Tibetan rights groups to stage IOC demonstration

By Mark Ledsom

BERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Pro-Tibet demonstrators will stage a protest outside the International Olympic Committee's Swiss headquarters on Tuesday and call for an official IOC response to the Chinese government's latest crackdown.

The demonstrators, representing more than 150 Tibetan support groups, will also call on the IOC to block plans for the Olympic torch to pass through the region, Tibet Olympic Committee spokesman Kelsang Gope told Reuters on Monday.

"Taking the torch into Tibet would not only be wrong, it would also be dangerous," Gope said.

The unofficial Olympic Committee will also formally withdraw its application to send athletes to the Beijing Games in August -- even though the IOC has already indicated that it will not recognize any Tibetan delegation.

"What we are saying is that even if we were allowed to enter athletes for the Olympics, we would not send them to these Games," said Gope, whose organization includes around 30 athletes drawn from Tibetan exile communities.

Gope said the demonstrators would march with banners stating "Mr Rogge, your silence is killing Tibetans."

IOC president Jacques Rogge told reporters at the weekend he was "very concerned" about the violence in Tibet but rejected suggestions that National Olympic Committees should boycott the Beijing Games.

Tibet has been rocked by protests by opponents to Chinese rule and a crackdown by police and troops.

(Reporting by Mark Ledsom; Editing by Rex Gowar)