Torch runners unimpeded in Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -Runners bearing the Olympic torch completed a 17-kilometer (10-mile) relay through the Australian capital Thursday, cheered by thousands waving Chinese flags and unimpeded by pockets of pro-Tibet protests that led to several arrests.

Crowds lined downtown streets for the Canberra relay on the cool and sunny autumn day as police manned crowd-control barriers, making good on a vow that nothing would stop the torch from finishing its journey.

The event began without major incident as a half-dozen officers - in jogging pants, T-shirts and baseball caps - formed a loose cordon around the runner. Overhead, an airplane sky writer wrote the words "Free Tibet'' in white letters.

A momentary scare came an hour into the relay when a man leaped out from the crowd and sat cross-legged about 35 feet in front of the runner. Police quickly hauled him away and the runner didn't stop.

It was the closest any protester came to the torch, which was carried through Canberra's wide tree-lined boulevards by 80 runners.

Nearly three hours after the start, five-time gold medal winner Ian Thorpe completed the final leg by lighting a ceremonial cauldron.

John Stanhope, the chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, said the Canberra leg of the relay compared favorably with other cities where the event was shut down early or disrupted by protesters.

"It was an outstanding success,'' he told a news conference.

The next stop is Nagano, Japan, where the route has been already been truncated and thousands of police are expected to provide security to protect against protests. Then comes the South Korean capital of Seoul and North Korea's Pyongyang before the flame finally reaches Chinese soil at Hong Kong on May 2.

Protests of China's human rights record and its crackdown on anti-government activists in Tibet have turned the relay into a contentious issue for the Olympic movement. Many countries have changed routes and boosted security along the flame's six-continent journey to the Aug. 8-24 games in Beijing.

Officials estimated more than 10,000 people - mostly China supporters - attended the relay route and parks in Canberra. China supporters strongly outnumbered those carrying Tibetan flags or placards criticizing Beijing's human rights record. At some places, chanting of "One China'' broke out. At others, eager supporters waving Chinese banners tried to keep up with the relay.

Away from the route, three Tibetan women blocked the street in front of Parliament and a protester shouted "stop killing in Tibet.'' Police led all four away.

Shortly before the start, dozens of China supporters faced off against a group carrying blue-colored flags representing the China's Muslim minority Uighurs and minor scuffling erupted. Police said at least one person was arrested. Soon afterward, Tibetan activists set alight a Chinese flag and one person was arrested.

Canberra police chief Mike Phelan said seven people were charged with attempting to disrupt the event. Each faces a maximum penalty of 1,500 Australian dollars (US$1,419; ?896) in fines.

At one point, three protesters jumped crowd-control barricades and walked along the route waving "Free Tibet'' signs. They were chased by a larger group carrying Chinese flags that tried to cover up the signs with the flags.

"They mobbed the sign. They were really aggressive, insulting and swearing,'' said Marion Vecourcay, one of the activists.

Seven people in total were detained during the day and will likely face charges of causing a public disturbance, said police spokeswoman Laura Keating.

Pro-Tibet groups said about 500 people showed up in Canberra for peaceful protests. In response, Chinese student groups organized bus trips from Sydney and other cities for those wanting to support the relay.

"We didn't expect this reaction from the Chinese community which is obviously a well-coordinated plan to take the day by weight of numbers,'' Ted Quinlan, the chief organizer of the Australia relay, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Security had been boosted - officials say the expense doubled in recent weeks to $1.9 million - along a route that had been shortened. But it still threaded along a 10-mile path past Parliament House and within 200 yards of the Chinese Embassy.

In Nepal, authorities forced an American mountaineer with a "Free Tibet'' banner in his bags off Mount Everest. Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic torch plan to ascend their side of the world's tallest peak in the early days of May.

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Associated Press Writers Tanalee Smith and Rohan Sullivan in Sydney and Binaj Gurubacharya in Katmandu, Nepal, contributed to this story.