Tibet officials vow tight security for Games torch

By Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck

BEIJING (Reuters) - China vowed strict security for the Olympic torch relay through restive Tibet on Monday as protesters tried to disrupt the torch lighting in Greece, clouding Beijing's hopes of the relay symbolizing national unity.

Unidentified demonstrators tried to interrupt the torch-lighting ceremony while the Beijing Games organizing chief was speaking. The protesters were quickly detained. Chinese state media made no mention of the brief incident.

Beijing has stepped up its drive to rally support for the Games in response to international attention on Tibet. But Monday's protest in Greece was a sign of China's challenges to come as the torch circles the globe.

China blames the recent unrest on the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader.

"The political monk's statement of supporting the Beijing Olympic Games has been proven a lie; his followers boycotted the torch relay and resorted to violence in Lhasa and elsewhere," the official Xinhua news agency said of the Dalai Lama.

The government has also sought to contain dissent elsewhere.

On Monday, a Chinese court sentenced an unemployed factory worker to five years in jail on charges of inciting subversion.

Yang Chunlin's sister said he was jailed because of essays he posted online that were critical of China's parliament and the ruling Communist Party.

The petition that mentioned the Olympics touched a nerve in Beijing where officials hope the Games will showcase economic prosperity and social unity.

ARSON CHARGE

China alleges the exiled Dalai Lama conspired to wreck the Games and masterminded the wave of protests that began with peaceful rallies in Tibet's capital Lhasa on March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Five days later, the marches erupted into a riot in Lhasa that China says killed 19.

The Tibetan government-in-exile in India raised its death toll in the clashes to 130 on Monday. China has barred foreign journalists from Tibet and surrounding areas, making independent verification of the reports difficult.

Police spokeswoman Shan Huimin said five people had been detained in Lhasa in relation to arson during the riot. She said three female Tibetans in their twenties faced arson charges and had confessed their crimes. In the case of the other two, the investigation was still ongoing and the charges unspecified.

"These two arson cases once again show the March 14 incident was not a peaceful demonstration or a peaceful protest. It was entirely a serious violent incident," she told a news conference.