The Olympic flame left Beijing on Tuesday to begin its month long world tour that is expected to calm down protesters in Tibet against the communist rule of China.

The torch arrived in China on Monday, coming from Greece, where it was lit on the ancient Olympia, the site were the first Olympic flame was lit, and was greeted with an elaborated ceremony, which was conducted without public. This measure was taken as organizers carefully planned it and secured the area in fear that protesters might find a way to disrupt the ceremony.

According to The New York Times, Chinese President Hu Jintao said only one line, declaring the launch of the torch’s tour. The ceremony was conducted at Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world, the scene of the 1989 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement and the place where a mausoleum was built in honor of Mao, the initiator of communism in China.

The tour will include Kazakhstan and then Turkey, but it would also stop in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital and the core of the protests and the place where they began last month. Since then, demonstrators around the world have sympathized with the Tibetans’ cause, as people in London, San Francisco and Paris expressed their support and disapproving the measures that the Chinese government had taken.

Observers said that instead of lowering the number of demonstration, the Olympic Games will enhance them, as protesters will enjoy much more visibility and support.