Beijing says torch relay will go to Tibet

The torch relay for the 2008 Olympics will go to Tibet as scheduled despite the unrest in the Himalayan region, a senior Beijing organiser said on Wednesday.

"The situation in Tibet has essentially stabilised, the Olympic torch relay will proceed as scheduled," Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, told a news conference.

China warned of a "life and death" struggle with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on Wednesday, as it sought to end a wave of protests in its Tibetan regions with arrests and tightened political control.

Tibetan activists demonstrated outside the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday, demanding Tibet and three neighbouring provinces be withdrawn from the torch relay for the August 8-24 Games.

The torch relay for the Beijing Olympics, which starts when it is lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, next Monday, was scheduled to visit Tibet twice.

When the flame arrives in Beijing on March 31 before embarking on its journey around the world, a second torch will be lit and taken to Tibet, where Chinese climbers will attempt to take it to the top of Mount Everest.

The attempt will take place in early May whenever the weather conditions on the world's tallest mountain are most suitable.

Tibet also forms part of the domestic leg of the relay, taking in Shannan Diqu on June 19 and Lhasa on the following two days.