Warning against disrupting Olympic torch relay in Bangkok

[sriracha john]

Troubled Olympic torch readies for Thailand outing

BANGKOK — Bearers of the Beijing Olympic torch prepared Saturday to snake through the Thai capital on the next stop of the flame's troubled global journey, as anti-French protests broke out in China.

Police and witnesses in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and in Beijing reported that hundreds of Chinese were demonstrating against France's attitude towards Tibet and the Olympic Games.

Anti-French sentiment in China has been on the rise since the chaotic leg of the Paris Olympic torch relay on April 7, where demonstrators protested against China's recent crackdown on protests in Tibet.

In Bangkok, about 2,000 police and other security will be on the streets for Thailand's relay, which authorities are trying to keep free of the protests that dogged the legs through the British and French capitals earlier in April.

"I can reassure people that the torch relay today (Saturday) will go ahead as planned. There are no changes," General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, chairman of the Thai Olympic Council, told AFP.

"Police have prepared commando units to escort the torch-bearers."

A few hundred onlookers began gathering Saturday in Chinatown, where at about 3:00pm (0800 GMT), 80 torchbearers will set off and carry the flame for about 10 kilometres (six miles).

The spectators were matched by about 300 police officers, who were mostly occupied with trying to manage Bangkok's notoriously congested traffic.

Thai police have said they expect about 100 protesters out on the streets, and have warned that they will arrest, prosecute and deport any foreign nationals breaking the law to protest Beijing's human rights record.

China's communist rulers had hoped the Olympic Games would showcase the nation's much-touted "peaceful rise" to power, but the torch relay that began in Greece last month has instead become a high-profile target for activists.

A crackdown on protests against Chinese rule of Tibet in March has put the spotlight on China's heavily criticised record on human rights.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say Beijing's suppression of the protests left about 150 dead, while China says Tibetan "rioters" killed 20 people.

On Thursday, hundreds of protesters were reportedly arrested in India and Nepal, while the heart of New Delhi was sealed off for the torch relay.

Beijing suffered another blow to the torch relay on Friday, when a Buddhist temple in the Japanese city of Nagano pulled out of hosting a ceremony for the flame, citing concern over the situation in Tibet.

Though Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said the temple's decision was "unfortunate," he also bluntly told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechia that Tibetan unrest had become an international issue.

Even where the flame has received a relatively warm welcome, coverage has focused on immense security operations.

In Malaysia, where the flame arrives Sunday, authorities will deploy an elite police squad along with 1,000 police officers to protect the torch, The Star daily reported Saturday.

A coalition of Thai human rights and students groups issued a statement on Saturday calling on China to cancel the planned torch relay through Tibet in June, improve its human rights record and stop its support for regimes accused of abuses, such as Sudan and Myanmar.

Waiting for the Bangkok opening ceremony, onlookers seemed unfazed by the prospect of demonstrations.

"I think the protests, if they happen, will not be serious because Thai people are peaceful, and because we don't actually know what happened there (in Tibet)," said Krailuek Yuwaamornmetsee, 46, a business owner.

Australian tourist Jason Whalley, 35, said he supported the protests, and would have joined in if the government had not threatened to deport foreigners.

"It's often seen as if you're trying to spoil the fun, but it's more a way to say something while the world's eye is on you," he told AFP.

The torch relay also includes stops in Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam before heading to China.

- AFP (today)

[Maestro]

Having sideline protestors harrass & humiliated a handicapped Chinese torch-bearer in the Paris leg...

We can use Paris and London as examples of why Thailand seems to be making a particular effort to prevent similar disturbances, but for the rest let’s see and talk about what is happening in Bangkok.

--

Maestro

[sriracha john]

Bangkok braces for torch relay trouble

The Olympic torch began its parade through the Thai capital Bangkok Saturday, with authorities on standby to divert the route of 80 torch-bearers, should they encounter demonstrators.

The Olympic flame arrived in Thailand earlier in the day from the Indian capital of New Delhi, where extraordinary security measures kept thousands of anti-Chinese protesters mostly at bay during a shortened relay Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, the police spokesman, said Thailand was ready to revoke visas, prosecute and deport any foreign nationals planning illegal actions to protest China's human rights record.

