May Day protests may cause major disruption in Seattle

A protest takes a surprising twist, threatening to shut down everything from local ports to your commute. KING 5's Elisa Hahn reports.

International Olympic Committee members and Beijing residents react to the disruption of the Olympic torch relay in London, where thousands of protesters came out waving Tibetan flags and shouting "Shame on China". China reacted on Monday (April 7) to the disruption of the Olympic torch relay in London over the weekend that saw attempts to snatch the torch and protesters lining the streets shouting "shame on China". Thousands of protesters turned up along the streets of London and waved Tibetan flags while shouting slogans. For China, the host country of the August 2008 Olympic Games, the protests in London came in the midst of an intense media propaganda campaign following the riots that shook Lhasa and other Tibetan areas in recent weeks. The images of the protests in London could be seen on the front pages of most major Chinese newspapers on Monday as well as state television. Local residents in Beijing on Monday (April 7) discussed the latest disruption to the run-up to the event, they hoped would bring the country's popularity and international recognition. Zhang Lingxiu, a lawyer in Beijing, said he believed the protests to be the result of a misinterpretation of Tibet's situation caused by the Dalai Lama's influence on Western media. "Foreigners taking part in these kind of activities is the result of the Dalai clique blinding the western media. So I think a lot of people, including many westerners, don't really understand the situation in Tibet," said Zhang. There is rising indignation amongst Chinese people towards what many perceive as unnecessary criticism of China from western press and governments ahead of the Olympic Games in August. Mrs. Xiong, a full time mother, said she was indifferent to the opinions of those who use the Olympics as a stage on which to protest against China. "I really don't care. The Olympics are being held in China, they're not happening abroad. So the influence isn't that great. Chinese people have their own opinions. With China hosting the Olympics, it will definitely be a great success," said Xiong. In the images shown on Chinese state television, determined demonstrators repeatedly broke through the security cordon despite the scores of British police officers encircling the celebrities and athletes parading the flame. In scenes potentially embarrassing for China and contrasting starkly with the Olympic spirit, police repeatedly tackled campaigners who hurled themselves into the path of the torch throughout its 31-mile (50-km) relay by foot, bike, boat and bus. The intensity of the protests against China's crackdown in Tibet and its human rights record forced last-minute changes to the transport and route used for the lengthy relay. In Beijing, members of the International Olympic Commission (IOC) were reluctant to answer questions about the events in London as they gathered for a meeting between Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the IOC Executive Board. Speaking to Reuters Television outside the meeting, IOC Coordination Commission President Hein Verbruggen refused to discuss the torch relay, but admitted it was becoming harder to avoid discussing politics with members of the media. Echoing his comments at a news conference last week, Verbruggen re-emphasized the separation between the Olympics and the political situation in the host country. He added that drawing a very clear line between the sporting event and politics, and sticking to it, made his job easier. "It's a thick, fat red line. Yes, you know, we work with politicians, no, we can't be involved with politics because that would make us extremely vulnerable. So therefore, for me, I have no problem saying that I have explained this, I have explained this to everybody and I have, as far as that is concerned, an easy task," Verbruggen said. Israeli delegate Alex Gilaly said the countries hosting the torch relay were in charge of security details for the specific legs of the international relay and added that he placed full trust in the host countries doing their best in ensuring the relay progressed smoothly. Gilaly said he did not want to discuss events in London and was vague about the Paris leg of the torch relay. "London is history, the torch came and left. We'll see what happens today in Paris," he said. The Olympic flame arrived in Paris on Monday before crossing the ocean to San Francisco, both places where the atmosphere is likely to be tense. The flame is expected to remain a magnet for anti-Chinese protests ahead of the Games in Beijing, with campaigns aimed at Tibet and also at Sudan, where critics say Beijing has not done enough to help stop deadly strife in Darfur.

