Torch supporters, protesters mark Japan relay

Fri Apr 25, 2008 10:51pm EDT

By Chisa Fujioka

NAGANO, Japan (Reuters) - Crowds of Chinese students waving red flags and signs such as "One World, One Dream, One China" vied for attention with pro-Tibet protesters as the latest leg of the Olympic torch relay got underway in Japan.

Commenting on the turmoil that has bedeviled the global relay, International Olympics Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge urged the West to stop hectoring China over human rights.

"You don't obtain anything in China with a loud voice," Rogge told Saturday's Financial Times. "That is the big mistake of people in the West wanting to add their views".

"To keep face (in Asia) is of paramount importance. All the Chinese specialists will tell you that only one thing works -- respectful, quiet but firm discussion," Rogge added.

The global torch relay ahead of the Beijing Games in August has prompted protests against China's human rights record, including in Tibet, and patriotic rallies by Chinese who criticize the West for vilifying Beijing.

In Nagano, chants of "Go China" mixed with "Free Tibet" from the rival groups, who at times scuffled in the central city, host to the 1998 Winter Olympics.

More than 3,000 police were mobilized for the relay, which comes a day after Chinese state media said Beijing would hold talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Buddhist leader of Tibet, whom it blames for recent unrest in Tibet.

Japan is keen to avoid the chaotic scenes that have marred some of the relay venues ahead of next month's visit by President Hu Jintao, the first to Japan by a Chinese president in a decade.

Nagano Mayor Shoichi Washizawa read out part of a United Nations declaration on human rights at an opening ceremony in a vacant lot, as crowds of mostly Chinese supporters watched from a distance.

TIGHT SECURITY, SCUFFLING GROUPS

One hundred Japanese police officers shielded the torch-bearers in two rows, accompanied by two Chinese "flame attendants" in blue-and-white track suits, while pro-China supporters waved red national flags along the route.

Police wrestled a man to the ground after he ran into the relay path holding a Tibetan flag and shouting "Free Tibet".

Scuffling broke out between pro-China and pro-Tibet groups, among whom were many Japanese right-wing activists, near Nagano's main train station, prompting police to step in and separate the rival groups. TV footage showed one injured man, his face bleeding.

Tibet has become a flashpoint for the anti-China protests that have disrupted the torch relay around the world and led to calls for state leaders to boycott the Olympic Games, but the IOC's Rogge urged the West not to be smug.

"It took us 200 years to evolve from the French Revolution. China started in 1949," he said in the Financial Times interview, noting that was when Britain and other European nations were also colonial powers, "with all the abuse attached".

"Let's be a little bit more modest," he said.

Some demonstrators in Nagano expressed hope for calm.

"We want to protect the Olympics," said 35-year-old Chinese student Cheng Hon. "Violence is wrong. We want to have peace in the world."

Residents were put off by the tight security and rival crowds. "This torch relay is no longer about the Olympics," said retiree Kazuo Tamai. "There are so many riot police and officers around that local residents are very disappointed."

Around 80 torch bearers were taking part in the 18.7 km (11 mile) relay through the city, including the Olympic stadium. The flame's next stop is Seoul.

The event's route had to be altered just days ahead of time after the city's historic Buddhist temple of Zenkoji pulled out as host of the starting ceremony, citing safety concerns and complaints from its followers.

The flame is meant to transmit a message of peace and friendship, but its journey has been largely turned into a political event and the torch has been granted the sort of security usually reserved for state leaders.

(Additional reporting by Yoko Kubota and Tetsushi Kajimoto in Tokyo; Writing by Linda; Editing by David Fogarty)