Indonesian police broke up a rally by pro-Tibet activists Tuesday ahead of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which has been closed to the public amid Chinese anger at criticism of its rights record.
  
Police swooped on about 100 activists protesting against Chinese rule in Tibet outside the venue of the torch relay at the national stadium in Jakarta, detaining at least nine including a Dutch man.
  
The protesters were carrying banners reading "No human rights, no Olympics" and chanting "A united people will be invincible" when police moved in, dragging nine away for questioning.
  
The rally outside the national stadium came three hours ahead of the 2:00 pm (0700 GMT) start of the heavily restricted relay event which has been closed to the public and taken off public roads at China's request, officials said.
  
Eight of those detained, including four members of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, were quickly released after being questioned at the scene.
  
But the Dutch man who identified himself to AFP as Steve Bolte was taken to Jakarta police headquarters.
  
"Police have not said anything until now, I don't know what is happening," he told AFP by telephone from the station.
  
The Olympic flame was smothered by security ahead of the shortened, invitation-only relay designed to prevent protests that have embarrassed Beijing on previous legs.
  
The torch bearers -- officials, artists and athletes -- will take turns carrying the flame around the main Bung Karno stadium in the sprawling Senayan sports complex.
  
The relay will be witnessed by only about 5,000 people -- reportedly including 1,000 Chinese students -- who have official invitations. Some 2,500 security personnel have been deployed around the stadium.
  
"The area has been sterilized and now only those with an invitation or the proper ID cards can enter," Asep Dayat, a policeman at the scene, told AFP.
  
The flame has been kept under wraps at a five-star hotel since it arrived in Jakarta from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of Tuesday, on its first ever visit to the archipelago nation.
  
Previous legs of the torch relay in Europe and the United States were marked by violent protests against China's human rights record, angering Chinese hoping for a successful Beijing Olympics in August.
  
Indonesia originally planned for the torch to be paraded through Jakarta's traffic-clogged streets and busy China town, but the route was changed at Beijing's request.
  
"We did some coordination with the Chinese sport minister and we decided to change the route," Indonesia's sports committee chief Ritha Subowo said Monday.
  
Eighty people from all walks of life will take turns carrying the torch along a seven-kilometre (4.2-mile) route inside the sports complex.
  
Torch bearers will include Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, Chinese Ambassador Lan Linjun, Sports and Youth Minister Adhyaksa Dault and badminton world champion Taufik Hidayat.
  
Rights activists said Indonesia had buckled under Chinese pressure.
  
"We are very saddened by the way the Olympics are being handled at this time," said Gatot of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
  
"The move to restrict the torch relay is against the Olympic spirit of openness, togetherness and respect for others."
  
Protests against Chinese rule rocked Tibet last month in one of the worst outbreaks of violence there since China seized control of the Himalayan region in 1950.