Olympic torch 'will still go through Tibet on way to Beijing'

Beijing: Current unrest in Tibet will not affect plans to take the Olympic torch through the remote mountainous region on its way to Beijing in a few weeks time, a spokesman for the Games organisers said on Saturday.

Asked whether he thought the unrest would affect the torch relay, Sun Weide, spokesman for the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) said: "I don't think so, no."

He added, "The preparations for the torch relay in Tibet and taking the flame up Mount Qomolangma (Everest) have been progressing smoothly."

"I think the authorities in Tibet are dealing with the situation and it is now stable," Sun said, when asked if he thought the unrest might lead to calls for a boycott of the Games.

Hollywood actor and Tibetan activist Richard Gere said on Friday that China should suffer a boycott of the Beijing Olympics if it mishandles protests in Tibet, where authorities have admitted 10 people have burnt to death in riots.

Earlier this week Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told critics to back off, accusing them of violating the Olympic Games charter keeping politics away from sports.

Asked whether human rights issues changed Washington's view of China hosting the Olympic, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States saw the Games as a sporting event.