IOC wants peaceful resolution to Tibet tensions

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee called for a peaceful resolution to the unrest in the Himalayan region of Tibet, which threatens to derail China's hopes for a smooth run-up to August's Beijing Olympic Games.

Tensions remained high in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Sunday as police and troops locked down the city where street protests against Chinese rule turned violent two days earlier.

The protests, which the region's exiled leaders said resulted in 80 deaths, look set to overshadow the build-up to the August 8-24 Games, which China was hoping would be a display of the country's unity and prosperity.

"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) shares the world's desire for a peaceful resolution to the tensions of past days in the Tibetan region of China," said IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies. "We hope that calm can return to the region as quickly as possible."

The Olympic movement is no stranger to calls for boycotts of its four-yearly Summer showpiece. China's policy on Sudan and the war-torn region of Darfur have already brought calls from activists for athletes to stay away from Beijing.

Hollywood actor Richard Gere, chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, said on Friday that his personal view was that it would be "unconscionable" to attend the Beijing Games if China failed to deal peacefully with the unrest in Tibet.

But on Sunday, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, said the Games should not be called off, even if the international community had a "moral responsibility" to remind China to be a good host.

TORCH RELAY

European Union Sports Commissioner Jan Figel told Reuters before a meeting on Monday of the bloc's sports ministers and IOC members in Slovenia:

"The Olympics should be used as a way of engaging with China. I don't support a boycott."

Beijing Organizers on Saturday said they thought the unrest would not disrupt plans to take the Olympic flame to the Himalayan region in May and June.

The torch relay for the Beijing Olympics, which starts on March 24, includes an attempt to take the flame up Mount Everest from Tibet in early May.

Tibet also forms part of the domestic leg of the relay, taking in Shannan Diqu on June 19 and Lhasa on the following two days.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi earlier this week attacked critics of China, accusing them of violating the Olympic Games charter keeping politics away from sports and saying their efforts were doomed to failure.

China has ruled Tibet since its troops marched in to take control in 1950.