ANOC drops "Tibet" reference in declaration

A young pro-Tibet demonstrator holds a banner during a protest in front of the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels, April 9, 2008.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) has cut a reference to the situation in Tibet from a declaration it had proposed earlier this week on China's preparations for the Summer Games in August.

The ANOC proposed on Monday a declaration expressing confidence that "the government of China shall strive to find, through dialogue and understanding, a fair and reasonable conclusion to the internal conflict that affects the Tibet region".

At the end of the three-day meeting in Beijing, however, the words "that affects the Tibet region" had been replaced by "for the benefit of the Games and the athletes", and that version will go before the IOC executive committee on Thursday.

"Comments were made that we were interfering in the internal affairs of a country," ANOC chief Mario Vazquez Rana told a news conference on Wednesday.

"I have an obligation to present a text which meets with the approval of the whole assembly."

Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks' protests against Chinese rule which gave way to rioting. Since then security forces have poured in to reimpose control there and in other restive Tibetan areas.

Chinese authorities have condemned disruptions of the Olympic torch relay by protesters in London and Paris as well as calls for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Games in August, saying sport should not be mixed with politics.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Jason Subler)