Beijing torch passes through Tanzania in peace

By George Obulutsa

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The 2008 Olympic torch relay passed through Tanzania's commercial capital in peace on Sunday, cheered on by residents who braved a heavy downpour.

The 79 torch bearers were flanked by armed paramilitary police along its 5 km (3 mile) route to ensure no repeat in Dar es Salaam of disruptions by protesters in other countries.

"I can only congratulate the people ... We should be proud that we have been selected among many to represent Africa," U.N. Habitat boss Anna Tibaijuka said after using the torch to light a cauldron at Tanzania's national stadium.

Floats topped with dancers and musicians lined the path of a procession that began at the headquarters of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, which runs a rail line built with Chinese help in the 1970s.

Except in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the torch has been greeted by demonstrations in other cities against China's policies in Tibet and Darfur and its human rights record.

One dissenting voice during the sole African leg of the relay was Kenya's Peace Laureate and environmentalist Wangari Maathai, who withdrew from the Dar es Salaam event.

But veteran Kenyan athlete Kipchoge Keino, who did carry the torch on Sunday, said politics and sport should not mix.

"I think that as the Olympic Committee we are not interested in politics. Our main objective is unity among the youth in the world," he told Reuters.

Also among the bearers were Ugandan runner Dorcus Inzikuru and Congolese environmentalist Pierre Kakule.

The Olympic torch next heads to Muscat, Oman.

(Additional reporting by Njuwa Maina; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Michael Winfrey)

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