Olympic run will continue: IOC chief

The Olympic flame arrived here on Tuesday under heavy security as games officials dismissed suggestions that the global relay could be abandoned amid protests over China's human rights record. ( Watch: ‘Olympic run will continue’ )

The symbolic flame arrived at San Francisco International Airport around 4:00 am (1100 GMT) for its only stop in the United States, a day after angry protests forced officials to snuff out the Olympic torch five times in Paris.

Police guarded every entrance to the airport's international terminal and officers in riot gear patrolled outside the building, before the flame was whisked to a secret location ahead of Wednesday's torch relay.

Pro-Tibet activists were holding events in San Francisco on Tuesday which will culminate in a rally and candlelight vigil attended by Tibetan leaders, actor Richard Gere and archbishop Desmond Tutu at around 6:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Around 800 protesters carrying Tibetan flags attended a rally at the city's United Nations Plaza early Tuesday before marching to the Chinese consulate, flanked by police officers.

Protesters chanted "Shame on China" and "Free Tibet Now" as they demonstrated outside the consulate buildings.

San Francisco organizers have already trimmed the route of the torch relay to six miles, and mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday further changes could be made even after the event gets underway.

Meanwhile in Beijing on Tuesday, Olympic chief Jacques Rogge raised the prospect of a possible abandonment of the relay's ensuing legs after confirming that the flame's odyssey would be reviewed at a meeting this week.

But he later moved to dampen speculation of the relay being stopped. "It's a false rumour," Rogge told France 3 television. "There is no discussion underway on the matter and we do not envisage such a scenario.

"We will of course analyze the route of the torch since the beginning, from Olympia to Paris although the next stage is San Francisco. That's what we are doing and we will make regular evaluations."

However, Rogge emphasised: "We are not in the dynamic of stopping."

Pro-Tibet campaigners have shadowed the flame from the moment it was lit in Greece on March 24, as demonstrators accuse China of violating human rights and protest a crackdown in Tibet that they say has left 150 people dead. China says "rioters" killed 20 people.

International leaders have also come under pressure to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing on August 8.

Although US President George W. Bush has consistently said he plans to attend, arguing that the Olympics is about sport not politics, the White House on Tuesday did not rule out the possibility of Bush missing the event.

Courtesy:timesofindia.com
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