The capital of Tibet prepared Friday to host the Olympic torch
relay, three months after violnt anti-government rioting rocked
the city.
The relay, which was disrupted during several legs outside of
China by protests against Beijing's policies in Tibet, was
scheduled to be held in Lhasa on Saturday.
The 6.8-mile (11-kilometer) run will begin at Norbulingka, the
Dalai Lama's former summer palace, and end at the hilltop Potala
Palace, the traditional seat of Tibetan rulers, the state-run
China Daily newspaper reported.
The article did not mention any security measures taken for
the relay, although stringent controls were expected in light of
the anti-government rioting that broke out March 14 in Lhasa and
subsequent protests throughout Tibetan-inhabited regions of
western China.
On Friday, shops were open and people were walking around in
the center of Lhasa, where banners saying "Go China" and "Go
Olympics" had been strung up.
Clumps of police were visible on virtually every street corner
and a truckload of riot troops stood watch in the city center.
Police stopped an AP Television News cameraman from shooting
street scenes and forced him to erase footage of security arrangements. APTN is the television arm of The Associated Press.
Chinese officials say the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist
leader, was behind the March unrest. They also accuse the 1989
Nobel Peace Prize laureate of trying to sabotage the Beijing
Olympics and preparing "suicide squads" to carry out attacks. The
Dalai Lama has denied the charges.
Tibet has been under a security clampdown since March and is
still closed to foreign tourists. Foreign journalists have been
allowed to visit only as part of closely monitored government
tours.
Activist groups say the torch relay leg in Tibet and a
separate relay to the peak of Mount Everest are an attempt by
Chinese leaders to symbolize their control over the Himalayan
region.
China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many
Tibetans say their homeland was essentially independent for much
of that time.
During the Lhasa leg, the Olympic flame will be reunited with
the one that was taken separately to the top of Mount Everest
last month.
The torch was originally supposed to go through Tibet on June
18 or 19. It was unclear why organizers changed the date.
Organizers also said last month that the Tibetan leg,
originally set for three days, would be cut to one day to make
way for a switch in the visit to Sichuan province, the center of
a May 12 earthquake that killed nearly 70,000 people.
The torch has thus far had a smooth run in China, undisturbed
by the protests over Tibet and human rights that hounded several
legs of its international tour. (****)
