Jakarta - Jakarta's leg of the Olympic torch relay took
place Tuesday inside the city's main sports stadium and out of the
public eye as dozens of activists staged a pro-Tibet rally outside.
The relay was originally planned to pass through large stretches
of the bustling city, but because of security concerns and on the
request of Beijing, the route was confined to the Bung Karno Sports
Complex in central Jakarta, organizers said.
Security was tight with more than 3,000 police and military
officers, backed by water cannons and police dogs, deployed in and
around the stadium.
Police broke up about 150 anti-China protestors and detained eight
activists, including one Dutch national, as well as seizing flags of
pro-Tibet activists during a rally outside the stadium, witnesses
said.
But police allowed dozens of other protestors to rally at its gate.
After brief questioning, all of the detained local protesters were
released, but the Dutchman was still being questioned and later was
taken to the immigration office for further investigation, officials
said.
The protesters carried banners reading: 'No human rights, no
Olympics,' while some wore T-shirts saying, 'Free TIbet.'
About 80 torch bearers - including Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo,
Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, Chinese Ambassador Lan Linjun and
badminton world champion Taufik Hidayat - took part in carrying the
flame for seven kilometres inside the stadium.
Members of the public were barred from directly watching the
relay, but about 5,000 invited guests, including Indonesian and
Chinese students, witnessed the relay.
'Nobody can enter the area - the sports stadium - without an
official invitation,' said Sumohadi Marsis, head of the Olympic torch
organizing committee.
A group of about 100 elementary school students expressed
disappointment after they were turned away from the stadium by
security authorities after failing to show invitations.
The torch arrived in Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur, where the
Malaysian leg of the relay was held Monday as hundreds of people -
mostly dressed in red in support of China - watched the torch pass
through the city's streets, which were devoid of the demonstrations
against China's crackdown on anti-government protesters in Tibet that
have marred other stops on the route, including London, Paris and San
Francisco.
Rita Subowo, chairwoman of Indonesia's sports committee, said at a
press conference Monday that initially, the Indonesian relay
organizers had decided to give people the chance to see the torch
relay, but after protests in other countries, the committee decided
to change the route at Beijing's request.
Subowo urged the public against mixing sports with politics, race
or creed and expressed the hope that the 'Chinese will be able to
resolve their own internal problems.'
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