Olympic Games 2008

Protesters clash in Seoul

Article published on the 2008-04-27 Latest update 2008-04-28 20:46 TU

The torch's route has been blighted by scuffles - as seen here in Nagano, Japan
(Photo : Reuters)

Familiar scenes of protests, scuffles and chants once again greeted the Olympic torch at the start of its two-day journey through the divided Korean peninsula. Thousands of extra police were drafted in to Seoul to try to keep rival groups separate. Rights protesters were targeted by Chinese students, who outnumbered their rivals along the 24-km route from Olympic Park to City Hall.

Protests were against China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees as well as its crackdown in Tibet.

Police managed to restrain a North Korean defector who tried to set himself on fire to halt the procession.

Patriotic Chinese men and women wrapped in their country's flag outnumbered the South Koreans who had gathered to denounce Beijing's human rights record.

Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China, but Beijing's policy is to repatriate them to North Korea, where they face jail terms under life-threatening conditions.

The torch's next stop is the North Korean capital Pyongyang, where protests will not be on the agenda. Human rights groups say any sort of demonstration there could lead to prison or even execution.