By Tenzin Sangmo
New Delhi, April 29 – After a trouble-free run in North Korea Monday, one of the world’s most restricted countries ruled by a communist government with an iron fist regime the torch touched Vietnamese soil, another communist ally. The flame now synonymous with protests and anti-China sentiments arrived in Ho Chi Minh City late Monday from North Korea and moves on to China’s sovereign grounds, Hong Kong after the Vietnamese leg of the relay scheduled to be held today at 6:30 pm (1700 IST). The Vietnamese government has promised its northern neighbor (China) of a smooth and peaceful run on its soil.
The Olympic flame has been dogged by protests ever since it embarked on an international journey of six continents spanning 130 days covering a distance of 137,000 km (85,000 miles) before reaching Mainland China in time for the Summer Games.
Street rallies though infrequent in the one party state of Vietnam have been pretty visible in the last year given both Beijing and Hanoi’s claim on the disputed Spratly and Paracel chain of islands in the South China Sea. Activists have announced plans to protest peacefully in the Capital Hanoi and the port of Ho Chi Minh City leading to several police detentions in recent days.
Security is expected to be tight for today’s ceremony but city officials remain tight lipped about the number of personnel that would be deployed at the scene.
An American citizen of Vietnamese origin was barred on charges of attempts to disrupt the relay last Thursday. The state media reported he was apprehended with several T-shirts bearing anti-Beijing Olympic slogans in his luggage upon his arrival in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hong Kong, an autonomous territory of China that reverted to Chinese sovereignty 11 years ago under a ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement is the next stop for the Olympic torch after its leg in Vietnam. The Hong Kong government faced criticism after it denied entry to three Danish human rights activists Saturday. The activists were detained for six hours before they were forced to board a London bound plane.
Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot one of the three, had previously designed a ‘Pillar of Shame’ in Hong Kong in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Development Movement in China, a group that observes the Tiananmen killings and seeks human rights improvements in Hong Kong accused the government of trying to ‘please Beijing’. They held a small demonstration yesterday to voice concern over refusal of entry to the Danish activists.
“It really hurts the image of Hong Kong as an international city when we start restricting freedom of access,” Lee Cheuk-yan, a Union Leader and member of the Hong Kong Legislature and Vice Chairman of the Alliance told HT Asia-Pacific.
Television cameraman Niels Madsen, allowed into Hong Kong was traveling with the Danish group. He said in an interview with the Sunday Morning Post newspaper;
“Galschiot is just an artist, there’s no reason to refuse him entry. He had come to Hong Kong for a peaceful protest only and had no intention to disrupt the torch.”
Several groups plan to demonstrate against China’s crackdown in Tibet following the recent unrest in the region and its ongoing diplomatic military as well as commercial tie to the Sudanese government pertaining to Darfur. The Dream for Darfur is a campaign with threats of disrupting the Beijing Games and urges the PRC to exert more pressure on the Sudanese government to put an end to the mass atrocities and restore human rights.
