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Greece hands over Olympic flame
Greece handed the Olympic flame to China, host of the 2008 Games, on Sunday despite attempts by pro-Tibet protesters to disrupt the ceremony.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:09 March 31, 2008
- Activists scuffle with police as they demonstrate near Athens' Panathinaiko stadium, the venue of the handover ceremony for the Olympic flame, in Athens.
- Image Credit: EPA
Athens: Greece handed the Olympic flame to China, host of the 2008 Games, on Sunday despite attempts by pro-Tibet protesters to disrupt the ceremony.
A small group of activists tried to stop the flame from reaching the Athens stadium where Beijing officials were waiting, but were quickly removed by police.
Hundreds of police lined the flame's route, scores of security vehicles followed the torch bearers and helicopters hovered overhead - the strictest security measures since torch relays were launched at the 1936 Berlin Games.
"In 130 days the 2008 Beijing Olympics begin. We and the other nations of the world look forward to this moment," said Beijing Games organising chief Liu Qi before accepting the flame. The Games run from August 8 to 24.
Protesters holding Tibet flags and shouting "Free Tibet" and "China out of Tibet" failed to break through the police cordon and get to the final torch-bearer entering the stadium.
Police detained 21 Greeks and foreigners for staging the protests but said they would be released later. Several others were moved away.
Rights activists also disrupted last Monday's flame-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia, televised live around the world, unfolding banners condemning China's rights record.
Protests also marred the relay within Greece. Demonstrators lay on the ground in front of vehicles accompanying the flame in Olympia and the northern city of Thessaloniki, holding up the runners several times.
Exiled Tibetans and human rights activists targeted the Olympic flame to protest against a crackdown by Chinese forces on protests in Tibet and parts of western China.
China has ruled Tibet since a 1950 invasion and has blamed Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for plotting "terror" ahead of the Olympics.
Greek officials condemned the protests and said the Olympic flame should not be politicised. Greece's Foreign Press Association and photojournalists' union said the security measures breached the fundamental right to inform.
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