SMH - Great wall for China torch relay

degra

http://www.smh.com.au/news/beijing2008/great-wall-for-china-torch-relay/2008/04/19/1208025547465.html

Kerry-Anne Walsh and Maxine Frith
April 20, 2008

HUGE barricades are being erected in Canberra to protect runners in Thursday's Olympic torch relay from as many as 10,000 protesters.

Australian Federal Police refused to confirm well-placed information that plain-clothes Chinese security officers would infiltrate the crowd, on the grounds the information was "operationally sensitive".

Estimates put the protester strength - on the Tibetan and Chinese sides - at between 5000 and 10,000.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the entire 20-kilometre route would be fenced off. The relay will pass some of the nation's most sensitive buildings, including Parliament House.

Protesters and spectators will not be able to get near the 80 runners, or the support van carrying at least six official Chinese security personnel.

Dorje Dadul, a Tibet activist, believes the Chinese embassy in Canberra has hired more than 50 buses to bring in pro-Beijing protesters, offering free food for participants.

Sources in the Chinese community said the embassy was organising Chinese students to form a human wall behind the barricade.

Mr Dadul said Australian police and government insiders had told him the Chinese protesters intended to infiltrate and agitate the Tibetans as a way of inciting violence.

"We will be vocal but we will be very peaceful," he said. "We respect the Olympics and the torch relay and we do not want to denigrate the athletes, but we just want people to know what is happening in Tibet and other regions where democracy is stifled."

The ACT Government has made declarations under the Major Events Security Act 2000 to give police extra powers for the 24 hours the flame is in the capital, including the right to confiscate liquids, and apprehend and detain suspicious individuals.

Jimmy Xie, from the Chinese Students and Scholars Association in Canberra, played down suggestions of violence, saying the Olympics should not be mixed with politics.

Many Chinese people would be in Canberra to demonstrate their pride in China's Olympics, he said.

"We do not want any trouble. We are not going to 'protect' the torch - we are going to support it and I think the Australian Government and the police understand this very well," he said.

But Bob Brown, Greens senator for Tasmania, was concerned about the tone of the pro-Beijing protests.

"There are posters going up in Chinese around Canberra that have very strong language about the Tibet supporters, calling them split-ists and other names," he said.

"I would ask [the students] to reflect on the fact that if they were to protest in China about their democratic rights, they could end up in the back of a police van.

"I just hope that they do not deny the Tibetans their right to peaceful protest in this country."

All the relay members contacted by The Sun-Herald said they were determined to take part in the event.

Craig Wallace, a disability activist from Canberra who is one of the relay team, said: "I sympathise with the protesters but it is a significant honour to be asked.

degra

Brown 真是长不出象牙的.

synyan

没办法，中国人太让他们害怕了

steveking

政客，无知，为反对而反对

gandalf

以后大选的时候，绿党要少了许多华人的选票的。虽然华人选票数量很少，但是有时也是起一定作用的。我似乎看到了，绿党的惨淡前景了。

快乐朋友

反对ZD, 也希望民主.

cattor

老妖我问问，这个pro-tibet中的pro-到底怎么解释才合适？

因为有看到朋友说实际上不能说pro-china，否则就真的把china和tibet对立起来了。

lsyca

这个有点道理啊。pro-china, pro-tibet, 这岂不是把china和tibet对等了吗？ 而且这个pro的对象怎么解释？pro-china是pro中央政府的话，pro-tibet是pro的谁呢？pro-达赖集团？

smugglers

反对ZD, 也希望尽快中个powerball.:)