Dalai Lama under fire at Tibet relay

Chinese officials used the visit of the Olympic torch to the Tibetan capital on Saturday to launch an attack on the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

The torch relay in Lhasa lasted for just over two hours, much shorter than had been planned before the unrest in Tibet in March. It went off without protests along a route lined with a heavy security presence.

"We will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique," said Zhang Qingli, Communist party secretary in Tibet, at the end of the event, according to Reuters.

Speaking in front of the Potala Palace, the Dalai Lama's former residence, Mr Zhang said: "Tibet's sky will never change and the red flag with five stars [China's flag] will forever flutter high above it."

The government has accused the Dalai Lama and other exiles of inciting the unrest, particularly the riot on March 14 when several Han Chinese were killed. The Dalai Lama has denied the charge. The torch goes next to Qinghai province.

The decision to carry on with the Tibet visithas been criticised by Tibetan exiles and human rights groups, which accuse the government of politicising the torch relay.

"This provocative decision - with the blessing of the International Olympic Committee - could aggravate tensions and undermine the fragile process to find a peaceful long-term solution," said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China.

"The government's insistence on parading the torch through Lhasa can only undermine the respect and trust required for a genuine dialogue with the Dalai Lama."

A small group of foreign reporters, allowed into Tibet to cover the event, said hundreds of paramilitary and other police were positioned along the route. They added that people living nearby were told to stay at home unless they had a special pass to witness the torch.