Greek police block Tibetan activists Freedom Torch Relay at Ancient Olympia

Tibetan activists held a torch-lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia on Monday to protest China's rule over Tibet on the 49th anniversary of the thwarted uprising.

Police prevented the group, Team Tibet, from entering the Ancient Olympia stadium, and the ceremony took place outside the gates of the museum. The group intends for its Tibetan Freedom Torch Relay to pass through 50 cities and finish inside Tibet on Aug. 8, the day of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

"The Chinese regime will try to use the games to advance its own political agenda ... that's why we took the protest to Ancient Olympia," said Tendon Dahortsang, a spokeswoman for the Tibetan group.

The Tibetan uprising against China was crushed in 1959, leading Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to flee to India.

Five Tibetan women in traditional goddess dresses performed a short ceremony outside the museum, lighting a torch and handing it to Tibetan shot-putter Tsultim Golpe.

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