China yesterday denounced protests that disrupted the Olympic torch relay in London and International Olympic Committee (IOC )chief Jacques Rogge expressed concern at the demonstrations, but said there was no momentum for a boycott of the Beijing Games.

Protesters opposing a security drive in Tibet and demanding the mountain region?s independence turned Sunday?s London leg of the torch?s journey into an obstacle course of angry disruptions ? not what China wanted for its ?journey of harmony?. At least 35 people were arrested and the wedge of police guarding the Olympic torch at one point were forced to hustle it on to a double-decker bus to escape about 100 protesters.

Chinese state television focused on the larger crowds of well-wishers who lined the route and British sports celebrities holding the torch. A later report showed some of the protests, as well as British athletes and residents criticising them. But an official quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency was bluntly angry. ?Today a tiny number of Tibet independence elements sought to disrupt the relay of the Olympic Games sacred flame through London,? said an unnamed spokesperson of the Beijing Olympic Games torch relay office. ?We strongly condemn this vile behaviour.?

Tibet?s capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks? protests against Chinese rule that gave way to deadly rioting on March 14, and since then security forces have poured in to reimpose control there and in other restive Tibetan areas. The first group of suspects accused of deadly rioting will soon go on trial in Lhasa, the China News Service reported, citing officials.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said he was very concerned ?with the international situation and what?s happened in Tibet?. ?The torch relay has been targeted. The IOC has expressed serious concerns and calls for rapid, peaceful resolution in Tibet,? he said in a speech to the Association of National Olympic Committees in Beijing.