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BEIJING, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chinese security forces dragged away five U.S. pro-free Tibet protesters who blocked the entrance to a northern Beijing park on Wednesday, breaking up the latest demonstration on the sidelines of the 2008 Olympics.
About half a dozen guards took hold of three men and women yelling "Free Tibet!" and led them away from the wooden entrance to the Ethnic Culture Park, not far from the main Olympics sporting complex.
It was not known where the guards took the protesters, who wore T-shirts bearing the same slogan and had chained bicycles to the gate of the park.
Students for a Free Tibet said in a statement that there were eight protesters in total, mostly U.S. citizens.
"While Tibetan song and dance is on display in Beijing, in Tibet, our culture is under siege and our people are being forcibly kept from speaking out about their repression at the hands of the Chinese authorities," said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet.
Despite security officers fanning out across the city, 300,000 surveillance cameras and tightened visa controls, a number of pro-free Tibet groups have managed to hold small-scale protests across the city since the start of the Games.
Foreign protesters, lobbying for everything from religious freedom to Tibetan independence, have been released or asked to return home after being detained by police this month.
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