By IANS
New Delhi : India Wednesday promised watertight security for the Olympic torch relay as it passes through the country during a five-continent odyssey ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
“We will make special arrangements (for the torch relay),” National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said.
“We will make all possible arrangements for the event,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a defence function here.
Narayanan was responding to concerns expressed in certain quarters that the ongoing protests by Tibetans here after violent lashes in Tibet could impact on the Olympic torch relay.
“We will make all the necessary arrangements,” he maintained.
The lighting of the torch at ancient Olympia in Greece was disrupted when three members of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) unfurled a banner Monday depicting the Olympic rings transformed into handcuffs in a protest critical of China’s human-rights record.
One of trio approached Beijing Games chief Liu Qi during his speech in front of hundreds of officials but was quickly led away by the police before all three were arrested. Refusing to be distracted, Liu continued his speech while television footage cut away from the incident.
“Now that the torch relay has started, we are going to keep carrying out actions in other cities,” RSF number two Jean-François Julliard said.
RSF intends to stir the international community into boycotting the inaugural ceremony of the Olympics to protest human rights violations in China.
“The Olympic flame may be sacred but human rights are even more so,” the group said in a statement.
RSF has an insignificant presence in India but analysts have expressed fears that “lumpen elements” here might take advantage of the Tibetan protests here to disrupt the passage of the torch relay through India.
The Olympic flame will reach Beijing March 31. It will then be taken on a 137,000 km relay through the five continents, passing through New Delhi on April 17.
A second torch will also be lit in Beijing and Chinese mountaineers will attempt to take this to the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.