Tibet Government Issues Warning Ahead of Olympic Torch Arrival
By JILL DREW,
BEIJING — Tibetan government authorities warned yesterday that there would be severe consequences for anyone who spreads rumors that "excite popular feelings," as the region braces for the arrival of the Olympic torch sometime in the next couple of weeks.
"We will severely root out and give no indulgence to people with ulterior motives who spread rumors or excite popular feelings," the Tibetan government said in a notice posted on its Web site.
Chinese officials are sticking to a plan for torchbearers to bring the Olympic flame over the top of Mount Everest and into downtown Lhasa, the Tibetan capital and the scene last month of deadly rioting against Chinese rule. Reports of scattered protests continue to seep out of Tibet, even though armed police have flooded the area, searching monasteries and houses, and sometimes confiscating cellphones and computers, exile groups say. The region is off-limits to foreigners.
Local government officials are under pressure to ensure a smooth running of the torch relay and are tightening already strict security in the area. Selected foreign journalists will be allowed to accompany the torch onto Mount Everest and into Lhasa, though officials have been trying this week to reduce the time reporters will be permitted in the region. The last time foreign journalists were allowed in Lhasa, a group of monks disrupted a government-planned visit to a shrine and told the reporters that Tibetans were being repressed.
