Tibetan exiles stage fake Olympic relay

DHARMSALA, India (AP) -- Nearly 50 Tibetan exiles in India began a global torch relay Tuesday with a symbolic "Olympic" flame that will end in Tibet on the day of the Summer Games' opening ceremonies in Beijing, organizers said.

The Tibetan torch relay began in the northern Indian city of Dharmsala a day after protesters of China's human rights policies disrupted the official Olympic flame-lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia.

Tibetan exiles plan to highlight their people's plight under Chinese rule with the relay and stage their own version of the Olympics from May 15-25 in Dharmsala.

Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, said organizers would take the torch by road and air to cities on five continents in countries such as the United States, France, Australia, Japan and Nepal, among other destinations.

They plan to finish the relay in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, on August 8, as the world's attention turns to Beijing.

The group opposes China's right to host the Olympics, despite pledges from the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, to support the games.

"We differ from the Dalai Lama on his stand on the Beijing Olympics," Rigzin said. "We were given democracy in exile by the Dalai Lama and in a democracy we have our rights to speak up."

"In the ongoing protests within Tibet, people are shouting for Tibet's independence and we will do whatever we can to realize our goal," Rigzin said.

China's rule in Tibet has faced its biggest challenge in decades as demonstrations started by monks in recent weeks exploded into rioting, looting and arson.

China has reported that 22 people died in the violence, but Tibet's exiled government says about 140 Tibetans were killed.

India usually allows Tibetan exiles to protest peacefully, but this month it detained and prevented several dozen demonstrators from marching to Tibet, where they planned to arrive at the start of the Beijing Olympics.

New Delhi said it would not tolerate actions that embarrassed China.

Chinese Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951 and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand.

Other developments:

Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu is appeals to China to end the violence in Tibet and to enter into talks with exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. With the upcoming Olympic Games drawing attention to China, the country need to show it is a "responsible partner in international global affairs," Tutu says in a statement.

The EU tells the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva it is deeply concerned about the unrest in Tibet and it is spreading to other regions of China. "We urge Chinese authorities to refrain from using force against those involved in unrest and call on demonstrators to desist from violence," says Slovenia's Ambassador Andrej Logar, who currently represents the 27-nation bloc at the U.N. body.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier phoned his Chinese counterpart Tuesday and called for an end to the violence in Tibet.

E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

All About Tibet • China • Olympic Games