On Friday security concerns and sympathy toward Tibetans prompted a Buddhist temple in Nagano, Japan, to withdraw from participation in the Olympic torch relay next week, a temple official said. The torch relay had been set to begin at Zenkoji Temple in Nagano, site of the 1998 Olympic Winter games -- on April 26. "We have to protect our heritage and visitors," a temple official told reporters, citing security concerns and the "Tibet issue." Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted the temple official as saying, "Indiscriminate killings were undertaken in Tibet. We were concerned about Buddhists in Tibet who rose up and a subsequent crackdown against them."

The logos of the relay's three corporate sponsors -- Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo -- will also not appear on official vehicles escorting the torch through the city, the companies said.

A Coca-Cola official in Japan told CNN the decision was made because it was expected the heavy security would prevent many people from seeing the company's brand on the vehicles.

While the torch relay protests have raised major public relations problems for the corporate sponsors, this would be the first city in which they chose to downplay their connection to the Olympic flame.

Li Ping, spokeswoman for the torch relay, told CNN that she believed the Beijing Olympics had widespread support.

"The majority of the people in the world... love the Olympics and they support the Olympic ideals. So they share the spirit with us, and they are in great support to the Chinese Olympic games, and they are in support of the torch relay," she said.

Ping said the relay was "a great opportunity for all relay cities to promote their own culture, their people, their landmarks. It's an opportunity for people to increase understanding of each other and to increase friendship." As for the protests, she said that "some people... use this occasion to promote their own political agenda."

Supporters of Tibet denounce the Chinese government's stance toward Tibet. And many believe China should not have been awarded the honor of hosting the Olympic games, which begin August 8 in Beijing.

Earlier stops in London, Paris and San Francisco attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators, attacks on the torch and relay participants, and dozens of arrests.

Subsequent stops in Argentina, Tanzania and Oman were trouble-free. Security concerns prompted Pakistani officials to close the relay to the public and hold it at a stadium in front of invited guests.

The torch is making a voyage around the world before it will be used to light the flame in Beijing.

- CNN (today)

[pliny]

...how can you possibly argue that the torch relay is a "beautiful and peaceful event"...

"...can and should be...", I said, and that "It was really ugly what happened with the torch relay in some other countries...Let us hope that there will be no violence at the Bangkok relay"

--

Maestro

On the contrary, violence and disruption is the appropriate response on this occasion and every other whenever the posturing of the Chinese exploiting the Olympics occurs.

Democratic countries have shown them their hypocrisy cannot be ignored and what is truly beautiful is their discomfiture at the protests, something not permitted of course in China or, seemingly, in Thailand.

Presumably, this post too will be deleted since it doesn't accord with your personal opinions ?

[geriatrickid]

I believe that should have been "well done, Thailand", as we are talking about the torch relay in Bangkok and a warning issued by the Thai police. And I do hope that people intent on causing violence will not attend.

--

Maestro

Sorry, disagree with you there. The fear of public dissent lies with the fact that the Thai government needs China. Upset the Chinese and certain products and activities both legal and illegal will be curtailed. If people were out to protest something about the West, I doubt the same threats would have been made. China has made clear that it views disruptions of the <nonsensical reference to a German town deleted> Olympic run to be an affront to China and will be reflected in its positions on other matters.

I think the reality though is that no sensible foreigner or guest in this country is going to go and make trouble. It's up to the Thai people to decide, just as it was be in the foreign countries where people had the courage to speak up agianst this festival of genetic manipulation and doping.

//Edit: off-topic reference to a German town deleted - Maestro

Edited April 19, 2008 by Maestro

[sriracha john]

Just prior to its arrival in Thailand, the torch run was in India...

Hundreds of Tibetans arrested for Olympic protest

NEW DELHI: About 300 Tibetan protesters were behind bars in the capital yesterday, a day after the Beijing Olympic torch’s India run.

“Last night (late Thursday) many of my men were severely injured after the police caned them. The collar bone of one man has been broken while a 17-year-old girl’s leg has been fractured,” said Dhondup Dorji, vice president of the Tibetan Youth Congress.

“Around 300 Tibetans are in various jails across the city. About 130 are in Tihar jail. We are trying to locate them; in case they are not released, we will carry on our movement from the jail,” Dorji said.

Police sources confirmed the figure and said the protesters had been held for illegal demonstration and causing damage to public property, charges which attract a fine of up to Rs200. They would be released in a day or two after due process, said a police official.