I am sorry to say, we were right. A very short clip on this, the 4th anniversary of the Seattle march down 5th Ave from the Seattle Center to the Federal Building. February 15, 2003 was a global day of protests against the imminent invasion of Iraq. Millions of people protested in approximately 800 cities around the world. According to BBC News, between six and ten million people took part in protests in up to sixty countries over the weekend of the 15th and 16th Millions join anti-war protests worldwide, BBC News Online, 17 February, 2003 ; other estimates range from eight million to thirty million The Anti-War Movements -- Waging Peace on the Brink of War, Karin Simonson, paper prepared for the Programme on NGOs and Civil Society of the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiation, March 2003 . The biggest protests took place in Europe. The protest in Rome involved around 3 million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. Largest anti-war rally, Guinness Book of world records, 2004 Opposition to the war was highest in the Middle East, although protests there were relatively small - the People's Republic of China was the only major country not to see any protests.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says he supports China's hosting of the Olympics in Beijing, but that those who don't are entitled to engage in non-violent protest of this summer's Games.

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He made the comments Thursday following days of global protests over China's actions in Tibet, where anti-government demonstrations became violent last month. Many of the protests have been staged during pre-Olympic events, including this week's Olympic torch relay, with some demonstrators calling for a boycott of the Games.

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"I support Chinese host of famous world [Games] because China is the most populated nation, an ancient nation, therefore, it is really deserved for the Chinese people to make host of Olympic Games. Until today, in spite of recent unfortunate events in Tibet, my position [is] not changed," the Dalai Lama told reporters during a layover in Japan en route to the United States.

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The European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday calling on European governments to consider a boycott of the Olympics' opening ceremony in August if China doesn't resume talks with the Dalai Lama to end the stalemate.

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The Dalai Lama said he is not "anti-Chinese" and has always supported the Olympic Games in Beijing.

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"I really feel very sad the government demonizes me. I am just a human, I am not a demon."

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The Chinese government has consistently accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging and even planning the protests in Tibet and neighbouring regions - a charge the spiritual leader has denied. The Dalai Lama said Thursday he does not support violent protest, but that dissenters must be allowed to exercise their right to free speech.

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"The expression of their feelings is up to them," he said. "Nobody has the right to tell them to shut up. One of the problems in Tibet is that there is no freedom of speech."

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The Tibetan government in exile's prime minister, Samdhong Rinpoche, said his government doesn't support the disruption of the Olympic torch relay and would like to see a peaceful resolution to its dispute with China.

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"If [Chinese officials] are wise enough, some path for reconciliation might be opened," Rinpoche told reporters in New Delhi, where he addressed thousands of protesters on Thursday. "If they remain rigid, the movement will not end and it will sustain by itself."

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Roughly 200 protesters had marched to New Delhi from Dharmsala, the seat of Tibet's government in exile and home to the Dalai Lama. The other demonstrators arrived from neighbouring states.

Torch run focus of protests

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Protesters opposed to China's policies on Tibet, Darfur and its overall human rights record have taken centre stage as the Olympic torch began its circuit around the globe last week.

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The Paris segment of the relay had to be suspended at least five times as demonstrators threatened to halt the torch run. Earlier in London, police repeatedly scuffled with protesters, including one who tried to grab the torch while another tried to snuff out the flame.

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On Wednesday, the parade route in San Francisco was changed at the last minute and shortened by almost half to avoid anti-China protesters. The planned closing ceremony at the waterfront was cancelled and instead the torch was whisked straight onto a plane at the international airport.

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The next destination for the torch on its 21-stop, six-continent tour is Argentina. Then it continues to a dozen other countries, including India, where it is expected to face more demonstrations.

Torch run will go on: IOC head

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The head of the International Olympic Committee said he was relieved that the San Francisco leg of the torch relay passed without major incident and is confident the Beijing Games will rebound from the relay "crisis."

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"This scenario is definitely not on the agenda," Jacques Rogge said Thursday at a news conference in Beijing, referring to the mass demonstrations. "We are studying together with [Beijing organizers] to improve the torch relay, but there is no scenario of either interrupting or bringing [the torch] back directly to Beijing."

