Beijing - The Olympic Movement faces a rift in its dealing with China over the unrest in Tibet in the run-up to the Beijing Games, a high-ranking Olympic official revealed on Wednesday.

The official, speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on the condition of anonymity, said that 17 European Olympic Committees have expressed their anger that Tibet is no longer mentioned in a revised draft for a statement to be issued at the end of the week.

The source did not mention which countries protested the new version and only said that the 17 European countries "have decided to insist on this topic."

The relevant part of the statement from the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) will no longer read: "Confident that the government of the People's Republic of China should strive to find through dialogue and understanding a fair and reasonable solution to the internal conflict that affects the Tibet region."

Instead, it will read "... to find through dialogue and understanding a fair and reasonable solution to the internal conflicts for the benefit of the Games and the athletes."

The phrase is part of a joint statement from the 205-member-strong ANOC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to be released after the end of the week's Olympic meetings in the Chinese capital.

ANOC chief Mario Vazquez Rana told dpa he was the man to blame because he drafted the text. "That was my mistake," he said. The Mexican IOC executive board member said that the original draft was changed because it would interfere with internal Chinese affairs.

Vazquez Rana insisted that there was no external pressure to change the draft, but IOC and ACNO sources told dpa that it was done due to pressure from the Games' organizing committee BOCOG.

The new draft is due to be discussed on Thursday in a meeting of the ANOC and IOC executive boards.

China's crushing of the unrest in Tibet last month has led to worldwide concern and hefty criticism on the Olympic host nation.

It has also caused chaos in the international leg of the torch relay for the August 8-24 Beijing Games, with many incidents and arrests on Sunday in London and Monday in Paris. More protests were expected during Wednesday's leg in San Francisco.

IOC members on Wednesday spoke out against a cancellation of the international leg of the torch relay in the wake of the protests. All 205 Olympic Committee members said earlier in the week that they will not boycott the Games over Tibet and other human rights issues.

It was not revealed whether the Tibet issue was discussed when IOC boss Jacques Rogge met with Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao. Rogge has refrained from criticizing China and has come under fire for not saying more that he is "concerned" over the issue.

The IOC spoke of "a good meeting" in which "a range of Games topics" were discussed. Rogge is expected to give more details at a news conference Friday.