Anger, terror threat cloud Olympics

Beijing : China said it was outraged by a resolution by US lawmakers urging an end to a crackdown in Tibet as a Beijing-run newspaper linked Al Qaida to claimed plots to attack the Beijing Olympics.

The condemnation came in response to a US House of Representatives resolution urging China to open dialogue with the Dalai Lama, end a crackdown on "non-violent" Tibetan protesters and halt "repression" in the region.

The Dalai Lama's representative said yesterday that nations have a right to boycott the Olympics, even though the exiled Tibetan leader supports China hosting the Beijing Games.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has rejected claims that he orchestrated violence, and Western governments have urged China to open up conciliatory contacts.

Perceptions

China has underscored the gulf of perceptions over Tibet by saying that groups campaigning for independence there have joined militant Muslim Uighurs fighting for an independent "East Turkes-tan" in the northwest region of Xinjiang.

China said on Thursday it had foiled "terrorist" plots to kidnap foreigners and carry out suicide attacks around the Beijing Olympics in August.

Police in Xinjiang detained 45 suspects, seized explosives and firearms and cracked two terrorist groups seeking to disrupt the Olympics, a Ministry of Public Security official said.

The Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong newspaper backed by the mainland, said Uighur extremists were colluding with the exiled Tibetan Youth Congress and even Al Qaida to target the Beijing Games.