statism watch

Flashback: Olympic torch protested in Montreal | Protesters block Olympic torch relay in Vancouver

Stephen Smysnuik, Henry Stancu, The Toronto Star
December 18, 2009

Everything was going so smoothly. Then the torch hit downtown.

As the Olympic torch relay marched down Yonge St. on Thursday night, hundreds of protesters flooded the thoroughfare at College St., grinding the procession to a halt.

Dozens of police officers carrying batons barricaded about 300 demonstrators in the intersection, where they stood chanting “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land” while holding a large papier-mâché torch.

Up Yonge, fans of torch carrier Akshay Kumar, Bollywood’s equivalent of Brad Pitt, pushed their way onto the street, further clogging the street.

Delayed by an hour, the relay organizers turned to Plan B.

They put the torch in its protective safety lantern and the convoy drove on, diverting west along Wellesley St. to its scheduled stop at the Hospital for Sick Children.

Thursday’s incident marks the second time the torch has been held up by protests in its 106-day, 45,000-kilometre journey to the Games. [Ed. Note: No, third time, Torstar.]

A week ago in Montreal, about 100 demonstrators swarmed the main stage at the square where the rally was ending.

Protesters, meanwhile, are planning another demonstration for the torch parade in Kitchener next week.

An official with the Olympic Torch Relay said organizers are working closely with police in each jurisdiction it visits.

“There’s going to be individuals and organizations that have different views, and use the torch relays as a way to draw attention to the other matters. I hope that any of those protests are done in a peaceful way,” said Chris Shauf. “We want to make sure the family-friendly celebrations and the spirit of the Olympic flame is upheld at all times.”

Thursday’s demonstration consisted of a collection of smaller activist groups that opposed the Games, including No Games Toronto, No 2010 and Ontario’s Coalition Against Poverty. They are protesting the economic costs of the Olympics and the effect it is having on displaced people, especially Vancouver’s aboriginal population.

“Our point was to put a message out there and I think we did it,” said Syed Hassan, organizer of the Extinguish the Torch Committee.

“We aren’t against sports. We’re against the attacks on our indigenous people, migrants and the environment.”

While several spectators applauded the group, some even patting Hassan on the back, others weren’t as impressed.

Kathy Jackson, 47, stood at Yonge and Carlton Sts. for two hours for her chance to catch a glimpse of the fiery beacon. But the diversion meant she wouldn’t get to see it.

“I am devastated. I’m a big fan of the Olympics. I’m a big supporter,” said Jackson, sporting a red Canada jacket. “I understand where (the demonstrators are) coming from, but this was not the right place.”

She dashed off to City Hall, hoping to see the celebrations there. At Sick Kids, scores of children celebrated by singing O Canada.

The torch finally reached Nathan Phillips Square around 8 p.m. and the festivities – overseen by police – went off without a hitch, ending with an explosion of fireworks.

Earlier in the day, hundreds turned out in Oshawa, Whitby, Stouffville and Markham to see the torch travel through their communities.

Source | Alternate Coverage 1 2 | See also under Olympics: Police State Canada 2010 and the Olympic Crackdown | Vancouver orders removal of anti-Olympic mural | Olympic torch protested in Montreal | Border guards are now Olympic thought police – Amy Goodman detained | Vancouver eases Olympic protest restrictions | Anti-Olympic activists decry ‘Orwellian’ treatment | Vancouver police get military sound cannon just in time for Olympics | Protesters block Olympic torch relay | UBC students tutored on Olympic security rights | Government’s Olympic Suites Uncovered, Prices Start at $115,000 | Glitch at Vancouver Olympic security exercises | Nazi Olympics exhibit opens in Vancouver | Anti-Olympic signs could net 6 months’ jail: rights group | Olympic security follows protester’s friend | As Olympics loom, B.C. wants to force homeless into shelters in extreme weather | Canada, at war, to urge peace for everyone else during Olympics | CF-18s join B.C. Olympic security drill | Oympics push army to edge | UK: Police given powers to enter homes and tear down anti-Olympics posters during 2012 Games | 2010 Olympic security plans include ‘free speech’ zones | UK: Spy bugs may be deployed for 2012 Olympics | Olympics-Cruise ships set for security in 2010 Games | Pre-Olympic transit ads encourage citizen surveillance | Olympics a ’stimulus package’ for Vancouver: VANOC | Olympic security good for Canada, IOC head says | Military and police practice integration during Olympic security exercises | Military to be out in force for Vancouver Olympics | Olympic security boss puts protesters on notice | Vancouver dodges public referendum requirement for funding to finish Olympic Village | Vancouver mayor to recall legislature to handle Olympic Village crisis | Former mayors support secrecy surrounding Olympic Village bailout | China names 8 alleged Olympic terrorists | Activists seen as potential threat to Vancouver Games | Doubt Arises in Account of pre-Olympic ‘Uighur’ Attack in China | Rounded up into torture camps: the ‘undesirables’ China doesn’t want you to see | Pentagon Front Groups Release Laughable Olympics “Terror” Video | Beijing lockdown | Mass Arrests as Beijing Prepares for Olympics | Defiant Beijing family loses home | China wages war on Olympic weather | Beijing families forcibly relocated for Olympics | Tanks, Face-Scanning Cameras Part of ‘Discreet’ 2010 Games Security | Toronto rallies denounce Burma, China regimes | Vancouver Olympics security cameras raise privacy concerns | CSIS Spying on Natives, Olympic Dissidents | China’s Men In Blue

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 6:45 am and is filed under accountability, culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.