This was a kind of a pent up tension. It was brewing for years now. And not only Tibetans, but the general public around the world was not happy. China hosting the Olympics was an opportunity for them to express their protest. That is the reason why they used the Olympic torch relay. While it became a little tense in London and Paris, in San Francisco, the torch had to be pretty much hidden.

Did China expect the protests to be as loud and big?

No. Forget China, even human rights activists who have been following the region closely did not have any clue that it would be on such a large scale. Like I said, in San Francisco, we were under the impression that there would be thousands and the torch will go. But in the end they pretty much hid the torch. That really hurt the spirit of Olympics.

We have also told the city of San Francisco that we are against the use of such tactics. They should have had a public display of the torch. But it was hidden for at least half an hour of its journey through the city.

Image: A pro-Tibet demonstrator holds a poster as the Olympic torch relay passes by in Buenos Aires. Photograph: Daniel Garcia/AFP/Getty Images

Also see: Tibetan ire rages as dragon spits fire

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