Hippie Staff
04-06-2008, 10:29 AM
LONDON (AP) - Police repeatedly scuffled with protesters as Olympians and dignitaries carried the Olympic torch through snowy London during a chaotic relay Sunday.
Demonstrators tried to board a relay bus after five-time Olympic gold medalist rower Steve Redgrave launched procession at Wembley Stadium - presaging a number of clashes with police along the torch's 31-mile journey.
There have been 30 arrests, Metropolitan Police said. In west London, a protester tried to grab the torch out of the hands of a TV presenter, forcing police to briefly stop the procession as officers detained the man. Another demonstrator tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. Others in the crowd threw themselves at torchbearers running past in official Beijing 2010 Olympics tracksuits.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown briefly greeted the torch when it arrived outside his Downing Street residence as pro-Tibet demonstrators and police clashed yards away near Britain's Parliament buildings.
Demonstrators swelled in number near the spot where Chinese Ambassador Fu Ying had been expected to carry the Olympic torch, forcing a last-minute change of plan. Fu emerged with flame in the heart of London's Chinatown instead, and managed to jog unhindered before handing over the torch to the next participant in the relay.
In London's historic Bloomsbury area, police separated anti-China protesters from hundreds of flag-waving Chinese who turned out to support their nation and the Olympics.
"As an English person, I have a right to stand where I want to on the street," pro-Tibet demonstrator Roger Moulland, 54, from Brighton, said as he was moved away by police.
Hundreds of protesters along the route chanted slogans including "Free Tibet!""Stop killing in Tibet!" and "China, talk to Dalai Lama." http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//Britain_Olympic_Torch.sff_TH121_20080406090336.jpg (http://apnews.myway.com/image/20080406/Britain_Olympic_Torch.sff_TH121_20080406090336.htm l?date=20080406&docid=D8VSDUK00)(AP) A police officer pushes away human rights activist Peter Tatchell, center, along the route of the...
Full Image (http://apnews.myway.com/image/20080406/Britain_Olympic_Torch.sff_TH121_20080406090336.htm l?date=20080406&docid=D8VSDUK00)"There was definitely a bit of an edge," British tennis player Tim Henman, one of the torchbearers, told The Associated Press.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080406/D8VSDUK00.html
Demonstrators tried to board a relay bus after five-time Olympic gold medalist rower Steve Redgrave launched procession at Wembley Stadium - presaging a number of clashes with police along the torch's 31-mile journey.
There have been 30 arrests, Metropolitan Police said. In west London, a protester tried to grab the torch out of the hands of a TV presenter, forcing police to briefly stop the procession as officers detained the man. Another demonstrator tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. Others in the crowd threw themselves at torchbearers running past in official Beijing 2010 Olympics tracksuits.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown briefly greeted the torch when it arrived outside his Downing Street residence as pro-Tibet demonstrators and police clashed yards away near Britain's Parliament buildings.
Demonstrators swelled in number near the spot where Chinese Ambassador Fu Ying had been expected to carry the Olympic torch, forcing a last-minute change of plan. Fu emerged with flame in the heart of London's Chinatown instead, and managed to jog unhindered before handing over the torch to the next participant in the relay.
In London's historic Bloomsbury area, police separated anti-China protesters from hundreds of flag-waving Chinese who turned out to support their nation and the Olympics.
"As an English person, I have a right to stand where I want to on the street," pro-Tibet demonstrator Roger Moulland, 54, from Brighton, said as he was moved away by police.
Hundreds of protesters along the route chanted slogans including "Free Tibet!""Stop killing in Tibet!" and "China, talk to Dalai Lama." http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//Britain_Olympic_Torch.sff_TH121_20080406090336.jpg (http://apnews.myway.com/image/20080406/Britain_Olympic_Torch.sff_TH121_20080406090336.htm l?date=20080406&docid=D8VSDUK00)(AP) A police officer pushes away human rights activist Peter Tatchell, center, along the route of the...
Full Image (http://apnews.myway.com/image/20080406/Britain_Olympic_Torch.sff_TH121_20080406090336.htm l?date=20080406&docid=D8VSDUK00)"There was definitely a bit of an edge," British tennis player Tim Henman, one of the torchbearers, told The Associated Press.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080406/D8VSDUK00.html