The torch relay for the 2008 Olympics will go to Tibet as scheduled despite the unrest in the Himalayan region, a senior Beijing organiser has said.

"The situation in Tibet has essentially stabilised. The Olympic torch relay will proceed as scheduled," Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, said.

China warned of a "life and death" struggle with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as it sought to end a wave of protests in its Tibetan regions with arrests and tightened political control.

"We firmly believe that the government of the autonomous region of Tibet is able to ensure the stability of Lhasa and Tibet, and also has the capability to ensure the smooth progress of the torch relay in Tibet," Jiang added.

Tibetan activists demonstrated outside the International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday, demanding Tibet and three neighbouring provinces be withdrawn from the torch relay for the August 8-24 Games.

China is braced for more protests when the torch passes through 19 cities outside China on its 97,000 km journey around the world in April and Jiang said he had a message for potential demonstrators.

"We hold the opinion that those activities are a challenge to the Olympic Charter, a challenge to all those who love the Olympic movement around the world," he said.

"Those activities will not win the hearts and minds of people and are doomed to failure.

"The message we are trying to convey through the torch relay is peace, friendship and harmony."

The relay starts when the flame is lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, next Monday and is scheduled to visit Tibet twice.

When the flame arrives in Beijing on March 31, a second torch will be lit and taken to the far Western province, where Chinese climbers will attempt to take it to the top of Mount Everest.

The attempt will take place in early May whenever the weather conditions on the world's tallest mountain are most suitable.

Tibet also forms part of the domestic leg of the relay, taking in Shannan Diqu on June 19 and Lhasa on the following two days.

The relay ends with three days in Beijing before the flame is used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Games on the evening of August 8.

Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders has urged officials to boycott the ceremony over the "brutal repression" in Tibet, an idea French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said France would consider.

"That's just the personal idea or decision of a few people," Jiang said. "I believe that most people will make the right choice to participate in the Olympic Games and opening ceremony."

Reuters