April 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Olympic torch continues its protest-dogged global journey in Buenos Aires today as pressure mounts on world leaders to boycott the Beijing games opening ceremony over China's alleged human rights abuses.

Protesters in the Argentine capital said they won't try to interfere with the torch's 13 kilometer (8.1 mile) path through the city tomorrow. The route of the torch relay was shifted in San Francisco yesterday to avoid demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet that disrupted its passage through London and Paris.

``We won't engage in any violence and we won't try to snuff out the torch,'' Jorge Carcavallo of the human rights group Free Tibet said in an interview with Bloomberg News. ``We'll be handing out leaflets to people along the relay route. We want to pressure the Chinese to talk with the Dalai Lama.''

The 19-city journey has become a focal point for demonstrations against China's human rights record since a crackdown on protests in the Tibet region last month. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, called today for an investigation into the clashes between Chinese troops and protesters that may have killed hundreds of people.

Darfur Conflict

``I appealed to the international community to carry out a thorough investigation,'' the Dalai Lama told reporters near Tokyo's Narita airport. ``As far as we know, at least a few hundred people were killed in the Tibetan area.''

China blames the Dalai Lama for instigating the biggest protests in Tibet in almost 20 years and says his supporters are trying to sabotage the Beijing Games. ``I am sure the Dalai clique will plan something to try to disrupt the torch relay in Lhasa,'' Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet's regional government, said yesterday. ``Life will proceed as normal'' in the Tibetan capital, he said.

China's dealings with the government of Sudan, which is fighting rebels in its southern region of Darfur, have also drawn attention to the torch. Before the San Francisco leg of the relay, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama issued a statement in which he joined calls for President George W. Bush to consider a boycott of the opening ceremonies.

British Voters

``If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the president should boycott the opening ceremonies,'' Obama said. ``A boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table, but this decision should be made closer to the games.''

Senator Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival to become the Democrats' presidential nominee, said April 7 that Bush should boycott the games.

In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said he is sticking to a plan to attend the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, while sending his sports minister to the opening celebrations.

About 43 percent of British voters don't want Brown to attend the games, according to a YouGov Plc poll for Channel 4 News published late yesterday. YouGov surveyed 1,387 adults April 8-9 after protesters disrupted the passage of the torch through London.

Arrests

In Brussels, the European Parliament voted 580-24 to call on European Union government leaders to consider boycotting the opening ceremonies unless China resumes negotiations with the Dalai Lama.

The non-binding resolution floated ``the option of non- attendance'' to pressure China to talk to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The EU assembly also called for the immediate release of Hu Jia, a Chinese human-rights activist sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison this week.

London police arrested 37 people during the torch procession April 6. The next day in Paris, the torch was extinguished and relit at least once and then bused across the city as activists demanding independence for Tibet blocked the runners.

In San Francisco yesterday, police cleared about a dozen protesters who lay down in front of the vehicle carrying the torchbearers toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Closing Ceremony

A closing ceremony near the waterfront was canceled and took place at San Francisco International Airport before the torch began its flight to the Argentine capital, said California Highway Patrol Officer Shawn Chase.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defended altering the route. ``We decided not to create major problems out in the street and decided to do this in a way that would be safe,'' Agence France-Presse cited him as saying in a local radio interview. ``We could easily be having a conversation about people being arrested or people being injured.''

The torch will arrive in Buenos Aires about 4 p.m. New York time today and the relay will take place tomorrow afternoon. In the evening, or the following morning, the torch will depart for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri said that 1,200 police and almost 4,000 city workers and volunteers will help guard the route past the presidential palace and up one of the capital's main boulevards. Soccer legend Diego Maradona is scheduled to be the first torch bearer, with former tennis star Gabriela Sabatini running the final leg.

Back to China

The relay, which started April 1, will cover 137,000 kilometers (85,000 miles) before arriving back in mainland China on May 4. The Free Tibet Campaign is demanding the International Olympic Committee ensures the torch doesn't pass through Tibet as scheduled from June 19 to 21.

Thirty-five heads of state and royal family members attended the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, in addition to then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The organizers will reconsider holding international torch relays for future Olympics games, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee said, CNN reported.

``I've always been against these international relays,'' said IOC member Dick Pound in an April 8 phone interview from Montreal. ``They are expensive and they don't generate more enthusiasm for the Games. It would be better to let more people in the host country see the flame.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Deen in London at markdeen@bloomberg.net; Bill Faries in Buenos Aires at wfaries@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 10, 2008 13:10 EDT