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Arrests mar London’s Olympic
torch relay
London—Police scuffled with protesters as Olympians and celebrities
carried the Olympic torch through snowy London during a chaotic
relay Sunday.
Demonstrators tried to board a relay bus as five-time Olympic gold
medalist rower Steve Redgrave launched the 31-mile procession at
Wembley Stadium. Three people were arrested, police said.
Later, in west London, another protester tried to grab the torch,
forcing police to briefly stop the procession as officers moved in
to grab the man. Another demonstrator tried to snuff out the flame
with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. A few miles down the
route, dozens of Chinese supporters of the Olympics were waving
large China flags outside the British Museum. Around the corner,
several dozen protesters were chanting “Free Tibet.”
In London, host of the next Olympics in 2012, dozens of dignitaries,
athletes and celebrities lined the route.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he will greet the torch outside his
10 Downing Street home during its journey from Wembley Stadium in
the northwest to Greenwich in the southeast.
“It is also important to recognize, when you ask the question about
the Olympic torch, that the Dalai Lama himself has said that he does
not want to see a boycott of the Olympics,” Brown said Saturday.
The torch’s global tour is the longest in Olympic history and is
meant to highlight China’s growing economic and political power. But
it has also offered protest groups abundant opportunity to draw
attention to their concerns.
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