- Title: INDONESIA: Olympic torch relay runs smooth in Indonesia
- Date: 23rd April 2008
- Summary: CHINESE ATHLETES WITH TORCH TORCH BEING LIT JAKARTA GOVERNOR RAISES TORCH ON THE STAGE TORCH FIRST BEARER RUNNING WITH TORCH
- Embargoed: 8th May 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Indonesia
- City:
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAERQX787LZS2ACDKI2P4LH30FB
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: The 2008 Olympic torch relay passes through Indonesia's capital of Jakarta with only a demonstration that tries to disrupt the procession.
The Olympic torch was paraded through a heavily guarded stadium in Jakarta on Tuesday (April 22) after police stopped about 100 anti-China protesters from disrupting the latest leg of the torch's fraught journey around the world.
About 80 athletes, officials, and television and film stars took part in the 7-km (4.3 mile) relay. Earlier in the day, there was a 30-minute stand-off between police and protesters outside the main gate of Bung Karno Stadium, named after Indonesia's first president, Sukarno.
The relay had originally been due to pass through large stretches of the bustling city, but sports officials later said the route would be restricted to the vicinity of Bung Karno Stadium.
About 5,000 guests and accredited members of the media had been invited to watch the relay inside the stadium complex. Many of them wore red and waved both the Chinese and Indonesian flags.
China had hoped the torch's journey would be a symbol of unity in the run-up to the Beijing Games, but the torch has drawn anti-China protests, as well as pro-China demonstrations, many involving Chinese studying overseas.
The flame travels next to the Australian capital, Canberra, where organisers said they were re-routing the torch relay from the heart of the capital amid fears of clashes between pro-China and pro-Tibet demonstrators.
Security concerns have also prompted changes to the torch route in Japan and caused sponsors to pull out of a motorcade for Saturday's (April 26) relay in Nagano City. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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