GENEVA, May 2: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge conceded on Friday that the atmosphere at the Beijing Olympics will be largely determined by the situation in Tibet.

The Olympic torch relay in the run-up to the Aug 8-24 Games has been met with protests in cities across the globe over China’s actions in Tibet and human rights record.

In an interview with Swiss daily Le Temps, Rogge said he believed that “the atmosphere” in which the Games will take place “will be largely determined by the situation in Tibet.”

And Rogge defended himself against the “media deluge” of criticism against him for “not having vilified China enough”.

“If I had got on the barricades to shout (against China) I would have been the hero of the West and the Games would have failed,” he stated.

“We showed ourselves to be firm in our demands regarding China, without bugle or compromise. Unfortunately, the conformity of thought considers that if you don’t denounce the Chinese you are a doormat of the regime.”

Rogge estimated that the IOC was going through “a crisis of reputation but not of functioning”.

“The IOC knows its limits. We defend the general principles of the rights of man without getting involved in the specific domain of politics which is the prerogative of sovereign states.”

Rogge added the idea by French athletes to wear a badge calling for “a better world” at the Beijing Games should be refused.

“In its present wording there is very little chance of it being accepted by the IOC,” he said.

“When I hear (Olympic champion) David Douillet, and others like him, stating that the badge signifies that the athletes are not indifferent to what is happening in China, is that not politics?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, the Olympic torch was running through Hong Kong in a festive return to China after a troubled world tour, but tensions flared as patriotic crowds heckled protesters and police briefly detained eight activists.

On Friday, the Tibetan government-in-exile, which is based in India, said its officials would arrive in China on Saturday for “informal” talks.

In Hong Kong, security around the flame was tight, with roads closed, crowds kept at a distance, and at times as many as 16 Chinese torch security guards and police on motorcycles alongside the torch bearers.

All along the torch’s route, tens of thousands of cheering citizens packed sidewalks and strained for a glimpse of the flame as it winded its way across the territory by foot, dragon boat and horseback, as well as by yacht across the city’s iconic harbour.

Despite the outpouring of support, small bands of demonstrators confined to protest pens along the route demanded Beijing honour its Olympics human rights promises, but were confronted at times by bristling crowds.

In the US, conservative and liberal members of Congress joined forces to urge a US government boycott of the opening ceremony of the Games, accusing China of gross human rights violations.

After Hong Kong, the torch goes to the Chinese gambling hub Macau and then starts its journey through the mainland. A sister flame is awaiting good weather to summit Mount Everest.

Many expect the flame to now have a smooth run on Chinese soil with the possible exception of its Tibet leg in mid-June, leading up to the Aug 8 opening ceremony in Beijing.—Agencies