Tibetans start torch relay to oppose Beijing Games

OLYMPIA, Greece (Reuters) - Tibetan activists staged a torch-lighting ceremony outside Olympia on Monday for the start of a global torch relay to protest against decades of Chinese rule over the Himalayan region.

Olympia, site of the ancient Olympic Games, will host the official torch-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Olympics on March 24.

"We lit this torch which is of so much importance for us, for a free Tibet," Tendon Dahortsang of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe told Reuters.

The torch was lit outside the gates to the ancient site after the group of about 10 was barred from entering by police.

Tibetan shot-putter Tsultrim Gope was the first relay runner who took the lit torch after five women representing goddesses performed a traditional Tibetan ceremony.

"This is proof of the Chinese state's wide influence," Tendon Dahortsang said. "Greek authorities told us we were not allowed to go in because of our big bags, as Chinese embassy officials stood nearby and watched us."

The so-called Tibetan freedom torch will stop over at 50 cities and end at the border of Tibet on the day of the start of the Beijing Olympics, on Aug. 8.

Olympia has hosted the Games' torch-lighting ceremony and relay since the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

"The police had a massive presence and they even escorted us back to our hotels but the people of Olympia clapped and cheered us on along the main street," Tibet Olympic Committee spokesman Kelsang Gope said.