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China allows foreign reporters into Tibet for Olympic torch relay

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Chinese authorities have reopened Tibet for foreign reporters for the first time since violent anti-government rallies in March as the restless region prepares to greet the Olympic flame on Saturday.
BEIJING, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - Chinese authorities have reopened Tibet for foreign reporters for the first time since violent anti-government rallies in March as the restless region prepares to greet the Olympic flame on Saturday.

Organizers of the relay have said the Olympic flame will stay in Lhasa for one day instead of the originally planned three as a mark of respect for the almost 70,000 people so far known to have perished in a powerful earthquake in the neighboring Sichuan province on May 12.

Observers, however, said Chinese authorities cut the Tibet leg over fears of fresh rallies against Chinese rule in Tibet. Eight thousand troops and 4,000 police are reported to have been deployed to guard the torch. The torch was met by pro-Tibetan demonstrators in cities around the world, including in Paris and London.

Early March's unrest in Tibet, which started when Buddhist monks took to the streets to mark the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, left 19 people dead and 623 injured, according to official Chinese reports.

The Tibetan government in-exile said 203 were killed and over 1,000 injured.

Beijing has accused the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of orchestrating the trouble. He has denied the allegations.

China's handling of the protests was severely criticized in the West. Some leaders called for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in August if China failed to agree to hold talks with the Dalai Lama.

Chinese authorities and envoys of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader met in China in May. They failed to reach a deal over the future of Chinese rule in Tibet, but agreed to resume negotiations at a later date.

The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959, has repeatedly said he seeks autonomy for Tibet rather than independence from China.

Tibet remains closed to foreign tourists.

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