MOSCOW,(AFP) - A death threat has been sent to an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member after the IOC awarded the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing. (Read photo caption below).

Irish IOC member Pat Hickey said the threats had been received in his office in Dublin.

"I have had three death threats from a group calling themselves the Liberation Army of Tibet -- and I doubt I am the only IOC member -- claiming I voted for Beijing," Hickey told AFP early Saturday. "The vote is secret and I am keeping mine secret. Nobody knows who I voted for."

But the Irishman played down the threats.

"I am convinced it is nothing but a lot of hot air," he said.

The IOC's vote on Friday caused an uproar from human rights groups across the globe - furious that the Chinese capital had been given the biggest prize in sport.

The rush of protests were led by Tibet's government-in-exile in New Delhi. They condemned the decision, saying the move gave an "international stamp of approval" to China's human rights violations.

"We deeply regret that China is awarded the 2008 Olympic Games," the exiled government's foreign minister, T.C. Thethong said in a statement.

"This will put the stamp of international approval for Beijing's human rights abuses and will encourage China to escalate its repression," said the statement.

In London, Amnesty International said China must prove itself worthy of staging the Olympics.

"The Chinese government must prove it is worthy of staging the games by upholding the Olympic spirit of fairplay and extending respect for universal, fundamental, ethical principles to the people of China," the group said.

Outraged Chinese political and religious dissidents joined with a leading US lawmaker to protest the IOC's vote.

"Just as the Chinese government has abused the spirit of sport through conducting executions and sentencing rallies in athletic stadiums, so they will also use the economic and publicity benefits of hosting the Olympics to prop up their corrupt regime," said former political prisoner Harry Wu in a statement.

"It truly boggles the mind that the IOC has awarded the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing," said Representative Tom Lantos, who has led a fight in the US Congress opposing Beijing's Olympic bid based on its human rights record.

"The people of Beijing and of greater China are honored and humbled to have been chosen host city for the 2008 Olympic Games," Vice Premier Li Lanqing said.

"We want to thank the IOC for its confidence in our capacity to host a successful Games," he said.

Beijing bid officials defended the IOC decision and pledged to fulfill their commitments on the organization of the Games.

"This is a time to celebrate as a people in Beijing, as citizens of the world, as friends of peace and as sportsmen," Beijing mayor Liu Qi said.

He furthered pledged that by hosting the Games, "social progress and economic development" in China and in Beijing would move forward, as would China's human rights situation.
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PHOTO CAPTION:

A Russian police officer attempts to take a banner from human rights protesters outside the World Trade Centre in Moscow, Friday, July 13, 2001, where the International Olympic Committee was meeting to decide which city will stage the 2008 Olympic Games. The protesters are objecting to Beijing as a candidate city because of China's human rights record. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
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