated. The torch was then lighted and Tibetans put on a show of traditional dancing.

Several dozen prominent Indians, including former Defense Minster George Fernandez, joined the Tibetans, marched without incident.

Public sympathy in India lies with the Tibetans, who have sought refuge in the country since the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Beijing in 1959, setting up his government-in-exile in the northern town of Dharmsala.

In Mumbai, India's financial capital, police detained some 25 Tibetans who tried to breach the barricades surrounding the Chinese consulate there. Protesters shouted "Free Tibet" as they were dragged into police vehicles.

The protests reached the isolated Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh, which borders Tibet, where at least 5,000 Tibetan exiles and local Buddhists marched amid a strike call that shut down all businesses and schools, said M.K. Bhandari, a senior local official.

Chanting "Free Tibet!" and "Down with China!" the protesters carried Tibetan flags as they marched through Leh, the region's main town. Ladakh is home to about 7,000 Tibetan exiles.

Tibetan exiles, who number more than 100,000 in India, have staged near-daily protests in New Delhi since demonstrations first broke out in Tibet in March and were put down by Chinese authorities.

The exiles said the torch run was a perfect opportunity to make their point, despite the fact that the Dalai Lama says he supports China's hosting of the Olympics.

"By speaking out when the Chinese government brings the Olympic torch to India, you will send a strong message to Tibetans, to the Chinese government, and to the world, that Indians support the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people's nonviolent struggle for freedom and justice," according to Students for a Free Tibet, an exile group.

After decades of frosty relations, New Delhi is trying to forge closer ties with China. In Beijing, the Chinese government said it was pleased with India's security preparations.

"I think the Indian government will take effective measures to ensure the smooth and safe relay in New Delhi this evening," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

The Olympic flame, which began its worldwide six-continent trek from ancient Olympia in Greece on March 24, has been the focus of protests over China's human rights record.

The turmoil over the torch relay and the growing international criticism of China's policies on Tibet and Darfur have turned the Beijing games—which begin Aug. 8—into one of the most contentious in recent history.

Runners carry Olympic flame in New Delhi amid heavy security

Runners carry Olympic flame in New Delhi amid heavy security
The Olympic torch relay is passed between unidentified sportsmen in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 17, 2008.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
VEW: AP Video of torch run in India



NEW DELHI — Runners carried the Olympic flame Thursday along a heavily guarded route through central New Delhi, protected by about 15,000 police who kept Tibetan exiles and other anti-China protesters from disrupting the ceremony.
Much of New Delhi's leafy British colonial-era center _ where the presidential palace, Parliament and government ministries are located _ was sealed off to traffic and pedestrians in some of the tightest security ever seen in the capital.

India is home to the world's largest Tibetan exile community, and thousands held a peaceful mock torch relay earlier Thursday elsewhere in New Delhi to draw attention to the Chinese crackdown in Tibet. Protests were also held in other Indian cities, including Mumbai, where 25 people who tried to storm the Chinese consulate were detained.

To avoid the chaos that has marked the torch runs in London, Paris and San Francisco, Indian authorities cut the relay route to less than two miles. That meant each of the 70 runners in the relay could jog with the flame for only a few seconds before handing it to the next person.

The torchbearers were surrounded by rings of jogging security forces _ first Chinese forces in blue tracksuits and then Indians in red ones _ as they ran from the presidential palace to the historic India Gate monument, where an Olympic cauldron was lit. Several buses of police followed the runners, who included tennis star Leander Paes.

The public was allowed nowhere near the relay, and crowds amounted to just several hundred young people sitting on bleachers wearing T-shirts of an Olympic sponsor, Coca-Cola, and several hundred members of India's Chinese community.

Shortly after the Olympic flame was flown to New Delhi early Thursday from its last stop in Pakistan, some two dozen Tibetan exiles chanted anti-China slogans and protested along a busy highway to the airport. Several of the protesters were detained by police.

Thousands of Tibetans took part in their own torch run to highlight the Tibetan struggle. That run began with a Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh prayer session at the site where Indian pacifist icon Mohandas Gandhi was cremated. The torch was then lighted and Tibetans put on a show of traditional dancing.

Several dozen prominent Indians, including former Defense Minster George Fernandez, joined the Tibetans, marched without incident.

Public sympathy in India lies with the Tibetans, who have sought refuge in the country since the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Beijing in 1959, setting up his government-in-exile in the northern town of Dharmsala.

On Wednesday, about 100 protesters tried to breach the security cordon around the Chinese Embassy. Police dragged away about 50 of them, loading them into police vans _ but not before they managed to spray paint "No Olympics in China" on a street near the embassy.

Because of repeated protests at the embassy in recent weeks, it is now surrounded by barricades and barbed wire. Exiles also have gone on hunger strikes and shaved their heads to protest China's crackdown on protests in Tibet.

In Mumbai, India's financial capital, police detained some 25 Tibetans who tried to breach the barricades surrounding the Chinese consulate there. Protesters shouted "Free Tibet" as they were dragged into police vehicles.

The protests reached the isolated Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh, which borders Tibet, where at least 5,000 Tibetan exiles and local Buddhists marched amid a strike call that shut down all businesses and schools, said M.K. Bhandari, a senior local official.

Chanting "Free Tibet!" and "Down with China!" the protesters carried Tibetan flags as they marched through Leh, the region's main town. Ladakh is home to about 7,000 Tibetan exiles.

Tibetan exiles, who number more than 100,000 in India, have staged near-daily protests in New Delhi since demonstrations first broke out in Tibet in March and were put down by Chinese authorities.

The exiles said the torch run was a perfect opportunity to make their point, despite the fact that the Dalai Lama says he supports China's hosting of the Olympics.

