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【2008.04.17 美国 CNN】圣火伴随抗议降临印度
【英文原文】
Tibetans protest as torch arrives in India
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The Olympic torch arrived Thursday morning in India, the heart of the world's largest Tibetan exile community, sparking the first of what officials fear may be a string of protests during the torch's relay of the country.
Police dragged several protesters into vans as they chanted anti-China slogans outside a luxury hotel near Rajpath. Olympic officials are keeping the torch there before the start of the 4 p.m. (6:30 ET) relay.
Officers detained another 32 protesters even before the torch touched down on Indian soil, according to a state-run news agency, the Press Trust of India. Tibetan exiles had blocked a road near an army hospital in southwest Delhi, the agency said.
Tibet activists groups have said they will do what is necessary to get their voices heard during the torch's stay in India.
"I cannot predict what will happen." said Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, a worldwide organization of exiles boasting more than 300,000 members.
By noon, hundreds of Tibetan monks and supporters took part in a parallel torch relay to highlight the Tibetan struggle against China.
The atmosphere was festive, despite a heavy police presence. Monks in scarlet robes marched side by side with women and children carrying flags, placards and banners that said "Free Tibet."
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.
The torch touched down in a special Air China plane from its last stop in Islamabad, Pakistan. Children celebrated the arrival with traditional Indian dances, while outside, Tibetan exiles protested.
As the torch made its way toward the Le Meridien hotel, hundreds of police officers lined the street on either side, keeping protesters at bay and detaining several of them.
At the hotel, some of the 30 or so demonstrators tried to break through police barricades shouting "Justice for Tibet" and "We want freedom."
India is home to thousands of Tibetan exiles who fled to the country following a failed uprising against China in 1959. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama set up his government-in-exile in the northern Indian city of Dharamsala.
Since India and China fought a border war in 1962, the two countries have tried to thaw their frosty relations and forge closer ties.
"We don't want the scene, what happened in Paris and London, to be repeated here," said Suresh Kalmadi, president of the Indian Olympic Association. "Definitely not. This is the sacred Olympic torch and its safety is our responsibility."
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.
Indian authorities did not disclose the relay route or the start time until 24 hours before the event.
Officials trimmed to a third the original 5.6 mile (9 km) route, and lined it with thousands of police officers and paramilitary troopers.
And they mandated some bizarre security measures, including an order to keep windows and doors of all buildings along the route closed during the event , reported CNN's sister network, CNN-IBN TV.
The route passes by the nation's parliament and several ministry offices. About 70 torch-bearers will carry the flame along the route.
"It's a personal decision," said Manvjit Singh Sandhu, a world champion trap shooter and one of the torch runners. "Everybody's got a right to (protest). I am of the position that this is a political problem that falls on the political stage. For me, the Olympics signifies peace and unity."
Tibetan exiles have staged almost daily protests in New Delhi since China cracked down on demonstrators in Tibet in March.
On Wednesday, protesters tried to storm the Chinese Embassy. They arrived in two buses, wearing yellow jerseys and headbands that carried messages such as "No Olympics in China."
Police detained more than 50 protesters, tightened security and surrounded it with barbed wire.
The Dalai Lama has asked supporters not to disrupt the relay. Some have responded by planning a parallel torch relay to highlight the Tibetan struggle against China.
But others have said they intend to make a more dramatic statement.
"We are not all Buddhas," Rigzin, of the Tibetan Youth Congress, said. "At the end of the day, we are human beings. We have been pushed and shoved so much for the past 60 years, we have been pushed into a corner."
【原文链接】http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/17/india.torch/
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