Protesters Follow Olympic Torch to Acropolis

Demonstrations in Greece remain mostly peaceful
By Mitch Pritchard,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 29, 2008 8:14 PM CDT
Protesters Follow Olympic Torch to Acropolis
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)

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. (More Tibet stories.)

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