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Subject China's paramilitary police force in SF
Poster Handle Anonymous Coward
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Aggressive Olympic Torch Guardians are Chinese Paramilitaries
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,348449,00.html


Security agents in blue tracksuits are members of China's paramilitary police force, dispatched from Beijing with a mission to protect torchbearers.

BEIJING — They wear bright blue tracksuits and Beijing Olympic organizers call them "flame attendants." But a military bearing hints at their true pedigree: paramilitary police sent by Beijing to guard the Olympic flame during its journey around the world.

Torchbearers have criticized the security detail for aggressive behavior, and a top London Olympics official simply called them "thugs."

"They were barking orders at me, like 'Run! Stop! This! That!' and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, who are these people?"' former television host Konnie Huq told British Broadcasting Corp. radio about her encounter with the men in blue during London's leg of the relay Sunday.

So far, the "29th Olympic Games Torch Relay Flame Protection Unit" — as the squad is officially known — has kept the flame from being seized during chaotic, protest-filled runs through Paris and London.

Its mettle is likely to be further tested Wednesday in San Francisco, where activists protesting China's crackdown in Tibet and its human rights record have promised widespread demonstrations.

Officially, Beijing has said only that the unit's mission was to guard the flame, in keeping with practices of past Olympic games.
article continues:
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,348449,00.html




[link to ap.google.com]
A police officer tackles a demonstrator during the Olympic torch relay in London, in this April 6, 2008 file photo. The security agents wear blue tracksuits, but a military bearing hints at their true pedigree: They are members of China's paramilitary police force, dispatched from Beijing.
 
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