Violence casts pall over Beijing as Olympic torch is lit

CHINA: SCENES OF tight security and carefully chosen cheerful Tibetans greeted the Olympic torch yesterday as it arrived on Beijing's Tiananmen Square to start its relay around the world before the Summer Games in August.

Despite the best efforts of the hosts and the International Olympic Committee to keep things upbeat, and the use of pro-Beijing Tibetan dancers to put a positive spin on relations with the Himalayan enclave, the recent violence cast a pall over the proceedings and presents Beijing with a major public relations headache less than 130 days before the opening ceremony.

The torch was carried by Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang, then lit by President Hu Jintao who made a positive speech.

"The Olympic flame symbolises the Olympic spirits - hopes and dreams, brightness and happiness, friendship and peace. With the spirits, it has come to the land of China," said Mr Hu.

The IOC kept things apolitical too. "I am certain that the Games themselves will not only be a moment of sporting excellence but also an opportunity for the people of China and the world to learn, discover and respect each other," president Jacques Rogge said in a speech read out by IOC official Hein Verbruggen.

China has been under pressure from abroad about its handling of violent anti-Chinese protests in Lhasa and other Tibetan areas last month, when thousands of troops and militia sealed off areas where Tibetans live.

Human rights groups and Free Tibet activists are worried about detentions and abuse. Verifying these stories is impossible because China has shut out foreign reporters from the region.

Amnesty International released a report detailing nearly two dozen cases of human rights defenders who have been imprisoned or abused in the run-up to the Olympics.

US President George W Bush has urged Beijing to talk to the Dalai Lama's people, while France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has hinted at a boycott of the opening ceremony. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel will not be attending, although it is unclear if this is over Tibet or for other reasons.

For its part, China has been in combative mode, combining its message of Olympic hopes with a broadside against the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing blames for recent violence. The official news agency Xinhua said it had a government report that contained evidence the Dalai Lama and his "clique" had planned the anti-Chinese unrest. The Nobel prize-winner denies the claims.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu warned the European Union that Tibet was a domestic matter and urged the bloc to make "a clear distinction between right and wrong, clearly condemn the violent crimes of beating, smashing, looting and burning and avoid taking double standards". The international leg of the 130-day relay starts when the flame heads for Kazakhstan today. It will be back in Beijing on August 6th, two days before it is used to light the cauldron at the Olympic opening ceremony.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times