Australia Spirits Away Torch Ahead of Relay

Protesters do their thing anyway
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 23, 2008 10:12 AM CDT
Australia Spirits Away Torch Ahead of Relay
A long security fence, left, lines the street to Australia's parliament house in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, April 23, 2008, ahead of the torch relay for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

The Olympic torch arrived Down Under today, but was immediately whisked off to a secret location to avoid protesters, the AP reports. Tomorrow’s torch relay in Canberra will be open to the public—unlike those in Jakarta and New Delhi—but the route will be lined with yard-high fences and police. 

Protesters gathered across Australia today, holding a candlelit vigil in Canberra, and draping a banner over a Coke billboard in Sydney. Australian PM Kevin Rudd has said police will come down "like a ton of bricks" on anyone who behaves unlawfully during the relay. (More 2008 Beijing Olympics stories.)

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