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Rogge said that during the bidding process, he was assured by Chinese officials who said the Olympics would help advance social change, including human rights. He called it a "moral engagement" but stressed there was no "contractual promise whatsoever" on human rights in the official contract.

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"I would definitely ask China to respect this moral engagement," Rogge said.

Plot to kidnap athletes busted: police

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Meanwhile, a Chinese official Thursday said authorities had broken up a criminal ring planning to kidnap athletes and other people during the Beijing Olympics, scheduled to run Aug. 8-24.

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Ministry of Public Security Spokesman Wu Heping said 35 people were arrested between March 26 and April 6 in the western Xinjiang region for plotting to kidnap athletes, foreign journalists and other visitors.

With files from the Associated Press

Convoys of Chinese troops head west as Tibet unrest spreads to neighbouring Chinese provinces. Chinese state television broadcasts pictures of calm streets in the Tibet capital Lhasa and Beijing condemns the recent unrest there. Chinese troops were seen heading west on Monday (March 17) as Beijing said it had shown great restraint in the face of violent protests by Tibetans over the past week. Throughout the day on Monday, military trucks and civilian buses were seen carrying the troops towards the direction of the western side of Sichuan province that is close to its provincial border with the Tibet Autonomous Region. Even as the governor of Tibet said no guns were used against protesters in the regional capital, Lhasa, troops poured into neighbouring areas to enforce control after violent ethnic Tibetan protests that seem to have spread across the western region. In Kangding, a city some 300 kilometres west of Chengdu in Sichuan province, troops were seen patrolling the streets in the city centre carrying guns and batons, in a show of force. Police cars were parked across corners of the streets surrounding the city centre but most residents interviewed said the situation in the city was calm. An ethnic Tibetan in Sichuan's Aba prefecture said fresh protests flared near two Tibetan schools on Monday, with hundreds of students facing off against police and troops. The resident, who asked not be identified, said 18 people, including Buddhist monks and students, were killed when troops opened fire with guns on Sunday (March 16). Earlier a policeman was burnt to death, he said. His account could not be immediately verified. The developments underscore how, even as China asserts iron control, the violence will hang over the country, with foreign protests, pleas for leniency and China's crackdown weighing uncomfortably on the build-up to Beijing hosting the Olympic Games in August. In Lhasa, residents were counting down to a midnight deadline for protesters to give themselves up or face tougher punishment. Residents contacted there said the city was under tight police watch ahead of a Monday midnight deadline for protesters to give themselves up. Foreign reporters are barred from travelling to Tibet without official permission and tourists have been asked to leave. Over a dozen Hong Kong journalists were forced out of Lhasa on Monday after being accused of illegal reporting. Chinese state media on Monday night broadcast pictures of Lhasa that it said had returned to normal, in the wake of protests and violence that shook the city on Friday (March 14). The images on the evening news showed a peaceful city with clean streets, and regular industry. It also showed children happily returning to school and studying, as well as markets full of vegetables and shoppers. The Mayor of Lhasa, Doje Cezhug, was reported to have said that most roads were running smoothly, many organisations were back at work, and the students of many schools were back in lessons. China's ruling communist party was clearly keen to play down the chaos in the city and emphasise its success in handling the situation. Meanwhile, China on Monday denounced attacks on its embassies by pro-Tibetan activists. "Attacking China's embassies abroad, vandalising property and endangering the lives of Chinese staff posted abroad. They are a threat to safety. It shows them up as separatists, and the Dalai Lama clique as separatist activists working to destroy the peace and stability. We strongly condemn the violent action of Tibet independence activists," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao at a briefing in Beijing. He called on other countries to protect China's diplomatic personnel and said authorities would put an end to any violence. And police were quick to arrive on the scene as around 40 students staged a sitdown protest at Beijing's Central University for Nationalities. Any student protest in Beijing is significant, bringing back memories of the pro-democracy student protests around Tiananmen Square in 1989 which were crushed by the military with great loss of life. Teachers were urging their students to get up and leave the protest. Guards on the gate were denying students entrance to the campus without their ID cards. The protests in Lhasa have been the largest since protests in 1989 that rocked the capital. The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala. Beijing reviles him as a separatist though he says he only wants more autonomy for the region, which Communist troops entered in 1950. The last major rioting in Tibet was in 1989. Tibet is one of several potential flashpoints for the ruling Communist party at a time of heightened attention on China ahead of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic torch arrived for its only North American stop on Tuesday amid reports that the International Olympic Committee will consider cancelling the international leg of the relay in light of anti-China protests.