"By speaking out when the Chinese government brings the Olympic torch to India, you will send a strong message to Tibetans, to the Chinese government, and to the world, that Indians support the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people's nonviolent struggle for freedom and justice," according to Students for a Free Tibet, an exile group.

After decades of frosty relations, New Delhi is trying to forge closer ties with China. In Beijing, the Chinese government said it was pleased with India's security preparations.

"I think the Indian government will take effective measures to ensure the smooth and safe relay in New Delhi this evening," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

The Olympic flame, which began its worldwide six-continent trek from ancient Olympia in Greece on March 24, has been the focus of protests over China's human rights record.

The turmoil over the torch relay and the growing international criticism of China's policies on Tibet and Darfur have turned the Olympics _ which begin Aug. 8 _ into one of the most contentious in recent history.

The flame heads next to Bangkok, Thailand, where authorities say they may similarly shorten Saturday's relay route to about six miles through the capital because of security concerns.

Runners carry Olympic flame in New Delhi amid heavy security

Runners carry Olympic flame in New Delhi amid heavy security

Thursday, April 17th 2008, 9:38 AM

NEW DELHI - Runners carried the Olympic flame Thursday along a heavily guarded route through central New Delhi, protected by about 15,000 police who kept Tibetan exiles and other anti-China protesters from disrupting the ceremony.

Much of New Delhi's leafy British colonial-era center _ where the presidential palace, Parliament and government ministries are located _ was sealed off to traffic and pedestrians in some of the tightest security ever seen in the capital.

India is home to the world's largest Tibetan exile community, and thousands held a peaceful mock torch relay earlier Thursday elsewhere in New Delhi to draw attention to the Chinese crackdown in Tibet. Protests were also held in other Indian cities, including Mumbai, where 25 people who tried to storm the Chinese consulate were detained.

To avoid the chaos that has marked the torch runs in London, Paris and San Francisco, Indian authorities cut the relay route to less than two miles. That meant each of the 70 runners in the relay could jog with the flame for only a few seconds before handing it to the next person.

The torchbearers were surrounded by rings of jogging security forces _ first Chinese forces in blue tracksuits and then Indians in red ones _ as they ran from the presidential palace to the historic India Gate monument, where an Olympic cauldron was lit. Several buses of police followed the runners, who included tennis star Leander Paes.

The public was allowed nowhere near the relay, and crowds amounted to just several hundred young people sitting on bleachers wearing T-shirts of an Olympic sponsor, Coca-Cola, and several hundred members of India's Chinese community.

Shortly after the Olympic flame was flown to New Delhi early Thursday from its last stop in Pakistan, some two dozen Tibetan exiles chanted anti-China slogans and protested along a busy highway to the airport. Several of the protesters were detained by police.

Thousands of Tibetans took part in their own torch run to highlight the Tibetan struggle. That run began with a Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh prayer session at the site where Indian pacifist icon Mohandas Gandhi was cremated. The torch was then lighted and Tibetans put on a show of traditional dancing.

Several dozen prominent Indians, including former Defense Minster George Fernandez, joined the Tibetans, marched without incident.

Public sympathy in India lies with the Tibetans, who have sought refuge in the country since the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Beijing in 1959, setting up his government-in-exile in the northern town of Dharmsala.

OLYMPIC FLAME IN NEW DELHI

OLYMPIC FLAME IN NEW DELHI

Torch Paraded through Quiet Streets

There was no Olympic torch chaos for New Delhi on Thursday -- the authorities made sure of that. Instead, the flame passed through eerily quiet streets, while the protests, and arrests, took place elsewhere.

The Olympic torch was paraded through quiet streets in New Delhi on Thursday, where authorities sealed off the city center to keep Tibetan protestors away from the flame on its short tour of the Indian capital.

PHOTO GALLERY : OLYMPIC TORCH LIGHTS EMPTY NEW DELHI STREETS

Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (9 Photos)


Successive rings of security personnel -- the now familiar Chinese guards in their blue track suits at the center, with Indian security guards dressed in red surrounding them -- flanked the flame as it was carried from the presidential palace to the India Gate monument.

Much of New Delhi's, colonial-era center, which is home to Parliament and myriad government ministries, was closed to traffic and pedestrians by about 15,000 police. Several buses full of police followed the roughly 70 runners along the three-kilometer (two-mile) route without incident.

Streets were sealed for blocks around the route, which had been sharply cut back by worried organizers and officials, leaving the runners able to jog for just a few seconds before handing the flame to the next person.

The Olympic torch travels the world.
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The Olympic torch travels the world.

The public were allowed nowhere near the relay, and crowds amounted to just several hundred young people sitting on bleachers wearing T-shirts of Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola and several hundred members of India's Chinese community.

Indian authorities were desperate to avoid the chaos that plagued the torch's cameos in London and Paris in recent weeks, and police managed to control scattered protests in New Delhi and other cities. Some 180 pro-Tibetan protestors were detained across the country. India is home to some 100,000 Tibetans, the largest such exile community.

Some two dozen Tibetan exiles chanted anti-China slogans and protested along a busy highway in New Delhi as the torch arrived in a plane before dawn on Thursday and made its way into the city. Several were detained. In Mumbai, India's financial capital, police detained about 25 other Tibetans who attempted to breach the barricades around the Chinese Consulate. Protesters shouted "Free Tibet" as they were dragged into police vehicles.

On Wednesday, Indian authorities arrested two dozen Tibetans when they tried to breach a line of security around the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi. Demonstrators painted the slogan "No Olympics in China" on the street not far away from the embassy.

The torch was scheduled to leave New Delhi later Thursday for Thailand.

pmm/ap/reuters