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Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has indicated he will skip the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics this summer, capping an extraordinary week of public relations disasters for the Chinese Government as it struggles to contain international anger over its policies towards Tibet.
Officials fudged the reasons for Ban's decision, citing scheduling conflicts. But he is only the latest world leader in recent days suddenly to have found reasons to duck the opening events, after a similar move by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Making matters still worse for the hosts - and also for an increasingly jittery International Olympics Committee (IOC), which has been meeting this week in Beijing - has been the near pandemonium that has attended nearly every stage so far of the torch relay around the world.
The torch was met by protesters in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Although the protesters were in smaller numbers than earlier in the week in London, Paris and San Francisco, more than 6000 Argentinians had signed a petition calling on China to talk to the Dalai Lama before the torch had even arrived.
However, IOC president Jacques Rogge insisted that the games were on track and there would be no change to the relay. "The IOC affirms that the torch relay will go through Tibet."
Rogge wrapped up a week of meetings in Beijing by praising the "excellent" preparations for the Olympics. Rogge's comments came after he urged China's communist rulers on Thursday to improve their human rights record.
Beijing responded by telling the IOC to keep politics out of the games.
Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush said his plans to attend the summer Games "haven't changed", but left unclear whether he would attend the opening ceremonies.
China is becoming increasingly aggrieved at the demonstrations about its crackdown in Tibet.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing lashed out at the US Congress for passing a resolution urging China to open dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
The Government was "strongly indignant" at the US move, said a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu. "It is confusing black with white and is vicious-minded of certain members of the US House of Representatives to not only fail to condemn the attacks, smashing, looting and arson in Lhasa ... but rather to point the spear at the Chinese Government and people."
Meanwhile, Tokyo has joined the fray, warning that the strapping Chinese men in blue-and-white tracksuits who have been running alongside the torch as self-appointed bodyguards will not be welcome on Japanese soil.
When the flame arrives in the city of Nagano, Japanese police will protect it and no one else, officials said.
- INDEPENDENT and agencies