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News of a possible review of the relay comes in the wake of violent protests by pro-Tibet activists who have interrupted the Olympic torch runs in London and Paris.

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The Associated Press quoted International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on Tuesday as saying he was "deeply saddened" by the demonstrations and that the IOC's executive board would discuss abandoning the international leg in a meeting Friday.

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Gunilla Lindberg, a vice-president of the IOC, also told reporters that "I think we need to have a full review."

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Emmanuelle Moreau, an IOC spokeswoman, told CBC News that it was "likely that the subject of the torch relay be discussed at some stage during the upcoming executive board meeting.

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"This would be natural, given the recent events," Moreau said.

Torch run 'hijacked,' says Pound

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IOC committee member Dick Pound told CBC News that he wasn't sure cancelling the international leg of the relay was a good idea, but said the run is allowing "a peaceful agenda to be hijacked by somebody with a completely different agenda."

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"Nobody likes what goes on in Tibet. We'd like to see a solution for it, but to build your entire response to the China-Tibet problem on the back of a team of synchronized swimmers and other athletes at the Games I think is wrong and counterproductive."

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He added he has never supported an international torch relay because of the logistics and risks involved.

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The 137,000 kilometre international trek, which stops in 20 countries, is the longest Olympic torch run ever staged. But activists opposed to China's policies toward Tibet and Sudan have used the event to bring attention to their causes.

Canada is not on the torch relay route.

Security beefed up as flame arrives San Francisco

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The torch arrived under heavy security in San Francisco at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, a day ahead of the full relay along the city's waterfront. The flame was immediately put into a vehicle and whisked away to a secret location.

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"We treated it like a head of state visit," airport spokesman Mike McCarron said.

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But fears of protests were already circulating. One runner who was scheduled to carry the flame has dropped out because of safety concerns, David Perry of the San Francisco Olympic Torch Relay Committee confirmed Tuesday.

He would not identify the runner.

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Protests against the Chinese government have already sprung up in the California city, as three pro-Tibet activists climbed the suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday to protest arrival of the torch relay.

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The protesters unfurled two giant banners reading "One World, One Dream" and "Free Tibet '08" - a play on the official slogan of the Beijing Games. One of the climbers also displayed a Tibetan flag.

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The climbers, and four people who helped them, were arrested and charged with trespassing, conspiracy and causing a nuisance. One of the four helpers was a Canadian student who attends the University of British Columbia.

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The last segment of the torch's run through Paris was cancelled Monday after thousands of anti-China protesters repeatedly prompted officials to halt the procession, extinguish the flame and put the torch aboard a bus.

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters Tuesday that the Paris disruption was sad spectacle, but that protests are normal in a democratic country.

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Despite intense security, the relay had to be suspended at least five times in Paris as demonstrators threatened the torch. A vehicle carried the Olympic flame for the last part of the route, but a runner was allowed to carry the torch for the final five metres into a sports stadium in the south of Paris.

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On Sunday, police repeatedly scuffled with protesters in London, including one who tried to grab the torch, while another tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher.

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After San Francisco, the torch is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires and then to a dozen other countries. It is scheduled to enter mainland China on May 4 for the host country's portion of the relay.

