Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 12, 2008 7:59:28 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Protesters Follow Olympic Torch to Acropolis

Posted Mar 29, 08 8:14 PM CDT in World,  Sports 

(Newser) – Olympic torchbearers made their way to the Acropolis in Greece today with the help of heavy security that kept protesters at arm's length, the AP reports. Activists have set up camp by candlelight outside the stadium—site of the first modern Olympics in 1896— to protest China's human rights record and the recent crackdown in Tibet. The torch will be passed to Chinese officials tomorrow.

"There is a permanent and large police presence around it, aided by helicopter surveillance," a police official told AFP. One pro-Tibet group unfurled a "Free Tibet 2008" banner outside the site. Earlier, a group of anti-globalization demonstrators briefly scuffled with police. Organizers made last-minute changes to the relay route to avoid disruptions.

Sources Associated Press, AFP

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • US Urges China to Free 8 Yanks

    Aug 24, 08 2:33 PM CDT
    US Urges China to Free 8 Yanks Washington is seeking the release of eight US protesters held by China during the Olympics, Reuters reports. Two were collared Thursday for posting a "Free Tibet" banner near an Olympic event; six others were members of Free Tibet Reporters detained the day before. Beijing vows to release all eight next weekend. This marks the first time during the Olympics that American protesters have been held for more than a day. More »

  • Why the Chinese Need Olympic Glory

    Aug 4, 08 4:30 PM CDT
    Why the Chinese Need Olympic Glory Those shocked by China’s bristly response to Olympic protests and criticisms would do well to remember some history, Orville Schell writes for the New York Review of Books. After what the Chinese call a "century of humiliation" at the hands of the West and Japan, the nation has developed an institutionalized paranoia and sense of injury that even a booming economy hasn't fixed. That's where the Olympics come in.
    More »

  • 1,000 Tibetan Monks Jailed to Prevent Protests

    Jul 7, 08 2:35 AM CDT
    1,000 Tibetan Monks Jailed to Prevent Protests The Chinese government has jailed more than 1,000 monks in an effort to prevent protests during the Olympic Games, reports the Times of London. Three large monasteries are empty near Lhasa, where hundreds of monks and supporters held protests amid gunfire in March. The government is holding the monks—many of them young ethnic Tibetans—in nearby prisons and detention centers, according to sources. More »

  • China Reopens Tibetan Tourism

    Jun 25, 08 12:13 PM CDT
    China Reopens Tibetan Tourism China is allowing foreign tourists to enter Tibet for the first time since March protests, sources tell the BBC. The Olympic torch’s smooth reception in Lhasa over the weekend means "Tibet is safe,” a Tibetan tourism director tells state media. "We welcome the domestic and foreign tourists." Tibet remains essentially off-limits, however, to foreign journalists. More »

  • Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet

    Jun 21, 08 6:17 AM CDT
    Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet Under tight security, the Olympic torch made its way through Tibet’s capital in the most controversial leg of its worldwide journey—a jaunt that ended with Chinese criticism of the Dalai Lama, Reuters reports. “We will be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique,” said the Communist party’s Tibet leader in front of Potala Palace, the exiled Tibetan leader’s traditional seat. More »

Police watch over a group of Danish protesters, all dressed in orange, gathered outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Olympic Committee today.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Greek police gesture to a Danish protester, dressed in orange, during a protest outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Olympic Committee today.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Members of a pro-Tibet group hold candles as they protest at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens on Saturday, March 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Members of a pro-Tibet group hold a candle-lit protest at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Saturday, March 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Phil Ipparis)
Police watch over a group of Danish protesters, all dressed in orange, gathered outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Olympic Committee on Saturday, March 29, 2008.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A Danish protester, hold leaflets, outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Athens, Greece, today.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A row of riot police are reflected in the sunglasses of a Danish protester, dressed in orange, outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Olympic Committee on today.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

2008 Beijing Olympics  • Tibet  • Olympic torch  • Olympic protests  • Greece  • Tibetans  • Acropolis


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Sports Stories