Security stepped up in Tibet
2008-06-20 19:41
Lhasa - Tibet's capital Lhasa was under tight security as it prepared to host the Olympic Games torch on Saturday in a show of China's grip over the region, with officials claiming independence activists planned sabotage.
A vice-chairperson of Tibet's government, Baima Chilin, said
supporters of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist
leader, wanted to upset the passage of the torch through Lhasa,
where protests and riots challenged Chinese control in March.
"The Tibet independence forces have indeed been engaged in
activities to sabotage the Olympic torch relay in Lhasa," he
said. But with Lhasa's streets heavy with troops and police, he
said he did not expect such attempts to succeed.
Baima Chilin's claim and the strict security around Lhasa
underscored political tensions that were likely to greet the
Olympic torch run on Saturday.
The run is scheduled to start on a city square and end below the Potala Palace, the Dalai Lama's towering traditional seat of power, in Lhasa.
As a group of foreign journalists arrived in Lhasa to
observe the relay, police stood on guard every 200m and trucks full of troops and riot police were also present.
- Reuters