With files from the Associated Press

Ivory Coast has bows to violent protests by housewives and youths and slashes taxes on key food imports. The unrest follows similar protests over food prices in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Mauritania as well as Latin America and Asia. Ivory Coast slashed taxes on key food imports on Tuesday (April 1), bowing to protests by housewives and youths. Witnesses said one young man was killed in the protests. Protesters blocked roads with barricades and burning tyres for a second day as violent demonstrations over rising food prices in West Africa spread to once-prosperous Ivory Coast. Ivorians say they are finding it more and more difficult to makemeet. The United Nations Development Programme estimates nearly 49 percent of Ivory Coast's 19 million people live below the poverty threshold of two U.S. dollars per day. "Before, if you had at least 5,000 FCFA (10 US dollars) per week you could do something with it. But now, we can't anymore, with 5,000 FCFA you cannot even feed your family for two days, it's impossible," said 60-year-old Margueritte Ahoule, who works as a janitor in the commercial capital. As police fired tear gas at protesters in Abidjan, the government Secretary-General, Felix Dyela Tyeoulou, appeared on the main midday television news bulletin to announce the temporary suspension of import duties on staples. He said other taxes would be cut on some staple foods and the government would reinforce efforts to tackle racketeering which had helped drive up prices for food and cement. But the patience of some of Abidjan's residents has run out. A few hundred metres from the state television studios police played cat-and-mouse with scores of protesters, repeatedly having to chase them away and dismantle barricades. "I've been doing a little commerce for six months now, selling doughnuts. I was buying the sack of flour at 14,000 FCFA (30 U.S. dollars). Now, in less than two months, a sack costs 20,000 FCFA (4.0. US dollars). When the cost rose to 20,000, the president came out to say that last year we didn't produce enough grain so after this period passes the prices will come down, but now it's six months later and we don't see any improvement, the sack still costs 40 US dollars," said road-side trader, Clarisse Mango. Most shops remained shut on Tuesday in the Abidjan suburb of Cocody, where at least a dozen people were arrested when protests began on Monday (March 31). Police officers and residents in other parts of town reached by phone said similar demonstrations were also under way in the populous districts of Yopougon and Port Bouet, where witnesses said one youth was killed during the violence. Residents said despite some disruption on Monday, traffic was so far unaffected on major routes through the city to Abidjan's port, the main export terminal for cotton from Burkina Faso and Mali, and around half the cocoa crop from Ivory Coast, the world's top producer. Protests over food prices have spilled over into violence in several African countries as costs have risen around the world due to record high oil and fuel prices, higher demand for food in Asia and rising use of farm land and crops for biofuels.

