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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/s****t/olympics/article3805542.ece
From Times OnlineApril 24, 2008

Chinese spectators 'attacked Tibet protesters at Canberra torch relay'
(Tim Wimborne/Reuters)
Pro-China sup****ters wave flags before the start of the Olympic torch
relay in Canberra
Image :1 of 3

Paul Larter in Brisbane
Mobs of Chinese sup****ters were accused of assaulting pro-Tibet
campaigners on the sidelines of the Olympic torch relay in Australia
today as scuffles broke out and at least seven protesters were
arrested.

There was none of the violence or disruption that marred the torch
relay in London or Paris, and the Olympic flame travelled
uninterrupted through Canberra, the capital.

But observers said that behind the barricades Chinese nationals
assaulted Tibetan activists and tore down their flags. Confrontations
between an estimated 15,000 China sup****ters and about 3,000 pro-Tibet
demonstrators re****tedly flared all along the 16km route as the groups
held aloft opposing banners and shouted competing slogans.

In one incident, an Australian couple waving a Tibetan flag were said
to have been mobbed by dozens of Chinese activists and punched.

During the relay itself, pu****ng and shoving broke out between police
and two Chinese attendants accompanying the torch.

One spectator said that he and others were assaulted by group of
Chinese sup****ters who were following the torch's progress from behind
the barriers.

Alastair Paterson and his seven-year-old daughter were standing next
to a small group, which included a woman with a homemade banner saying
"Free Tibet".

He said that as the torch passed by a gang of people with Chinese
flags and sticks ran past.

"One bloke lined me up and kicked me and as I turned around he ran
away," he said. "I took a step towards him and three or four others
said 'Come on, Come on'. They wanted to fight me. The woman's husband
got hit across the head with a stick. The woman got jostled. The
banner got torn down and they basically ran off."

But police also wrestled away some pro-Tibet demonstrators, including
at least one who tried to sit in the path of a torchbearer, the former
marathon runner Robert de Castella.

Police running with the torch near Parliament House also wrestled a
protester to the ground and handcuffed him before he was able to get
close to the flame.

The five pro-Chinese and two pro-Tibetan demonstrators who were
arrested remained in custody late today.

But officials declared the event "an outstanding success". Jon
Stanhope, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, said:
"It ran its full course. It was peaceful. I'm absolutely chuffed."

Metal barricades and 550 police kept protesters away from the torch.
The torchbearers were flanked by Australian police who at one stage
repeatedly pushed aside Chinese officials in blue tracksuits running
close to the flame.

The incident with the controversial so-called Chinese flame attendants
appeared to reflect confusion over their role in the torch's
security.

At a press conference yesterday, Australian and Chinese officials
argued over exactly what role the Chinese guards would play. Chinese
officials said that the guards would "use their bodies to form a kind
of defence for the torchbearer" in the event of a threat, while police
maintained that they had sole responsibility for security.

Chinese sup****ters have denied claims they were brought into Canberra
in up to 100 buses by the Chinese embassy for the visit of the torch,
which was later flown out to Nagano in Japan.