Torch Not Burned in New Delhi

One final post about the Olympic torch for now -- it made it through New Delhi relatively uneventfully. That was significant because New Delhi is only about 1,700 kilometers by my rough calculation from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital where anti-Chinese demonstrations sparked the current round of protests surrounding the Olympic torch relay. The Indian capital is also only about 450 kms from Dharamsala, where Tibet's holiest figure the Dalai Lama lives. So, in a country where suicide bombers have been known to assassinate political figures (Rajiv Gandhi, May 1991 for instance), I figured if there was any chance for disruption of the torch relay and determined protesters to get through porous security, this would be it.

About 15,000 police however managed to keep the public, and traffic, far enough away from the flame that only spectators by Olympic sponsors were close by. There are more Tibetans in India than anywhere else outside of Tibet, so authorities took no risks, limiting the route to only about three kms, switching runners every few seconds. The ubiquitous Chinese security forces in blue track suits, and Indian guards in red gear surrounded the torch. A few Tibetan activists were detained at a protest far from the torch route in New Delhi (AFP photo), and in other cities.

As a fan of the spirit the Olympics are supposed to engender, I feel it's really too bad that the torch has become such a magnet for protest. Yes, activists have achieved their goals of attracting attention to their causes and humiliating China, but those bearing the brunt of the protests in their faces are Olympic athletes, Chinese or otherwise, regardless of whether or not they were part of the flame's relay. They should be left alone and not pelted with slogans and water bottles, and allowed to soak up the spirit of their achievements. Politicize the Games? Bah humbug.