Beijing Olympic Games

Equestrian-Protesters thrown out of Hong Kong arena

By James Pomfret

HONG KONG, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong police threw two pro-Tibet protesters out of the city’s Olympics equestrian arena early on Saturday during the eventing dressage event.

The pair, who have in the past accused China of suppression in its far-western region of Tibet, had smuggled a Tibetan flag into the venue but were watched closely by police who forcefully dragged them away as they tried to reach into their bag.

They were barred from re-entering, officials saying they had broken rules because the dressage event requires silence from the audience as horses perform balletic movements to music.

The international leg of the Olympic torch relay was disrupted by protests against China rule of Tibet and its crackdown on rioting there earlier in the year.

(Editing by Ed Osmond) (For more Olympic stories visit our multimedia website “Road to Beijing” at http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics; and see our blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)