BEIJING, March 26 (Reuters) - Chinese citizens are voicing outrage over international debate linking recent protests in Tibet to their prized Beijing 2008 Olympics, accusing outsiders of trying to spoil their country's landmark event.

Foreign media have distorted incidents in Tibetan regions of China and mistakenly associated those with Beijing's right or ability to hold an international sporting event this summer, citizens are complaining privately and online.

"Tibet is a domestic affair, and the Olympics is an international event, so they shouldn't be put together," said Lin Yi, 24, a graduate student at Peking University. "Foreign human rights groups are using Tibet to smear the Olympics."

China has pinned the blame for the two weeks of violence in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and other unrest in nearby areas on the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who lives in exile in India.

The situation in Tibet has also become a lightning rod for criticism of China's Communist government ahead of the Beijing Olympics, marring the country's desire to use the Games to showcase progress in the world's fourth-largest economy.

Leaders in France, Taiwan and elsewhere have murmured about a boycott of China's first Games because of Tibet, following similar concern from foreign-based human rights groups. The government-in-exile estimated 140 deaths in the violence.

"Every report on Tibet mentions the Olympics," said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China. "Those two items are not related, but media always make the connection."

The first leg of the Olympic Torch relay, which started this week from Greece, has already been marred by pro-Tibet protests.

After the flame reaches Beijing on March 31, a second torch will be lit and taken to Tibet.

But Beijing's Aug. 8-24 Olympics cannot escape Tibet because both involve chronic media freedom issues, said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China.

"China's propaganda machine is trying to portray China as a free and open society, and clearly this is not the case," Hom said from her advocacy group's New York office, citing tightly controlled local press and foreign media's lack of access to Tibet.

China has been known to stoke nationalism by blaming foreigners for domestic problems while hiding internal problems.

"China has always done that," Hom said. "They blame any dissent in China on forces from abroad."

After initially imposing almost a blackout on what was happening in Tibet, China's tightly controlled state media has shown selective pictures and film of the violence, including of Tibetans attacking ethnic Chinese in Lhasa.

"I saw the photos. It was clear the Tibetans were attacking the Chinese," said Jane Yang, 24, a Tsinghua University graduate student. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by David Fogarty)

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