The Olympic flame arrives in the St. Petersburg airport. (Getty Images)(ATR) The Olympic flame and its handlers have a relatively quiet day in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the entourage arrived in the wee hours of Friday for a Saturday relay. But Friday was no day off for the activists and critics drawn like moths to the flame.
The April 5 St. Petersburg relay leg begins in Victory Square and winds up 20 km later near the Winter Palace. A total of 80 torchbearers will take part, including the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.
As the flame was lodged in a St. Petersburg hotel, French athletes unveiled a special badge they will encourage their team members to wear in the April 7 relay and at the Games.
"For a better world" reads the simple round badge paired with the French national Olympic committee logo. France NOC Athletes Commission president David Douillet presents the "better world" design. (Getty Images)
"The CNOSF Athletes Commission encourages all French athletes to wear this in recollection of the Olympic values: excellence, respect and friendship," reads a statement from the commission, which designed the badge with the support of the NOC.
In Washington D.C., an envoy of the Dalai Lama told the congressional human rights caucus that the Olympic torch should not go through Tibet because it would be "provocative" and "insulting."
One of the caucus members, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) , told a radio reporter that China's actions in Tibet make a "mockery" of Olympic ideals.
A member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council has called on the territory's security secretary to clarify his plan to bar potential troublemakers from Olympic events.
"If the authorities here use very arbitrary means to stop people from coming in, I think that would cause quite an uproar," Emily Lau is quoted in a radio interview.
Earlier in the week, Hong Kong security secretary Ambrose Lee said Hong Kong will allow protesters to enter the territory for the Games, but will turn away those who plan disruptions.
The conservative Washington Times newspaper says it has obtained an internal Chinese Communist Party Central Committee document that instructs its members to crack down harshly on dissenters ahead of the Olympics.
"As the Beijing Olympics approaches, various enemy forces inside and outside our border are accelerating their sabotage activities with a focus on the Olympics," the document purportedly reads.
Canadian PM Stephen Harper will not go to the opening ceremony in August because he never planned to attend, he told reporters on April 3.
The government will send a high-level delegation, Harper confirmed, adding that he advises China to take human rights concerns seriously.
Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenerg says he has no reason to boycott the Games yet; the country's royal family say their plans to attend the opening ceremony will be dictated by leaders' recommendations, according to Norwegian media.
Yet critics themselves also come in for criticism.
Brazilian Olympic Committee President CarlosThe flame journeys to London on April 6, where 2,000 police await thousands of expected protestors. (Getty Images)Nuzman reiterated his support for the Beijing Games.
"COB understands that the athletes are the major stars in the Olympic Games. They must be the leading actors in this great sports festivity. Therefore, the boycott proposal is a disrespect to those who, for years, have prepared for the Games with much sweat and toil," Nuzman said in a news release.
Chinese state media report messages of support from other leaders.
"We believe that the Beijing Olympics will realize its theme of ‘One World One Dream' and contribute to world peace by giving all people a gathering point for mutual understanding," Chilean ambassador to China Fernando Reyes Matta is quoted.
Dutch Olympic Committee president Erica Terpstra says it is a pity that political discussion is overshadowing the brilliance of the Games, according to Xinhua.
The far, far left is making more pointed attacks.
"U.S. imperialism and its allies have embarked on a concerted campaign to undermine China's global image and its ability to peacefully host the Olympics," reads a new statement from FIST, a U.S.-based Marxist youth organization.
Colleagues in Nepal – the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist) – share that view, according to FIST.
Written by Maggie Lee
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