Friday, 11 April, 2008, 05:29 AM Doha Time
NEW DELHI: Grim-faced Chinese guards protecting the Olympic torch have attracted further criticism ahead of the relay’s arrival in India, where bitter memories of war with its neighbour remain fresh.
Phalanxes of Chinese security personnel are accompanying the flame on its round-the-world journey to shield it from pro-Tibetan and other protesters.

One Indian general who fought Chinese troops in the 1962 war attacked New Delhi for allowing Beijing to guard the torch, while some Indian figures asked to carry the flame have pulled out citing their own concerns.
“The relay may have been marred by Tibetan protests in France and England but I completely disagree that the Chinese should be doing anything with its security on Indian territory,” Lieutenant General Afsir Karim said.
“There is something terribly wrong in how India is handling this situation and it’s outrageous that a foreign force will be the custodian of the torch when we have more than ample experience in crowd management.”
An advance team of Chinese commandos would provide “proximate security” for the flame when it reaches New Delhi from Islamabad on April 17, the Press Trust of Indian quoted security officials as saying.
India has already curtailed the route from 9km to 3km because of fears of rowdy protests.
“The Olympic Holy Flame Protection Unit which has personnel from Beijing’s Special Police Force will form the inner security ring for the torch,” a home ministry official, who asked not to be named, said.
Among those invited to join the New Delhi relay is Rahul Gandhi, a scion of the charismatic Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and touted as a future premier.
Gandhi was yet to say whether he would take part but an aide said he had been advised to stay away. “It’s a political minefield and it will provide strong ammunition to the opposition,” he said.
India’s first female police officer, Kiran Bedi, declined an invitation to carry the torch, saying she could not “run in a cage,” while the country’s former football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has also refused, saying he wanted to show solidarity with Tibetans.
However, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan said he would take part, noting the Olympics was a sporting event and not political.
India is home to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who fled to the country after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule, and at least 100,000 of his supporters.
Yesterday, the Tibetan government-in-exile said it did not support the disruption of the Olympic torch relay.
“The Tibet government and many people of Tibet are not trying to stop the torch. The Dalai Lama is supporting the Olympics,” Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in northern India, told reporters in New Delhi.
India is considered one of the riskier places for the torch after a large number of protests by Tibetans over the past month.
A group of Tibetan youths scaled the walls of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi last month, prompting Beijing to summon the Indian envoy there to express its displeasure.
Tibetans also briefly protested yesterday along the heavily guarded stretch of New Delhi where the torch is expected to pass.
Samdhong Rinpoche said he wished protesters would not do anything to embarrass the Indian government, but added there were groups of Tibetans who did not endorse the Dalai Lama’s support for the Olympics. “There are people who do not agree with our stand,” he said. “In a democratic society people have a right to their opinion.”
Asked if the Olympics had helped highlight the Tibetan cause, Samdhong Rinpoche said it was just a coincidence and the “uprising” would have taken place even if the games were not happening.
He expressed concern about the fate of those detained in Tibet after the rioting last month, saying China should allow a fair trial and punishment should be in accordance with law.
“The detainees should not be killed without proper trial,” he said, adding there was a possibility of the trial being unfair and “unthinkable force” being used in Tibet in reprisal.
The Tibetan prime minster-in-exile said they were open to a dialogue with China, and Beijing was sending many signals through “all kinds of channels”.
“But they are mixed signals. We are not able to understand,” he said.
“As far as we are concerned we don’t put any preconditions,” he said, calling for an appropriate environment for talks.
“In the present situation we don’t see that.” – Agencies

Posted: 04|11|08 at 10:42 pm. Filed under: News.
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