People who have disrupted the Olympics torch relay were attacking a symbol of global peace and harmony, said an Australian economist on Friday.

Those who were supporters of the Dalai Lama had done something that they would "regret", Kenneth Morgan, a professor at the University of Western Australia, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which runs from April 11-13.

Morgan said that those who attempted to gain sympathy by attacking the flame "have other things to think about and are causing themselves terrible damage. China actually has brought more benefit to Tibet than the world knows."

A few "pro-Tibet independence" activists have attempted to interrupt the relay in major cities, including Paris.

Established in 2001, the BFA is a pan-Asian platform for discussing key issues affecting Asia and the world. The theme of this year's annual conference is "Green Asia: Moving towards win-win through change".

(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2008)