Dorji said some of his colleagues were arrested while protesting at Dhaula Kuan in southwest Delhi as the Olympic flame was being taken to the Indira Gandhi International Airport to be flown to Thailand for the next leg.

“They (the injured) have been lodged at Mayapuri police station since Thursday and have not eaten anything to protest their humiliating treatment. The police have also not allowed anyone to meet them,” Dorji said.

For those supporting the cause of a ‘Free Tibet’, the initial disappointment for failing to disrupt the torch relay on Thursday has given way to a sense of vindication that they had at least brought the issue to the forefront.

- Gulf Times / 19-04-08

[jstumbo]

On the contrary, violence and disruption is the appropriate response on this occasion and every other whenever the posturing of the Chinese exploiting the Olympics occurs.

So when other countries had a torch relay for previous Olympics they were "posturing" and "exploiting the Olympics"?

[jstumbo]

Sorry, disagree with you there. The fear of public dissent lies with the fact that the Thai government needs China. Upset the Chinese and certain products and activities both legal and illegal will be curtailed. If people were out to protest something about the West, I doubt the same threats would have been made. China has made clear that it views disruptions of the Nuremberg redux relay err, I mean Olympic run to be an affront to China and will be reflected in its positions on other matters.

Kind of like the protests in China against France now and the call for the boycotting of French products due to the problems with the torch in Paris?

[sriracha john]

American Embassy warning email notification received:

The American Embassy in Thailand advises American citizens in Bangkok to exercise caution with respect to the upcoming Olympic torch relay in Bangkok, which will result in the closure of numerous streets, leading to transportation disruptions.

Protests can escalate with little warning, disrupting transportation systems and city services and posing risks to travelers' personal safety. American citizens should also monitor news reports regarding the location of any disturbances that may occur.

On Saturday, April 19, 2008, the Olympic torch relay will take place in Bangkok. Several organizations have announced they are planning protests on April 19, 2008 to coincide with the Olympic torch relay. The relay is scheduled to start in the afternoon and run for approximately two hours and 45 minutes.

Following reports that foreign activists intend to join the activities, local officials have threatened to deport foreign activists who participate in protests. Several thousand police officers will guard the torch route that runs for approximately 10 km (about 6 miles).

Officials have stated that despite the heavy security, plans are in place to re-route or shorten the relay should protests get out of hand. For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov

Edited April 19, 2008 by sriracha john

[taxexile]

A heated and sunny Olympic torch relay in Bangkok

www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-19 16:26:05 Print

Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

by Shen Min & Ling Shuo

BANGKOK, April 19 (Xinhua) -- "Even if it rains, it will not put out my passion for the Olympic relay," Anant Siripasraporn, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), who will run the first leg of the Olympic torch relay in Bangkok Saturday, told Xinhua with a broad smile.

Anant is waiting for the Olympic torch relay, the first time ever for Thailand, to be launched scheduled at 3 p.m. (0800GMT) Saturday, April 19.

TV cameramen, who had waited hours before the start of the ceremony, began to set up umbrellas over their machines, as dark clouds began to gather and shadow the stage at the Chinese Gate, the ceremonial gateway at the mouth of Yaowarat Road, a landmark that marks the starting point of Bangkok's century-old China Town area.

"We had prayed to Buddha it will not rain today, so don't worry," said Charouck Arirachakaran, Secretary-General of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand (NOCT), in a half-joking manner.

"Unless it is a huge storm, we won't postpone the relay process," Charouck said, "Anyway we are determined to have a smooth and successful torch relay. Thailand have invested a lot to ensure that, and that's our good wish and support for the Beijing Olympics."

The pray, or the confidence of the Thais seemed to work. After 2: 00 p.m. (0700GMT), the sky cleared again over the Chinese Gate and summer sunshine typical of this tropical city began to sweaten the crowd.

The temperature is around 40 clesius degree here, as this is the hot season in Thailand, but it did not block people from fluxing into the China Town.

The China Town area is normally crowded, but it was especially so today, as tourists from different countries, Chinese expatriates and students, and other spectators swammed into the Yaowarat Road to witness the "once-in-a-lifetime event" in many eyes.

"It is very good opportunity for Thai people to be able to be engaged in such an international grand event," Pornwarin Nutrawong,a nurse tutor and one of the 80 torch bearers selected from all walks of life in Thailand to run the Olympic torch relay in Bangkok.

