As the Olympic torch began its journey from its birth place in Olympia, Greece, to Chinese capital Beijing, Tibetans upset the lighting of the torch by emerging from the crowds, running up behind the speaker Liu Qi and holding a banner calling for the boycott of the Olympic Games alleging that China has Tibetan blood on his hands.

The three men are believed to be part of the international rights group Reporters Without Borders. The protesters tried to grab the microphone and the banner read “Boycott the Games in the country that tramples human rights.”

The trio were quickly detained but the protest nonetheless is the first such to have marred the Olympics ceremony.

Police have been on high alert and flooded the town amidst fears of protests by Tibetan activists. Earlier in the day, a Tibetan, Tensing Dorjee, confronted the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge at his hotel in Olympia and blamed him for the unrest in Tibet. Tenzin demanded the IOC to cancel the torch relay through Tibet.

The ceremony launches the Olympic torch relay that marks the countdown for each Olympic Games. The Beijing Games relay is the longest and most ambitious ever planned, lasting 130 days and covering 1, 37,000km worldwide.

The Beijing Olympics, the first to be held in China, will open on August 8 and run until August 24.

Posted: 03|24|08 at 8:31 pm. Filed under: News.
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