BEIJING, March 19: The torch relay for the 2008 Olympics will go to Tibet as planned despite the unrest in the Himalayan region, a senior Beijing organiser said on Wednesday.

“The situation in Tibet has essentially stabilised, the Olympic torch relay will proceed as scheduled,” Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, told a news conference.

China warned of a “life and death” struggle with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as it sought to end a wave of protests in its Tibetan regions with arrests and tightened political control.

“We firmly believe that the government of the autonomous region of Tibet is able to ensure the stability of Lhasa and Tibet, and also has the capability to ensure the smooth progress of the torch relay in Tibet,” Jiang added.

Tibetan activists demonstrated outside the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday, demanding Tibet and three neighbouring provinces be withdrawn from the torch relay for the Aug 8-24 Games.

China is braced for more protests when the torch passes through 19 cities outside China on its 97,000-km journey around the world in April and Jiang said he had a message for potential demonstrators.

“We hold the opinion that those activities are a challenge to the Olympic Charter, a challenge to all those who love the Olympic movement around the world,” he said.—Reuters