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Olympic Torch Draws Buenos Aires Protests for Boycott Bill Faries The Olympic torch world tour moves to the streets of Buenos Aires today and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon became the latest world leader to say he'll miss the opening ceremony of the games in Beijing. Protesters against China's alleged human rights abuses vowed to peacefully press world leaders for a boycott of the ceremonies. Mayor Mauricio Macri said 5,000 police officers and volunteers will help protect the torch's 13-kilometer (8.1-mile) relay route through the Argentine capital. The torch's arrival in Buenos Aires, its only stop in South America, is a ``moment of pride'' for the entire country, he said. China's crackdown on unrest in Tibet and its links to the government of Sudan led protesters in London, Paris and San Francisco to seek to disrupt the flame's 137,000-kilometer, 21- city tour. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge called the protests a crisis, adding that the IOC had weathered bigger storms. He said the 1972 Munich games, in which he was an athlete, were ``the biggest crisis ever'' for the IOC.
``We're going to undertake some `surprise' actions across Buenos Aires, but these will be done peacefully,'' said Jorge Carcavallo, an organizer with the Free Tibet group, which will join a counter ``Human Rights Torch'' relay. ``We will not try to snuff out the torch.'' Scheduling Conflict Ban won't attend the opening ceremony because of a scheduling conflict, conveyed to the Chinese some months ago, spokeswoman Marie Okabe said yesterday in New York. The European Parliament has urged EU leaders not to attend. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already decided not to go and Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said he would be ``glad'' if European politicians don't go. U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown will attend the closing ceremony. Hillary Clinton has urged President George W. Bush not to attend the games and Barack Obama, Senator Clinton's rival to become the Democrats' presidential nominee, said the president should consider skipping the opening ceremonies.
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