The Olympic torch was paraded through India’s capital on Thursday, along a historic thoroughfare purged of spectators, as 15 000 police officers kept protesters from the world’s largest community of exiled Tibetans far from the route. Across India, thousands of mainly Tibetans protested.
Grim-faced Chinese guards protecting the Olympic torch have attracted further criticism ahead of the global relay’s arrival in India, where bitter memories of war with its neighbour remain fresh. Phalanxes of Chinese security personnel are accompanying the flame’s around-the-world journey to shield it from pro-Tibetan demonstrators.