Temple targeted after torch pullout
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23569581-5016724,00.html
AN ancient Japanese Buddhist temple, which cancelled its role in the
protest-marred Olympic torch relay, has been vandalised with white
spray paint, police have said.
The Zenkoji Temple in Nagano, the host city of the 1998 Winter
Olympics, on Friday withdrew from plans to be the start point for the
Japanese leg of the relay on April 26 because of China's crackdown in
Tibet.
The global tour of the torch for August's Beijing Olympics has been
dogged by protests since it was lit in Greece last month.
Six white spray paint graffiti patterns were found on pillars and
sliding doors at the main sanctuary of the 1400-year-old temple early
Sunday, a spokesman for the Nagano prefectural police said.
"We have yet to ascertain if the act was related to the torch relay.
It could possibly be a malicious practical joke," he said.
The wooden sanctuary, designated as a national treasure by the
government, is the main feature of the temple.
Police were investigating on suspicion of vandalism and violation of a
law for protection of cultural assets, the police spokesman said.
"We really deplore what has happened. We are angry at the damage done
to the cultural asset," ****nsho Wakaomi, the temple's director of
general affairs, told the public broadcaster NHK.
"We will step up our guard in the run-up to the torch relay."
The graffiti patterns, as large as 60cm by 80cm, did not contain
written messages, the police spokesman added.
A spokesman for the temple said it might have nothing to do with the
relay. "The graffiti, including simple circles, are similar to what
are drawn on street guard rails. They may not be directly aimed at the
relay," he said.
The temple rang bells for the opening ceremony for the 1998 Winter
Games.
Built in the seventh century and drawing six million visitors every
year, it said it had received about 100 phone calls, mostly
sup****tive, about the cancelled ceremony.
The global relay has turned into a public relations headache for
Beijing as a crackdown on unrest in Tibet has provoked concern about
China's human rights record and triggered protests at many of the
torch's worldwide stops, most notably in London and Paris.
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