Olympic torch lit despite protest

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

The Olympic torch has been lit at a ceremony in Greece that was briefly disrupted by pro-Tibet activists.

Two protesters from media rights group Reporters Without Borders broke through the cordon of 1,000 police officers in Olympia as China's envoy spoke.
...
As Liu Qi, head of the Beijing Olympic organising committee, spoke ahead of the torch lighting, two men ran up behind him attempting to display a black flag depicting the Olympic rings made from handcuffs.

The men were from the France-based media rights watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders, or RSF), which has called for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the games.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7310654.stm

[Mika]

1. Freedom House on the march. n/t

[fedsron2us]

2. Four month moving protest that will visit 20 countries

I think the Chinese government are only just beginning to realise what is about to occur.

[bemildred]

3. Tibet protest mars Olympic ceremony

Protesters have breached security at the Olympic flame ceremony to shout slogans condemning China's human rights record and unfurl a flag demanding a boycott of the Beijing Games.

Three men staged the protest on Monday during a speech by Liu Qi, chief Chinese Olympics organiser, before the flame was lit at the ancient Greek temple of Olympia.

One man unfurled a flag declaring "Boycott the country that tramples on human rights".

Another tried to grab the microphone from Liu and shouted "freedom, freedom" at the official stand where Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman, and other dignitaries were sitting.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/75618A70-280A-4BFF-9CBA-A4E78A04DF26.htm