China’s Olympic torch relay has become a mystery tour, with organisers refusing to disclose the dates of a planned journey though Tibet and other potentially sensitive legs.
The torch’s trip through Tibet and other regions of western China where recent deadly unrest by Tibetans occurred was originally scheduled to take place from the middle of this month.
However the relay’s route was changed following last month’s earthquake in Sichuan province, and organisers have yet to announce when the Tibet or many other planned legs will take place.
“At present the date (for the Tibet leg) has not been finally set,” Xu Kong, an official with the Beijing Olympic organising committee (BOCOG), told AFP.
“It is because of the Sichuan earthquake problem – it has changed the whole schedule.”
The torch was originally scheduled to tour Tibet from June 19-21, but BOCOG information officer Li Lizhi told AFP last month the Tibetan leg would be shortened to one day in the regional capital of Lhasa, probably on June 18.
Organisers have since said the torch relay will pass through China’s western-most Muslim-dominated Xinjiang from June 17-19.
The torch was also originally scheduled to pass through Qinghai and Gansu provinces – where protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule also erupted in March – later this month.
However no dates have yet been announced for those legs, and it was not clear when and if they would take place.
The relay’s website (http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/) continues to publicise the original torch relay schedule, one that was clearly out of date.
Asked for clarification on the rest of the torch relay, Xu said: “It will be announced. It will be about the same. Wait for the announcement.”
Groups critical of China’s rule of Tibet have said taking the torch to the Himalayan region is an insult considering the unrest that broke out there and in the other regions, prompting a massive Chinese security crackdown.
Tibetan groups say more than 200 people were killed in the crackdown.
