Kate Woznow in Olympia, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) , +30-6955-865-365 /
+1917-601-0069
Tendon Dahortsang in Zurich, Tibetan Youth Association Europe (TYAE),
+41-79-50-685-12
Lhadon Tethong (SFT) in Dharamsala, India, +91-9805-237-015

Olympia - Tibetans from Switzerland, Germany and the United States were
detained by Greek police today after protesting the start of China's
global Olympic Torch Relay. Tenzin Dorjee from the United States was
detained in the town of Olympia while the Olympic torch was being lit
nearby and just 2 hours after he confronted Jacques Rogge, President of
the International Olympic Committee, at his hotel. Dorjee and an
independent Greek journalist were seen being forcibly dragged through
the town by at least 20 police. Meanwhile, Florian Norbu of Germany and
Pema Dolkar of Switzerland were violently detained after unfurling
banners and Tibetan flags on the road as the torch made its way through
Olympia. One of the banners, hung from a balcony along the torch route,
read "Light the Passion Share the Dream: Free Tibet 2008." "Light the
Passion Share the Dream" is the official Beijing 2008 Torch Relay slogan.

Activists accuse the Chinese government of using the Olympics and the
global Torch Relay to cover up its human rights record and legitimize
its rule in Tibet. China plans to run the Olympic torch through Tibet in
June and to the summit of Mt. Everest next month. Tibetans and
supporters are planning to protest the Beijing Torch Relay in London on
April 6th, Paris on April 7th and San Francisco on April 8th and 9th.

"The Chinese government plans to run the Olympic Torch through Tibet and
up Mt. Everest in a blatant attempt to legitimize its control over our
homeland," said Pema Dolkar, spokesperson for Tibetan Youth Association
Europe (TYAE)." "If the IOC does not cancel plans to take the torch
through Tibet, it will be seen as endorsing China's brutal crackdown on
Tibetans and complicit in escalating tensions and China's military build
up in Tibet."

"Jacques Rogge had an opportunity to meet with me and address Tibetans'
concerns face to face but instead he told me to write to Switzerland and
ask for a meeting," said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for
a Free Tibet (SFT), via phone just moments after confronting Rogge. "At
this moment, when the Tibetan nation is in crisis and the Chinese
government is violently oppressing our people, it is unacceptable that
Rogge refuses even to sit down and talk about how the IOC could help
improve the situation."

On March 16th, Tibetans hand-delivered a letter to the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) that was signed by 150 Tibet support
organizations – under the umbrella of the International Tibet Support
Network – demanding that the IOC "immediately remove Tibet from the
Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route." They also called on IOC President
Jacques Rogge to make a public statement of concern about the current
situation in Tibet. Despite receiving more than 10,000 faxes echoing
these demands, the IOC has announced that the Torch Relay will go ahead
according to plan.

Tibetans pre-empted China's Torch lighting ceremony two weeks ago by
launching their own Tibetan Freedom Torch in the Ancient City of Olympia
despite intense surveillance and harassment by Chinese Embassy officials
and Greek security. The Tibetan Freedom Torch will travel to 50 cities
around the world to draw attention to Tibetans undying desire for
freedom in advance of the Beijing Olympics.

Protests continue inside Tibet with reports of students from the Tibetan
Language Department of Qinghai Institute for Nationalities staging a
sit-in on the campus. In the lead up to the new midnight March 25th
deadline for protesters to turn themselves in, there has been a massive
build-up of Chinese troops in Tibet. Meanwhile, all foreign journalists
continue to be barred from Tibet—a blatant violation of China and the
IOC's promise that freedom of press would be respected in the lead up to
and during the Olympics.