A nurse tutor who is known for her voluntary devotion to caring for final-stage patients, Pornwarin was excited about being a torch bearer.

"Everyone is excited here. My collegues and friends at my hospital have came to cheer for me and witness the relay, some 200hundreds of them."

"It is my only regret that my patients could not be here. But they are happy for me," said the nurse.

Dozens of Chinese students from Thai universities have traveled from different parts of country to show their support for the Beijing Olympic Games, waiving a huge national flag of China and chanting slogans like "Go Beijing Olympics."

Liang Qingqing, a senior student from Burapha University in Chonburi Province near Bangkok, told Xinhua that she and her schoolmates had been here since the morning, and planned to run through the torch relay route.

[backflip]

"I was thinking of going along to see the Torch run, but i don't think i will chance it..."

I never thought that hiding from life was the way to enjoy it. Unlike many TVers, I look for adventure that can't be found in a bottle of alcohol, or with a bargirl. Throwing caution to the wind, I joined in the festivities. I wore a "running-man" motif Beijing Olympics T-shirt, just to show support. To my surprise, many people thought that the T-shirt was a "credential", and I got to enter the VIP area. Despite everyone else having a neckload of photographic credentials, I didn't. But, that didn't stop the rep from Coca-Cola from giving me a couple "torch relay" T-shirts, or from the Samsung rep giving me an "Olympic Sponsor" T-shirt, or Lenova plying me with yet another commemorative T. I got all of the fluids and food that I could stuff in me, and I joined the crowd. Alone, I stood on the top of a road barrier for a better view. Hundreds of police officers saw me, and what was the worse they could do - tell me to get down...which they didn't. The torch carrier finally passed (I was at the start of the run), to enthusiastic cheers. It was great fun, and I'm sure that the tens of thousands of others felt the same way. "Better safe than sorry". Sorry, that's not the way to live life.

[Neeranam]

Unlike many TVers, I look for adventure that can't be found in a bottle of alcohol, or with a bargirl

Maybe the one's you hang out with. The ones I am friendly with dont.

[sriracha john]

trouble on the torch relay... but of a different sort....

Please, please return my torch

A torch was snatched from a relay runner after he passed on the flame to next runner. Christopher Benjakul asked that the snatcher returned the torch back to him.

"After I passed on the flame to next runner, many persons came to me and surrounded me. One of them snatched the torch from my hands. Please, please return it to me because I had been waiting for this occasion for long time and wanted to keep the torch as souvenir for this splendid moment," he said.

Christopher was a former television star before he was hit by a car in an accident while he was working as a rescue worker of a foundation. He showed reporters an empty box of the torch.

- The Nation

[plachon]

"I was thinking of going along to see the Torch run, but i don't think i will chance it..."

I never thought that hiding from life was the way to enjoy it. Unlike many TVers, I look for adventure that can't be found in a bottle of alcohol, or with a bargirl. Throwing caution to the wind, I joined in the festivities. I wore a "running-man" motif Beijing Olympics T-shirt, just to show support. To my surprise, many people thought that the T-shirt was a "credential", and I got to enter the VIP area. Despite everyone else having a neckload of photographic credentials, I didn't. But, that didn't stop the rep from Coca-Cola from giving me a couple "torch relay" T-shirts, or from the Samsung rep giving me an "Olympic Sponsor" T-shirt, or Lenova plying me with yet another commemorative T. I got all of the fluids and food that I could stuff in me, and I joined the crowd. Alone, I stood on the top of a road barrier for a better view. Hundreds of police officers saw me, and what was the worse they could do - tell me to get down...which they didn't. The torch carrier finally passed (I was at the start of the run), to enthusiastic cheers. It was great fun, and I'm sure that the tens of thousands of others felt the same way. "Better safe than sorry". Sorry, that's not the way to live life.

Cor, how adventurous was that!? God, I'm jealous of your daring lifestlye, where you dress in pro-Beijing Olympics T-shirts and manage to bluff your way into the VIP area. And then getting all the "fluids and food you could stuff in me" on top of the freebies to boot! Wow, it doesn't come much better than that, does it? You'll have to tell us next thrilling time you gatecrash a party and get a free sausage roll and plate of somtam. With your "live life to the full" philosophy, you should be a spokesperson for Coke or Lenova. My hero!

