51.   Sabra, however, sought to downplay the incident, saying he did not believe it had any political connotations.

52.   South African President Nelson Mandela tried Tuesday to downplay the incident.

53.   Thai officials often downplay incidents of border tension to avoid diplomatic wrangles with Burma.

54.   The Foreign Ministry tried to downplay the incident.

55.   The government is downplaying the incident, saying it should not be treated as a political issue.

56.   While Martin said he planned to apologize, Van Horn downplayed the incident.

57.   However, the incident was downplayed by Brighton.

58.   Iraq denied that anything had happened, and Washington appeared eager to downplay the incident.

59.   Analysts said they saw the lack of response from Beijing so far as a sign the Chinese leadership wants to downplay the incident.

60.   Analysts said Sunday they saw the lack of response from Beijing so far as a sign the Chinese leadership wants to downplay the incident.