Protest mars Beijing torch lighting ceremony

By Karolos Grohmann

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (Reuters) - Human rights demonstrators breached tight security and tried to hijack the Beijing Olympic torch lighting ceremony and relay in ancient Olympia on Monday.

Just before the torch was lit inside the archaeological site that played host to the Olympics in ancient Greece, three demonstrators managed to break a tight police cordon.

One of them, carrying a black banner with five interlocked handcuffs in the pattern of the Olympic rings, approached Beijing Games chief Liu Qi during his speech in front of hundreds of officials but was quickly led away by police.

Liu failed to get distracted by the commotion and continued his speech, while television footage immediately cut away from the incident.

"The Olympic flame will radiate light and happiness, peace and friendship, and hope and dreams to the people of China and the whole world," Liu told the assembled crowd.

Exiled Tibetans had pledged to demonstrate against China's security crackdown in the region and what they say is the IOC's hesitancy to pressure Beijing to improve its human rights record.

Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (known by its French acronym RSF) said three of its members had tried to stage the protest on Monday.

"If the Olympic flame is sacrificed, human rights are even more so," the group said in a statement on its Web site (www.rsf.org/).