Beijing - The Chinese government on Tuesday condemned the protests at the Olympic torch-lighting ceremony as "shameful."Qin Gang, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, urged all nations through which the torch would pass on its way to Beijing for the Summer Olympics to take precautions against planned demonstrations.
"Any acts aimed to disrupt the torch relay are shameful," Qin said, a day after three members of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders disrupted the torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, with an anti-China protest.
"The authorities of the countries have the obligation to ensure a smooth torch relay," he added.
The three demonstrators unfurled a banner that depicted the Olympic rings transformed into handcuffs in a protest critical of China's human-rights record. One of them approached Beijing Games chief Liu Qi during his speech in front of hundreds of officials but was quickly led away by police before all three were arrested.
Liu did not get distracted by the commotion and continued his speech while television footage cut away from the incident.
The state-controlled media in China largely ignored the disruption. Although the major Chinese- and English-language newspapers reported extensively on the ceremony, they did not mention the protest.
The head of the Greek Olympic Organizing Committee, Lambis Nikolaou, joined China in objecting to the protests, condemning the demonstrators as not respecting the ancient site in Olympia.
The three demonstrators, all French, were released on bail late Monday after being charged with offending public sentiment without provocation.
"We were in no way attacking the Olympic spirit or Greece," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. "We were simply protesting against the policy being carried out in China during this period of intensifying repression."
The press freedom group called the charge "absurd and senseless" while calling for a boycott of the Games' August 8 opening ceremony.
Demonstrators wearing "Free Tibet" shirts also held up the start of the relay Monday by lying in front of cars, preventing runners from passing with the torch. Reports said at least another six people, including a Swiss national, were detained.
The torch relay is occurring as China faces criticism for its handling of protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule in the Himalayan region.
