The Chinese Saga of of Olympic Shame Continues -- Top names withdraw
from relay as torch becomes beacon for protest /Guardian
This article appeared in the Guardian on Friday April 04 2008 on p9 of
the UK news section. It was last updated at 03:29 on April 04 2008.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/04/olympicgames2008.china/print
Olympic flame in Athens.
http://image.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/04/03/flame276.jpg
The cauldron with the Olympic flame burns as Chinese spectators take
pictures at Athens' Panathenian Stadium. Photograph: Petros
Gian****ouris/AP
Beijing's plans for the London leg of the Olympic torch relay suffered a
setback yesterday when it emerged that a number of torch-bearers,
including the BBC's most senior journalist, have abandoned plans to take
part in Sunday's event .
There was also confusion surrounding whether or not China's ambassador
to Britain, Fu Ying, would participate in the relay. With protest groups
opposed to China's human rights record preparing to stage mass
demonstrations along the 31-mile route, the Chinese embassy denied
re****ts that the ambassador had withdrawn. But embassy officials said
the ambassador was required to spend the day with a Chinese government
delegation accompanying the torch, leading to confusion as to whether
she would take part or not.
In a later statement, the embassy said: "There has never been a view
expressed from the Chinese embassy at any point that the ambassador is
pulling out of the torch relay. She hasn't said that herself either."
Mark Byford, the deputy director general of the BBC, has also backed out
of a commitment to carry the torch amid concerns that his participation
would compromise the cor****ation's journalistic standards. Gabby Logan,
the s****ts presenter, is also understood to have withdrawn, having
initially been included in a provisional list of celebrity
torch-bearers. She cited a clash with her Sunday morning radio
programme. Her husband, Kenny Logan, is taking part.
Comedian Francesca Martinez also withdrew saying she felt that taking
part would legitimise violence in Tibet.
She told Channel 4 News: "I was very honoured to be asked, and very
honoured to represent the disabled community. I fully sup****t the
Tibetan cause and in a way I feel that, because of the mounting pressure
and the ongoing violence in Tibet, that torch-bearers should turn down
their role ... because I feel that is truly promoting and sup****ting the
Olympic ideals, which are unity and world peace, and that doesn't
include invasion of other countries."
Byford, who is second in command at the BBC, head of journalism across
all networks and chair of the BBC's London 2012 co-ordinating group,
provisionally accepted an invitation from the Beijing Olympic organising
committee to carry the torch. With China's hosting of the Olympics an
increasingly controversial subject he withdrew.
"Mark Byford did provisionally accept an invitation to carry the torch,
but then decided that as head of journalism it would be inappropriate to
take part," said a BBC spokesman. "The torch relay is a major story and
Mark might be required to make an im****tant editorial decision, so he
decided it would be inappropriate to take part."
His withdrawal highlights the sensitivities surrounding the torch relay
and Beijing's hosting of the games, and contrasts with the position of
Sir Trevor McDonald, presenter of ITV's News at Ten, who will carry the
torch.
The torch relay, which left Greece last week and will visit 21 countries
en route to Beijing, was intended to be a marketing exercise that would
promote China and the Olympics around the world.
Following a violent crackdown on protests in Tibet last month, and
continuing unease over Beijing's sup****t for Sudan's government, it has
become a lightning rod for those opposed to the communist regime.
Protests are planned in several of the major cities on the relay route,
with Sunday's journey through London expected to be among the biggest.
The Metropolitan police will launch a ?1m security operation to ensure
that the torch gets from its starting point at Wembley Stadium to the O2
arena in Greenwich unscathed. More than 2,000 officers will be on duty,
with police cyclists accompanying the torch as it is carried by 80
runners on a route that p***** through Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar
Square and Downing Street, where it will be greeted by the prime minister.
Commander Bob Broadhurst, who will be in charge of the operation, said
that his officers would respect the right of protesters to demonstrate
and assist those groups that contacted them.
Protesters who try to disrupt the passage of the torch could be detained
until it has left London on Sunday night. If demonstrations should turn
violent, the relay could be abandoned or rerouted at short notice.
"If we had thousands of protesters who turned rough then we may take a
pragmatic decision to move round them or go straight to the O2, but we
will not be battling through people who are determined to stop the
relay," Broadhurst said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/04/olympicgames2008.china/print
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