China denounced protests that disrupted the Beijing Olympic
torch relay in London and IOC chief Jacques Rogge said he was very
concerned at the protests, but added there was no momentum for a
Games boycott.
Protesters opposing a security drive in Tibet and demanding the
mountain region's independence turned Sunday's London leg of the
torch's journey into an obstacle course of angry disruptions - not
what China wanted for its "journey of harmony".
At least 35 people were arrested and the wedge of police guarding
the Olympic torch at one point were forced to hustle it on to a
double-decker bus when about 100 protesters tried to seize
it.
Chinese state television focused on the larger crowds of
well-wishers who lined the route and British sports celebrities
holding the torch, showing nothing of the protests.
But an official quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency was
bluntly angry.
"Today a tiny number of Tibet independence elements sought to
disrupt the relay of the Olympic Games sacred flame through
London," said an unnamed spokesperson of the Beijing Olympic Games
torch relay office.
"We strongly condemn this vile behaviour."
Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks'
protests against Chinese rule that gave way to deadly rioting on
March 14, and since then security forces have poured in to
re-impose control there and in other restive Tibetan areas.
The first group of suspects accused of deadly rioting will soon go
on trial in Lhasa, the China News Service reported, citing
officials.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said
he was very concerned "with the international situation and what's
happened in Tibet".
"The torch relay has been targeted. The IOC has expressed serious
concerns and calls for rapid, peaceful resolution in Tibet," he
said in a speech to the Association of National Olympic Committees
in Beijing.
"Violence for whatever reason is not compatible with the values of
the torch relay and the Olympic Games. Some people have played with
the idea of boycotts. As I speak today, there is no momentum for a
general boycott."
Protest magnet
The Olympic flame is expected to remain a magnet for anti-Chinese
protests ahead of the Games in Beijing, with campaigns aimed at
Tibet and also at Sudan, where critics say Beijing has not done
enough to help stop deadly strife in Darfur.
Chinese officials have accused the Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader,
the Dalai Lama, of organising the unrest to press for independence
ahead of the Beijing Games in August and have vowed to come down
hard on rioters and protesters.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly denied the accusations and said he
wants true autonomy, but not outright independence, for
Tibet.
Chinese prosecutors have sent 17 people for trial on charges of
"arson homicide".
An official cited said the accused would "receive the harsh
sanction of the law".
Police said last week they had caught more than 800 people involved
in the Lhasa violence and 280 others had turned themselves
in.
China says 19 people died in the Lhasa riot, but representatives of
the Dalai Lama say about 140 people died in the broader unrest
across Tibet and nearby areas.
The Olympic flame arrives in Paris on Monday before crossing the
ocean to San Francisco, both places where the atmosphere is likely
to be tense.
