No plan to interrupt Olympic torch relay: IOC

Rogge said the IOC has no plans to 8220;interrupt8221; or bringing the 2008 Olympic Torch directly back to the host city Beijing as the flame continued its longest-ever Olympic run marred by chaos sparked off by protests by Tibetan and human rights activists in London, Paris and San Francisco.

He said, 8220;There is no scenario of either interrupting or bringing back the torch directly to Beijing.8221;

Rogge said the IOC had discussed the Beijing Olympics torch relay with Chinese authorities and organisers, who had assured that necessary measures would be taken for a smooth passage of the torch.

Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama, starting his first foreign trip since unrest broke out in Tibet, said he personally urged the Tibetan community to respect the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, where heightened security and re-routing prevented some of the chaos witnessed in London and Paris.

8220;I really feel sad the government there almost demonises me. But it8217;s OK,8221; the Dalai Lama said of China. 8220;I8217;m just a human being 8212; hopefully not a demon,8221; the 72-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner told reporters in Narita, Japan.

8220;Some people create the impression we are anti-Chinese. So I make an appeal to Chinese brothers and sisters all over the world, particularly in mainland China 8212; firstly we are not anti-Chinese.8221;