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India promise torch security
26/03/2008 20:23 - (SA)
New Delhi - India assured China on Wednesday that it would provide security for the Olympic torch after it arrives here on April 17 in the lead-up to the summer Games in Beijing.
The pledge came after anti-Chinese protesters disrupted the Olympic torch-lighting ceremony on Monday at Ancient Olympia, Greece.
"India will ensure proper security for the Olympic torch during its relay here," National Security Adviser M K Narayanan told reporters after China expressed concern over its safety in India.
Following the protests in Greece, the International Olympic Committee said security for the torch relay was the responsibility of individual countries' Olympic committees.
Chinese embassy officials met local authorities and the Indian Olympic Association on Wednesday to devise plans against attempted disruption of the torch relay in the country, officials in New Delhi said.
Route of the relay undisclosed
Neither the Indian government nor the Chinese have disclosed the route of the relay nor the timeframe that the torch will remain on Indian territory amid fears of disruptions.
China has accused Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of "masterminding" a wave of anti-Chinese protests in Tibet and elsewhere in bid to "sabotage" the Olympic Games which begins August 8.
India is home to the Dalai Lama who has repeatedly said that he supports China's right to host to the Olympics. However, more radical Tibetans in India and elsewhere have demanded a boycott of the event.
India is also home to tens of thousands of Tibetan exiles who fled here along with the spiritual leader following a failed uprising in Tibet in 1959.
Ensure the safety of the Olympic torch
The Chinese authorities last weekend summoned Indian ambassador in Beijing, Nirupama Rao, after midnight to protest against a storming of the Chinese mission in New Delhi by Tibetans last Friday, officials here said.
"We have received requests to doubly ensure the safety and security of the Olympic torch," an Indian foreign ministry official said in New Delhi.
The torch's journey to Beijing is the longest ever - lasting 130 days and covering 137 000km worldwide. Most of it will be on Chinese soil.
India gave sanctuary to the Dalai Lama on condition that Tibetan exiles would not use Indian soil as a springboard for anti-Chinese activities.
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