By DPA
Buenos Aires : The Olympic flame arrived in Buenos Aires from San Francisco amid tight security for the torch relay’s only South American stop.
After protesters hounded the Beijing-bound flame for the last week across Europe and during its sole North American leg Wednesday in San Francisco, there were no demonstrators at the airport as the torch arrived in the Argentinean capital here Thursday.
The torch was brought into the airport through areas off limits to the public, with a heavy police escort. The torch was being delivered to a secret location for safekeeping overnight, ahead of Friday’s planned procession through the Argentine capital.
Buenos Aires police expect protests Friday along the parade route against Beijing’s policies in Tibet, sparked by a crackdown last month in the Himalayan region. Members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China, are also expected to demonstrate against the promotion of the Beijing Olympics, which are scheduled for August.
Argentine authorities plan to deploy 2,700 police officers and 3,000 additional people to help keep order for the first-ever Olympic torch relay in Buenos Aires.