Diana 4-28-2008 10:50
North Korea ready for Olympic torch
[b](CNN)[/b] -- North Korea prepared to host the international torchrelay for the first time ever Monday, a day after scuffles marred therelay in South Korea's capital of Seoul.
North Korean President Kim Jong Il was not expected to make anappearance for Monday's 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) relay in North Korea'scapital of Pyongyang.
On Sunday, the torch completed the 17thleg of its protest-plagued global relay in Seoul with Chinese studentsvastly outnumbering demonstrators.
A man doused himself with gasoline and tried to set himself on fire -- but was stopped by police.
The man who tried to immolate himself was 45-year-old Son Jong Hoon,had led an unsuccessful public campaign to save his brother fromexecution in North Korea, The Associated Press reported. Son's brotherwas accused of spying after the two brothers met secretly in China, APreported.
Scuffles broke out several times along the route inSeoul between demonstrators and Chinese students waving their country'sred flag.
At least 8,000 riot police were deployed to guardthe 15-mile (24 kilometer) route, which started at Olympic Park, builtwhen Seoul hosted the Summer Games in 1988, and winds down at City Hallin central Seoul.
As the runners carried the torch through the streets of Seoul, three rows of guards flanked them on each side.
"They will try their best to prevent any kind of intervention," said GiHyung Keum, spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sportsand Tourism.
South Korean police have successfully handledlarge crowds, such as recent protests against the country signing afree trade agreement with the United States.
After Seoul was granted the 1988 Games, massive pro-democracydemonstrations broke out, prompting the then-military government toenact sweeping reforms. Among them was the decision to hold directpresidential elections.
"I respect people's rights to protest, to have their say. But thisis not the venue for various people to express their politicalinterests," said Kim Sang-Woo of the Korean Olympic Committee.
An hour before the start of the relay, thousands of Chinese studentsthronged the park plaza, singing songs and chanting "One China, OneWorld" slogans.
About 30,000 Chinese students study in South Korea.
In other recent Asian legs of the relay, a large number of Chinesestudents have attended. In Bangkok, Thailand, students told CNN theChinese Embassy there provided their transportation and gave themshirts to wear.
As in several past stops, demonstrators protesting China's policy toward Tibet turned out at the rally.
They were joined by other demonstrators critical of how Chinaforcefully deports North Korean refugees back to their impoverishedcountry when they escape into China.
Under the North Koreanpenal code, leaving the country without state permission can beconsidered an act of treason, punishable by heavy penalties includingimprisonment and forced labor, said Kay Seok of Seoul's Human RightsWatch.
"They will be invariably interrogated about what they didin China, why they went to China and who they met there," she said."And depending on the result of the interrogation, they will be sent tolabor camps for a few months or to prison for a few years."
Theflame arrived shortly after midnight from another Olympic host city:Nagano, Japan, site of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. A few sidelinerswaved Tibetan flags, but those were outnumbered by those holding largeChinese flags. Despite some scuffles, the relay went off uninterrupted.
The torch has been shadowed on its journeys by pro-Tibetdemonstrators who troubled the relay in London, England; Paris, France;and San Francisco, California. Stops in those cities attracted tens ofthousands of demonstrators and prompted dozens of arrests.
Security concerns prompted Pakistani officials to close the relay tothe public and hold it at a stadium in front of invited guests. Indiatruncated the route and kept protesters at bay by lining the route withthousands of police officers and paramilitary troopers.
But stops in some countries, such as Argentina, Tanzania and Oman, have been trouble-free.
On Wednesday, the torch travels to Hong Kong. Three human rightsactivists who planned on protesting the torch relay there said Sundaythat they there were barred from entering the Chinese-ruled territory.
"We (were) finally told that we for 'immigration reasons' could notenter Hong Kong, and should take the next plane back," wrote Danishsculptor Jens Galschiot on the Web site of his group, Color Orange.
"Although repeatedly asking for the reason of being denied access, theywould/could not explain it in more details than 'we do not live up tothe requirements of immigration.'"
Galschiot sculpted 'The Pillar of Shame,' which depicts 50 torn andtwisted bodies to symbolize those who died in a Chinese crackdown onTiananmen Square in 1989.
The torch relay ends its round-the-world jaunt of 21 cities in five continents in Beijing in August.
Galschiot sculpted 'The Pillar of Shame,' which depicts 50 torn andtwisted bodies to symbolize those who died in a Chinese crackdown onTiananmen Square in 1989.
The torch relay ends its round-the-world jaunt of 21 cities in five continents in Beijing in August.