UPDATE 2-IOC tells China to stop mixing politics and sport

(Releads with IOC reaction to speech)

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING, June 25 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told China on Wednesday to stop mixing sport and politics after a speech by Tibet's Communist Party boss at the end of last weekend's Beijing torch relay leg in Lhasa.

"The IOC regrets that political statements were made during the closing ceremony of the Torch Relay in Tibet," the IOC said in a brief statement.

"We have written to BOCOG (Beijing Games organisers) to remind them of the need to separate sport and politics and to ask for their support in making sure that such situations do not arise again."

The IOC has said before it has "no political mandate" to instruct countries how to behave and had to fend off growing international criticism it was doing too little to press China on human rights violations and Tibet.

It has also worked hard to keep Games-linked events and ceremonies as politics-free as possible as scrutiny of China's foreign policies and human rights records is mounting with the Aug 8-24 Games approaching.

Hardliner Zhang Qingli made the comments at a ceremony marking the end of Saturday's two-hour parade of the Olympic flame through the streets of Lhasa, the scene of anti-Chinese riots in March.

"Tibet's sky will never change and the red flag with five stars will forever flutter high above it ... we will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique," he said in front of the Potala, the traditional seat of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.