San Francisco Braces for Olympic Torch Protests

SAN FRANCISCO — With the Olympic torch making its only North American appearance here Wednesday, this city is bracing for an incendiary protest by thousands opposed to China's hosting of the Summer Games.

The city's police department canceled vacations and called in help from federal, state and local authorities.

Authorities say they're prepared to prevent melees centering on the torch — which is intended to represent world peace and unity — like those this week in Europe by people protesting China's human rights violations in Tibet and elsewhere.

"We're taking examples and lessons from the events ... in deciding our security measures," said Sgt. Neville Gittens, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department. He declined to give details.

Eighty runners, selected by the city and the corporate sponsors of the international relay — Coca-Cola Co., Samsung and Lenovo — plan to carry the torch under close guard by local authorities and a blue-clad Chinese paramilitary "flame protection unit." One of the torchbearers, who hasn't been identified, pulled out of the relay over safety concerns, the Associated Press reported.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, after conferring with Chinese officials, has said the city may alter the planned six-mile route along the city's waterfront at the last minute in an attempt to prevent problems.

Depending on what happens here, Olympic officials may decide to change or end the 21-stop, six-continent torch relay before it ends in China. International Olympic Committee members are planning to meet Friday to discuss whether the tour is breeding more public angst than public goodwill toward the games.

The torch arrived at San Francisco International Airport early Tuesday under cover of darkness and heavy security. It was to be stored overnight at an undisclosed location.

In a city known for its political activism and public protests — and which has the largest Chinese population outside of China — it's not surprising that the Olympic torch is such a hot-button issue here.

"What the torch will symbolize to me is all the human rights violations by the Chinese government," said Tashi Dolma, who has lived in San Francisco for four years. A member of the San Francisco Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Dolma said she grew up in India but considers herself a Tibetan.

In the aftermath of chaotic protests in London and in Paris, where officials had to extinguish the torch and carry it by van on several occasions, turmoil over the torch has been steadily rising here.

On Tuesday, protesters bearing a "Tibetan Freedom Torch" held a rally at United Nations Plaza before marching to City Hall and the Chinese consulate.

On Monday, three protesters scaled the Golden Gate Bridge and hung banners from the iconic span that read "One World One Dream" and "Free Tibet 08."

Last Saturday, yet another torch — the "Human Rights Torch" — passed through the city as part of a rally that attracted about 200 people.

"This isn't about politics, this is about human rights," said Jamyang Nordup, vice president of the Tibetan Association of Northern California.

Nordup, 49, said he left his native Tibet when he was 4 years old, but still has friends and family there. He plans to take to the streets Wednesday with them in mind.

"If your father or mother or grandparents were in Tibet and they were having a peaceful march and they got shot in the head (by authorities), what would you do?" he said.

Supporters of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, say more than 140 people have been killed during protests in Tibet over alleged human rights violations by China, which claims sovereignty over the region. Chinese government officials say about two dozen have died and has blamed the Dalai Lama for inciting violence.

The unrest in Tibet, as well as China's economic relationship with a Sudanese government accused of conducting genocide in its Darfur region, has provoked outrage around the globe.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has threatened to boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing if China doesn't halt its crackdown in Tibet. Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic presidential candidate, has asked President Bush to do the same. Bush said Tuesday he plans to attend the Summer Games, but left open the possibility that he might skip the opening ceremonies.

Here in San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors last week adopted a resolution welcoming the Olympic torch, but also condemning China's human rights record and calling for an international investigation into its human rights policies.

At the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, where unidentified vandals last month set a door on fire, spokespeople did not return phone calls.

But in a statement Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the demonstrations in Paris and France "despicable activities" that "tarnish the lofty Olympic Spirit."

"The Olympic flame belongs to the world and these actions are a serious violation of the Olympic spirit," the Beijing Olympic organizing committee said in a statement. "They are bound to fail and will surely arouse the resentment of peace-loving people who support the Olympic Games."