By Karolos Grohmann

ANCIENT OLYMPIA. Greece (Reuters). During Monday’s torch-lighting ceremony, human rights activists waved a banner calling for a boycott against the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

A man and two women slipped past the police line and entered an archaeological site that contains the temple and ancient Greek stadium where the Olympic flame was traditionally lit. The area had been closed off for several days.

The Tibetan flag was held high by the volunteers seconds after the torch had been lit by the actress who played the role of High Priestess at Temple of Hera, a few meters from them.

Three protestors demanded that Beijing Games be boycotted, while invited officials including President Thomas Bach of International Olympic Committee and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, from Greece, watched.

The ceremony did not have to be interrupted like the Beijing Summer Games 2008, but the protestors who were not able to reach the stadium or temple were swiftly led by police.

The Greek Olympic Committee (HOC), which organized the event, stated that it regretted the use of the ceremony for political ends. When asked by the IOC for comment, it referred to HOC statements.

The HOC stated that the lighting of the Olympic torch represents three thousand years of Greek history, as well as a commitment for peace and dialog.

The HOC is committed to individual freedoms of expression. However, we are disappointed that some individuals have used this cultural tradition for their own purposes.

When it hosts the February 4-20, event in Beijing, China, the capital of China will be the first to host both the Winter Games as well as the Summer Games. But protests and calls from the boycotting community over its human rights record have hindered the preparations.

ACROPOLIS MENT

Police detained four other protestors outside the stadium one hour prior to the ceremony. They were taken to a local station. The four activists have been released without charges. After protesting against the Acropolis monument, two more people were taken into custody in Athens.

Protesters are organizing more demonstrations, and there will be a press conference Tuesday where the flame is officially given to Athens Games organizers.

Bach declared that “the Olympic Games can’t address all the issues in our world” in the speech he delivered in front of the old stadium just before the protest.

They set the example of a world in which everyone follows the same rules. We are inspired by them to find solutions in friendship and cooperation.

U.S. lawmakers and rights groups have called for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to delay the Games, and move the event unless China ceases what they consider ongoing genocide against Uyghurs or other Muslim minority group.

Chinese authorities were accused of encouraging forced labour through the detention in camps, over a million Uyghurs as well as other primarily Muslim minorities since 2016.

China has denied wrongdoing. It claims that it has created vocational training centers for extremism.

The torch-lighting ceremony at Beijing 2008 Games was also disrupted twice more by activists for human rights.

Yu Zaiqing from Beijing Games, Vice President of Olympic Games, stated that the Chinese government’s strong leadership “will allow us to deliver a smooth, safe and spectacular Olympic Games for the world.”