Olympic Flame Arrives In Thailand For Saturday Relay

April 18, 2008 5:24 a.m. EST

Bangkok (AHN) -- The Olympic Flame arrived in Thailand on Friday, again under tight security, but this time officials said Saturday's relay will go on as scheduled and the route will not be shortened.

The torch arrived from India on Thursday after a day where it was reported that hundreds of protesters were arrested in India and Nepal. Both of those cities have large Tibetan populations and India also houses the Tibetan government of the exiled Dalai Lama.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951.

The torch relay went off without incident in India, mainly because officials there sealed off the heart of the capital of New Delhi with police and soldiers easily outnumbering the spectators.

Thailand officials said Saturday's relay will continue to be 10 kilometers as planned.

Thailand's prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, told the Associated Press, "There is no reason to disturb the ceremony, This is purely a sporting issue."

The flame arrived in Thailand early on Friday and was taken to a hotel in Bangkok.

Thailand Crown Princesss Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was to host a dinner for the 80 Thai torchbearers on Friday night and had asked to bring the torch there, but the Chinese delegation didn't think it was a good idea for security reasons.

There is a demonstration planned by a coalition of human rights and student groups outside Bangkok's UN headquarters on Saturday.