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Torch relay protests dismissed as "disruptions" by Beijing

08/04/2008

Pro-Tibetan protests during the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris have been angrily dismissed as "repeated disruptions" by China.

State media reported on Tuesday that Tibetan separatists were to blame for the demonstrations that stung the Olympic flame's progress through the French and UK capitals.

Demonstrators have been reacting to China's suppression of pro-Tibetan protests in the Himalayan region last month.

According to the Tibetan government in exile, led by the Dalai Lama, China used lethal force in its crackdown upon protestors, while Beijing says 19 rioters died.

Thirty-seven people were arrested in London on Sunday as an activist tried to put out the flame with a fire extinguisher and a man attempted to grab the torch from former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq.

In Paris yesterday, which Reporters Without Borders said had been transformed into "Tiananmen Square", five protestors were detained.

The Xinhua news agency reported the "indignation" of spectators and officials as the flame was extinguished four times and the relay cut short in face of the protests.

It also quoted French Olympic Committee chief Henri Serandour as criticising the protests for showing a "lack of respect for the basic freedom of our athletes".

Speaking from Beijing, Olympic organising committee spokesman Sun Weide said "no force" could stop the torch relay.

Pressure on China has been stepped up by the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, who called on Beijing to reach a "rapid, peaceful resolution of Tibet".

"I'm very concerned with the international situation and what's happening in Tibet," the IOC president said from the Chinese capital.

Yesterday potential Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton urged George Bush to boycott the Games later this year due to China's human rights record.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has already hinted he may snub the Olympics, while Gordon Brown, unwilling to jeopardise Chinese support of London 2012, has committed himself to attending.

The flame travels to San Francisco on Tuesday, where three activists have already been arrested for draping pro-Tibetan flags over the Golden Gate Bridge.

The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, last week and came to London via St Petersburg. It will pass through 20 countries before ending its journey in Beijing for the opening ceremony of the games, on August 8th.