Tibetan Officials Issue Stern Warning in Advance of Olympic Relay

BEIJING, April 24 -- Tibetan government authorities warned Thursday of 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 controversial 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.

The Chinese government rejects criticism that its policies on religion and freedom of expression are to blame for the turmoil in Tibet. It says a small group of separatists, led by associates of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, are attempting to sabotage the Olympic Games to pressure China into talks on Tibetan independence.

The Dalai Lama, who denies promoting violence and says he supports China's hosting of the Games, was on a speaking tour in the United States this week and drew protests from overseas Chinese students and others.

Tibetan advocacy groups say China's efforts to block news from Tibetan areas have been effective, with several sources of information drying up. "But the crackdown cannot obliterate the courage of Tibetans across the plateau in recent weeks in challenging China's hard-line policies and in telling the world that the Dalai Lama represents their interests, not Beijing," said Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet.

Tibet's official newspaper, the Tibet Daily, reported on Monday that Communist Party members have launched a two-month political education drive for government officials and party members in Lhasa. The campaign is to focus on "unifying the thinking and cohesive strength of officials and the masses, deepening the struggle against separatism and counter-attacking the separatists plots of the Dalai clique," according to an English-language translation provided by the Reuters news agency.