China awaits Olympic torch amid Tibet tensions

China awaits Olympic torch amid Tibet tensions
by Dan Martin
Sun Mar 30, 2:44 PM ET



BEIJING (AFP) - China on Sunday stepped up security on the eve of the
arrival of the Olympic torch from Greece, where protesters angry over
Beijing's crackdown in Tibet tried to disrupt the flame's handover.

Authorities in Beijing clamped down on Tiananmen Square, where the
torch will be officially welcomed on Monday before a worldwide relay
expected to be dogged by protests over the deadly unrest in Tibet.

Tensions continued to simmer in the Himalayan region, with activist
groups reporting a fresh protest in Lhasa at the weekend, while in
neighbouring Nepal, police baton-charged Tibetan protesters Sunday,
detaining more than 100 people.

Diplomatic shockwaves also reverberated as China hit out at EU foreign
ministers who expressed concern over the situation.

"The Tibet issue is completely China's internal affair. No foreign
countries or international organizations have the right to interfere
in it," said foreign ministry official Jiang Yu, according to Xinhua
news agency.

In Athens, Greek officials handed the Olympic flame to the head of the
Beijing organising committee, Liu Qi, after police arrested a handful
of protesters shouting "Free Tibet."

China, taking no chances before Monday's torch-welcoming ceremony,
announced new spot checks on visitors to Tiananmen Square, site of the
1989 democracy protests that were crushed by the government.

The torch, now heading to Beijing on a specially chartered flight, is
set to depart China on Tuesday for a four-month relay around the world
and throughout China, including stops in Tibet.

Protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on March 10 to mark a failed
1959 uprising against Chinese rule escalated into widespread rioting
in the city, which then spread to neighbouring Chinese provinces
populated by Tibetans.

Beijing says rioters killed 18 civilians and two police officers.
Exiled Tibetan leaders have put the death toll from the Chinese
crackdown at 135-140 Tibetans, with another 1,000 injured and many
detained.

A fresh protest erupted in Lhasa on Saturday when hundreds of
residents panicked as police moved in to check identity papers,
according to the International Campaign for Tibet and the Free Tibet
Campaign.

The incident prompted police to surround key Buddhist temples in the
area and close many shops, according to the activist groups, which
added they had received no reports of violence.

Local authorities corroborated the incident in a text message to phone
subscribers which said the security checks caused "frightened
citizens" to flee, according to the activist groups.

"Please obey the law and please follow the rules," it pleaded. "Don't
create rumours, don't believe rumours."

China has come under heavy foreign pressure to open a dialogue with
the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, on the future of the
Chinese-ruled region.

The 27 EU foreign ministers meeting in Slovenia added their voice to
the calls in discussions on Saturday, earning an angry rebuke.

"We strongly hope the EU and its member states, to make a clear
distinction between right and wrong, explicitly condemn the violent
crimes of beating, smashing, looting and burning and all those
offenders, and avoid taking double-standards," foreign ministry
spokeswoman Jiang said.

Elsewhere, police in Nepal's capital Kathmandu baton-charged
protesters -- most of them Tibetans -- during a demonstration outside
a Chinese embassy office, detaining more than 100 people, police and
witnesses said.

In India, exiled Tibetans on Sunday lit an anti-Olympic "independence
torch" that will also be taken around the world, and in Taiwan,
demonstrators chanted "Who is the killer? Hu Jintao!" referring to
China's president.

China pursued its crackdown at the weekend, with Xinhua reporting late
Saturday that police had arrested 26 people and seized guns and other
weapons from a monastery whose monks rioted on March 16.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending troops in to
"liberate" the region from what it said was feudal rule.
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