At the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic torch in Greece, two French activists from Reporters Without Borders attempted to wave a black flag with the Olympic rings as handcuffs as the envoy from China made his speech.

There are talks of possibilities of violence and boycotting during the Beijing Olympics, but Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee has said that there is “no momentum” for a boycott. (Yeah, and as much as many people would like to claim the contrary, it is very hard not to catch some glimpse of the Olympics – 90% of the channels here will be broadcasting some clip or report from it. Unless people boycott TV in general over the summer, it will be close to impossible. However, there’s really no telling what could happen; the situation is too delicate.)

Meanwhile, a Tibetan monk spoke to the BBC a couple of days ago about the riots, and claimed that all the Tibetans want is more autonomy, and not necessarily independence. Protesters in the Gannan region have until midnight on 25 March (tomorrow) to surrender – those who come quietly will be given lenient punishment; those who don’t will be “dealt with harshly”.

I do think we have another Serbia/Kosovo/Burma situation on our hands here. China is notorious for its nefarious treat of human rights – not only in its various territories, but within its own country as well. The violence at Tiananmen Square in 1989 is proof of that. There have also been reports of limited media access in China during the Olympics. Currently, Facebook is also banned, and their search engines are heavily monitored. (Imagine that here in North America; I expect there would be public outrage.) It’s interesting also to note that while the Tibetan-government-in-exile has said that 99 people have been killed during the riots, the Chinese government has claimed only 19 dead.

China is also accusing the Dalai Lama of orchestrating the protests. Well of course he is; he’s the head of one of the most (if not the most) peaceful religions in the world. Disregard the fact that he, in a widespread press release, has stated plainly that he supports neither violence, nor repression, and he is very much willing to open up a dialogue with Chinese officials. Really. The nerve of people.

Unless both parties agree to meet and discuss the matter at hand, the protests will continue. China will be dealt a severe blow, especially if these things don’t stop before the onset of the Olympics. And… there’s no telling what could happen next.