[sriracha john]

[sriracha john]

BEFORE it got snatched faster than a 1,000 baht note at a .... *fill in your own analogy*

The Olympic Torch is carried by actor Christopher Benjakul during its run in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, April 19, 2008.

Associated Press

[LaoPo]

BEFORE it got snatched faster than a 1,000 baht note at a .... *fill in your own analogy*

The Olympic Torch is carried by actor Christopher Benjakul during its run in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, April 19, 2008.

Associated Press

As if 'snatching' the Olympic Torch is an act of a hero... especially if one knows that:

"...the relay stage has been publicly endorsed by the revered royal family."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7355913.stm

I think it's disgusting and disrespectful.

LaoPo

[mahtin]

BEFORE it got snatched faster than a 1,000 baht note at a .... *fill in your own analogy*

The Olympic Torch is carried by actor Christopher Benjakul during its run in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, April 19, 2008.

Associated Press

Think I recognize that one from a road check where was relieved of 200 Baht for "in charge of a vehicle while being farang" or some such...

[onlooker]

The culprit is the guy in brown - photo taken seconds before he made off with it

[Rinrada]

Where can I buy a fake Olympic torch ...and how much..?

[Thai at Heart]

Where can I buy a fake Olympic torch ...and how much..?

Alibaba.com might be a good place to start. I hear that exporters from China are very careful about infringment or intellectural rights these days.

[CROBKK]

trouble on the torch relay... but of a different sort....

Please, please return my torch

A torch was snatched from a relay runner after he passed on the flame to next runner. Christopher Benjakul asked that the snatcher returned the torch back to him.

"After I passed on the flame to next runner, many persons came to me and surrounded me. One of them snatched the torch from my hands. Please, please return it to me because I had been waiting for this occasion for long time and wanted to keep the torch as souvenir for this splendid moment," he said.

Christopher was a former television star before he was hit by a car in an accident while he was working as a rescue worker of a foundation. He showed reporters an empty box of the torch.

- The Nation

Why am I not surprised.

[Maestro]

The torch relay in Bangkok must have ended by now. I find no news online exept in a Chinese newspaper, but I would prefer to read news from Thailand. Has it been peaceful, as I had hoped, or has another member’s call for violence been heeded?

Picture source: news.xinhuanet.com

--

Maestro

[bhoydy]

Why is the Nation website reporting this while the Bangkok Post website is saying the event went off without incident?

[Maestro]

Ok, now I saw the article in Bangkok post. No major incident. No attacks.

-----------------

Torch held high

BangkokPost.com

Some 80 athletes and personalities carried the Olympic torch on a three-hour run through old Bangkok on Saturday without major incident.

...

A small crowd waving Chinese flags rushed towards the anti-Beijing protesters, screaming insults and drowning out mot of the shouts of "Free Tibet" from the sidewalk.

Source: http://bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=127186

-----------------

Hurling insults at peaceful protestors was not nice. And why Chinese flags? Were they foreign troublemakers?

--

Maestro

[onethailand]

Sad - Chris Benjakul is a good samaritan who was hurt when he was trying to help another injured person on the roadside some years ago. Of all the people this could have happened to, Chris would be the one person who it shouldn't have happened to.

I hope he gets it back.

[dinom]

The Bangkok adventure of the olympic flame relay has been successful and without real disturbance, but the fact that this run through so many different countries has to be heavily guarded, re routed or celebrated in front of pre selected spectators gives a clear message to all of us. Something is not right about this olympic games and it is up to us all, or each one of us to find out what.....

[warmwater7]

The Bangkok adventure of the olympic flame relay has been successful and without real disturbance, but the fact that this run through so many different countries has to be heavily guarded, re routed or celebrated in front of pre selected spectators gives a clear message to all of us. Something is not right about this olympic games and it is up to us all, or each one of us to find out what.....

dali lama,supports games.

[MustaphaMond]

BBC showed and reported a much larger pro Chinese crowd.

But I was proud that both sides were orderly and no violence occured.

Well done, Thailand!

Notice how all the police visible were tall, good looking men? That's was excellent media manipualtion

[grtaylor]

The Olympic Torch Relay - How much has this cost, in terms of:

• human resources
  
• airline travel (fuel and the associated pollution)
  
• extra security
  

What a complete and utter waste of time and money . . . .