Canada- Olympic torch barer assaulted
nn - 29.12.2009 01:38
Olympic torch barer assaulted in Guelph Ontario
December 28, 2009
GUELPH, Ont. – A 19-year-old woman faces assault charges after an Olympic torch carrier was knocked down in this southern Ontario city on Monday morning.
The incident occurred as Cortney Hansen, 28, of Milton, Ont., was confronted by protesters just before 8 a.m., police said.
Hansen was treated by Olympic Torch Run medical staff at the scene.
The teenager arrested has been charged with assault and is scheduled to appear in court in February.
The flame was not extinguished during the incident, which happened before about 1,000 people gathered to watch the torch relay.
"It is unfortunate that this torchbearer's once-in-a-lifetime experience with the Olympic flame was disrupted in this manner," Jim Richards, director of torch relays, said in a release.
"We understand that the Olympic Games are a high profile event and will attract attention and that people have the right to express their opinions," Richards said. "We ask that they do so peacefully and respectfully."
On Sunday, about 200 protesters made lots of noise but remained peaceful as the Olympic torch made its way into Kitchener.
Protesters have met the torch on several other occasions.
On Dec. 21, the relay was rerouted to avoid a protest by a splinter group of demonstrators at the Six Nations reserve near Brantford in southern Ontario. Band officials welcomed the torch, but the protesters felt the relay had no place on aboriginal land.
In Toronto the previous week, the route was also changed after aboriginal protesters took over a downtown intersection.
They chanted "No Olympics on Stolen Land" – the rallying cry for those who maintain the Games are being held on unceded native land in British Columbia.
Earlier in Montreal, the arrival of the flame was delayed for an hour when about 100 people took over the stage set up in a square.
The Olympic flame is passing through more than 1,000 communities on a 106-day journey before arriving in time for the Vancouver Games on Feb. 12.
Source:thestar.com
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