An Australian torch bearer said Tuesday she was pulling out of this week's Olympic relay in her country's capital because of concerns over China's human rights record.
Social justice advocate Lin Hatfield-Dodds said she still supports the Olympics and the athletes, but the symbolism of the relay had changed in the wake of China's crackdown in Tibet.
"For a lot of people it still carries the meaning of harmony, but for an increasing number of the global community watching, it's carrying a lot of meaning around human rights," Hatfield-Dodds told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Hatfield-Dodds was chosen for the relay because she was named Australian of the Year in her territory for her work with low-income and disadvantaged Australians.
"I hope it doesn't send any particular message to Australia's athletes," she said. "I hope that it sends a message to the world at large that human rights matter."
Criticism of China's human rights record has turned the Olympic torch run ahead of the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics into one of the most contentious in recent history.
Protests dogged the relay during its stops in Ancient Olympia, Greece, Paris, London and San Francisco, with demonstrators protesting China's crackdown on anti-government riots in Tibet.
Security concerns prompted authorities elsewhere to change their routes.
A strengthened force of hundreds of police will guard the torch when it's run through Canberra on Thursday. Security officials have erected metal barricades along the 16-kilometer (10-mile) route.
Organizers have predicted several protest "hot spots" and said the route could be changed if protests get out of control.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday that any violent protests would be severely dealt with.
"What I can say loud and clear, that if any protester, irrespective of their political point of view, engages in unruly disruptive, violent, unlawful behavior, then the police will come down on them like a ton of bricks," Rudd told ABC television. "Peaceful protest, yes. Violent protest, under no circumstances."