USE THIS CHANCE TO BE HEARD, GLOBAL PEACE ACTION! NEXT MONTHSPREAD THIS INFO FAR AND WIDE!Please comment rate and keep reposting this video. We as a whole have to come together in mass numbers all over the world. Rate this video, get it in the top vids, Make your own! Just keep promoting this day of global action and lets get heard! Organize this time! create local groups and campaigns to take your info on the NWO to the streets on this day!And lets START this revolution!Lets make use of this opportunity and come together!Comments of those promoting peace and justice"This is what we need.....isolated marches here and there are easy to disrupt.what would happen if everybody atleast in the major industrialized countries stopped working for a day ? i think the favor would slowly swing our way""How to get an industrial and civil action. when the mass don't even know or care as of yet, of the consequences of these wars and agenda?!?!?step 1 =raise awareness by promoting and attending mass unified protests!step 2 =giving those who attend the protests a sense of online and off line community by creating rich and well created online forums, groups, sites and media.step 3 = increase both steps two and one until you get enough people aware as to take actions as you suggest Chad!Its a step in the right direction.Please join the redpillsonly group and help add to the discussion, if we work together we can make things happen.""..... your steps to the right direction are exactly right. It is great to hope that all industrialized nations citizens could come together and stop work for a day, but that is far in the future.Right now we need to do the things we CAN DO and build off of them! Spread the word about the protest, get involved in planning in your area, make something happen!If you are planning on doing something let me know I can add it to our network of cities doing protests and we can all work together.""I have walked on every march against us going to war because I am against war but this is a particularly horrible war. We have no business to be in Iraq. This was the biggest demonstration of my long life and I am proud I took part." Hetty Bower, Britain's oldest anti-war campaignerOn his recent trip to the Middle East, George Bush said: "Iraq is now a different place. Levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad."Try telling that to residents of the southern outskirts of Baghdad, whose homes were flattened on January 10, when US bombers unleashed 40,000 pounds of explosives in the biggest aerial attack since March 2003, killing or injuring dozens of civilians, many of them women, children and the elderly.Try telling it to the thousands of Iraqis who were the victims of US bombing raids in 2007, which quadrupled compared to 2006, rising from four attacks a week to four attacks a day. It's the same story in Afghanistan, where the Washington Post reported recently the number of air strikes doubled in 2007 to a staggering 3,572 -- an average of close to 10 per day. In 2005, by comparison, there were around 200 air strikes.These increasing levels of carnage come from the man who accuses Iran and Syria of "fomenting violence" in the region and whose main purpose in his visit to the Middle East was to set up arms deals with a number of countries, which will get weapons of mass violence at an estimated cost of 20 billion dollars.These include Israel, visited by Bush at the very time that its siege of Gaza was facing worldwide condemnation (see below) for what United Nations representatives called "illegal measures and practices against the Palestinian civilian population". Bush's gift to Israel in the cause of promoting peace in the region was to confirm that under a 100 million dollar arms package, Israel would get a new consignment of the very latest "smart" missiles, which it used to such horrific effect in its 2006 attack on Lebanon.ImageWe keep marching and protesting because these policies of mass murder and devastation are opposed by the vast majority of people in this country, the USA and worldwide. It is why on Saturday 15 March, the Stop the War Coalition has joined with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the British Muslim Initiative in calling a national demonstration in London, as part of the worldwide day of protest against George Bush's wars on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, when there will be demonstrations from Washington to Beirut, from Sydney to Seoul.

Teams of heavily armed police were poised to crack down on native demonstrators who erected blockades during a day of protest in eastern Ontario in June, CBC News has learned.

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CBC's The Current obtained a series of notes handwritten by Ontario Provincial Police officers that describe how Commissioner Julian Fantino planned a morning raid of the blockades set up overnight on June 28 on Highway 401, Highway 2 and a CN Rail line in the Kingston area.

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The raid ultimately did not happen, and protesters removed the blockades peacefully later in the day on June 29. Mohawk protest leader Shawn Brant surrendered to police and was charged with mischief and other offences.

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But the notes, written in the early morning hours of June 29, described the situation at times as "anarchy" and said Fantino "would not/could not tolerate the 401 being closed all day." The notes ask how long before the force would "lose credibility" over the situation.

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The notes describe how the police tactical rescue unit, the special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team, the emergency response team and the public order unit (riot squad) were all on standby on the night of June 28. A police helicopter and aircraft were also keeping tabs on protesters.

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But according to the notes, Fantino decided to give the commander on site, Carson Pardy, the final call.

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"I'm not about to put people at risk for a piece of pavement," Pardy is quoted as saying in the notes, which describe how officers would be put at risk in a crackdown.

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The Current asked on four separate occasions for interviews with Fantino on the subject, but was refused.

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"Since the matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for the OPP to become engaged in a discussion regarding any details," OPP Insp. David Ross said in a statement.

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Brant's trial is set to begin in January. At the time of the protest, he said he wanted a peaceful demonstration, but warned that he had weapons nearby if needed.

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"We're not going to be fired upon and not be in a position to defend ourselves," he said at the time. "That's not going to happen. But we're certainly not going to fire the first shot."

