Protesters fear Olympic torch will spark violence, Chinese crackdown in Tibet
TORONTO — Fearing more blood will be spilled, protesters called on China and the International Olympic Committee to scrap plans to run the Olympic torch relay through Tibet during a peaceful demonstration in Toronto that coincided with Wednesday's arrival of the flame in San Francisco - its only North American stop.
They also urged the international community to boycott the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Games in August to show solidarity with Tibetans chafing under a violent Chinese crackdown.
"The situation is very tense," said Sonam Dorjee of the Tibetan Joint Action Committee.
"If they still continue to carry the torch through Tibet and to Mount Everest, Tibetans are going to rise up again, and this will give an excuse to the Chinese government to use more force. We fear that it might turn into another bloodshed in Tibet."
Torch runs through London and Paris had turned violent. The demonstration Wednesday across the road from the Chinese Consulate in Toronto was peaceful.
About 125 protesters chanted "Free Tibet!" and "Shame on China!" as they waved flags and placards behind a barricade while RCMP and city police watched. There were no incidents.
"We came here to call the international community to support us in asking China to stop killing in Tibet," said Kunga Tsering, a former member of Tibet's parliament.
"(But) the present regime in Beijing is an uncivilized regime, and we don't know how much effect (the protests) will have."
Tsering stressed that the protesters were not anti-Chinese, and rejected the notion the demonstrators were terrorists as Beijing has said.
The Olympic Games and politics are inextricably mixed, he said, noting that Taiwan boycotted the Montreal Olympics in 1976 after Canada bowed to Chinese pressure and refused to allow Taiwanese athletes to compete as the Republic of China.
Across the street from the protest, a steady stream of visitors came and went from the busy consulate, with many applying for or picking up visas.
One of them, Denys Decatanzaro, said he was heading to China for a month as part of an academic exchange organized months ago.
"It bothers my conscience a little but I feel I have to honour my (commitment to go)," said Decatanzaro, a professor at McMaster University.
Decatanzaro said he sympathized with the protest, saying Tibet has "many legitimate grievances."
Chinese communists troops occupied Tibet in 1951, and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand.
China clamped down hard on Tibet a month ago after anti-government protests erupted. Dozens of people were killed and scores arrested.
China says it has ruled Tibet for centuries, although many Tibetans say they were essentially an independent state for most of that time.
The Olympic torch, which began its 137,000-kilometre journey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing on March 24, has been the focus of protests from the start.
Dorjee said the international community has an obligation to press China to improve its human rights record.