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Fantino, meanwhile, had vowed at the time to do his utmost to keep the protest peaceful.

Fantino warned of looming confrontation: protester

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Native protesters have backed up allegations that the OPP were prepared to use force.

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Mohawk Mandy Smart said she saw heavily armed police gathering in the area and heard reports from other protesters about similar sightings.

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She said she met with Fantino at the OPP detachment in the town of Napanee, west of Kingston, at 2:30 a.m. ET on June 29, and he told her how concerned he was that Highway 401, between Belleville and Napanee, was blocked.

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She stressed that there were children involved in the blockade and that peace was needed.

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"The things that came out in that conversation was that [Fantino] did promise that if [protesters] did not remove themselves from the blockade by 6 a.m., that it would end in confrontation, absolutely," she told CBC News.

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"He did not care if there were men, women or children behind those lines, because they chose to be there."

Blockades part of larger Day of Action

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The blockades were designed to choke off the main transportation route for much of Canada's goods, in the hopes that it would cost the Canadian economy millions of dollars. The disruption was supposed to highlight the ongoing land disputes between native communities and Canadian governments.

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In addition to the Highway 401 blockade, barricades were set up across a CN Rail line and Highway 2 near Deseronto, about 50 kilometres west of Kingston. The move prompted CN to suspend all rail service on the Montreal-Toronto corridor.

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Traffic returned to normal on the 401 by 11 a.m. on June 29, but the other two blockades remained until almost midnight.

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The blockades were part of a larger aboriginal Day of Action that involved a variety of peaceful protests across the country.

Chinese authorities have revealed four protesters were shot and wounded in an ethnic Tibetan community in Sichuan province. The police said they acted in self-defence when they opened fire in the Chinese city of Kangding on Sunday. It is China's first admission its security forces have caused injuries in their crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. Chinese authorities also said they had arrested dozens of people involved in the protests that have swept Tibet and prompted Beijing to pour in troops to crush further unrest. Exiled Tibetans say as many as 100 Tibetans have been killed in total, while China says 13 "innocent civilians" died in riots last week in Tibet's capital Lhasa. Mindful of the international condemnation of its military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, China says its security forces in Lhasa exercised "maximum restraint" and did not use lethal weapons. China has accused the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader, of orchestrating last week's violence - a charge he has denied. Speaking in his home in the Indian town of Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama said he was ready to travel to Beijing to meet Chinese leaders, and called on Tibetans to end the violence. Beijing has long said it will meet him only if he forsakes claims to Tibet's independence. The 72-year-old says he just wants greater autonomy for his homeland. The Chinese government has resisted international calls for dialogue over the unrest and expressed serious concern that Prime Minister Gordon Brown plans to meet the Dalai Lama during a visit to Britain in May. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged China to show restraint towards protesters. "We have urged for many years that China engage in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, who represents an authoritative figure who stands against violence and who also stands for the cultural autonomy of the Tibetan people but has made very clear that he does not stand for independence," she added. And the speaker of the United States House of Representatives has called on the world community on Friday to denounce China in the wake of its crackdown in Tibet. Nancy Pelosi has called the crisis "a challenge to the conscience of the world." Mrs Pelosi was the first major foreign official to meet the Dalai Lama since protests turned violent in the Chinese-ruled region. Addressing a crowd of thousands of Tibetans, she said: "If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world." The unrest has alarmed China, keen to look its best in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Beijing in August. The 130-day Olympic torch relay begins next week and spans 19 countries, including Tibet. Political fallout from anti-Chinese riots in Tibet, however, means demonstrations are likely. Matt Whitticase of Free Tibet Campaign said: "There will be major protests at China's triumphalist use of the Olympic flame for their own propaganda purposes by taking it through Tibet and up Mount Everest. "Hundreds, if not thousands, of Tibetans will be coming from all over Europe to protest in London, and when it goes to Tibet it could set off another round of protests, it will be hugely inflammatory."