San Francisco police study foreign protests to prepare for hosting the
Olympic flame relay.

By John M. Glionna and Geraldine Baum, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
April 8, 2008
San Francisco police expressed mounting concern about their ability to
provide safe passage for the Olympic torch relay after swarms of
activists protesting China's human rights record shut down the event
in Paris on Monday, forcing officials to repeatedly snuff out the
iconic flame.

Traditionally a celebratory show that whets the appetite for the
Olympics, the torch relay this year has turned into a rolling -- and
intensifying -- confrontation over the Chinese government's religious
and political persecution. The superpower's recent actions in Tibet
have been a particular focus.

Authorities in San Francisco, which on Wednesday will host the only
North American leg of the relay, said they had closely watched events
in London on Sunday and in Paris.

"We have a lot of concerns," said Sgt. Neville Gittens, a San
Francisco police spokesman. "I don't want to identify them, but this
is not a contained route security-wise, and there are lots of
opportunities for trouble. We're watching what's going on very closely
and will make changes to our plans as we figure them out."

Mayor Gavin Newsom met with Chinese officials in San Francisco on
Monday to review security measures, which include requiring all rank-
and-file police officers to report to work Wednesday. Meanwhile, at
least two neighboring police departments have been asked to provide
reinforcements, the California Highway Patrol will be on hand and the
FBI is on standby, officials said.

In the Bay Area, the protest against China's recent violent crackdown
in Tibet began long before the torch's arrival. Three activists
climbed the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday morning to unfurl pro-Tibetan
banners.

The Chinese government Tuesday condemned the demonstrations as the
work of a small number of Tibetan separatists.

"Their despicable activities tarnish the lofty Olympic spirit and
challenge all the people loving the Olympic games around the world,"
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement on the
ministry's website.

Chinese censors obstructed foreign TV broadcasts on the Paris
protests, blacking out BBC reports. Meanwhile, China's domestic media
trumpeted the success of the torch relay.

"French passion greets torch in Paris," declared a front-page headline
in Tuesday's China Daily.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a different view, saying protesters
should "show how displeased they are with [China's] policies."
Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York), suggesting that
President Bush boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing, said: "These
events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong
to downplay human rights in its policy toward China."

In Paris, where police wrestling with street protesters is as expected
a part of the culture as the arrival of the new Beaujolais, trouble
started early Monday. The torch was barely a block into its journey
when the athlete who was holding it came upon scuffling protesters and
climbed aboard a bus to wait out the melee.

So much chaos ensued that Chinese officials accompanying the torch
snuffed out its flame numerous times and torchbearers were bundled
onto buses midway through the 18-mile route.

The left-leaning mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, draped the ornate
City Hall with a banner reading, "Paris Defends Human Rights Around
the World."

Meanwhile, pro-Tibetan banners were displayed all over the City of
Light, and protesters managed to dangle Tibetan flags and banners with
the interlocking Olympic rings depicted as handcuffs from iconic Paris
facades including Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, despite police
efforts to stop them.

But unlike London, where 37 people were arrested Sunday during the
torch's relay, Paris police were able to keep disrupters far enough
away that no one could snatch the torch from its bearer.

One activist was arrested just before he could grab the torch from
former French hurdler Stephane Diagana as he began the relay by
bounding down the steps of the Eiffel Tower. In all, 20 people were
arrested in Paris on Monday, but all but one were released within a
few hours.

Repeating a tactic used in London, Parisian police created a human
wall to shield the 80 athletes taking turns carrying the torch. Nearly
3,000 police, some in riot gear, were deployed along the route -- in
trucks, on foot, jogging, on in-line skates and in boats along the
Seine.

"There are more policemen out today than I have seen for a visiting
president or king," said Paul Galan, who is 53 and unemployed. He said
he spontaneously joined the fray near the Eiffel Tower after he saw
dozens of people wearing "Free Tibet" headbands. He bought one for 3
euros, and began shouting at the passing torchbearer and at a gaggle
of Chinese students who were holding their country's flag and singing.

"You can't come to this country -- this of all countries that is known
for liberty and equality -- and think that you can get us to support
the Olympics in a country that doesn't respect basic human rights,"
Galan said.

Many Chinese French said they were disappointed by the melees and the
canceling of parties and ceremonies. "They rained on our parade," said
Wan Li, a restaurant worker. "Literally, we lost our parade."

In San Francisco, officials said they expected as many as 6,500
protesters Wednesday. Police would not discuss staffing levels, but a
CHP spokesman said two details totaling more than 100 officers would
be deployed for the torch relay.

One detail of CHP officers on motorcycles, in cars and on foot will
help San Francisco police keep the torch moving along the route, and
the other will secure the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, freeway
offramps and onramps, and state buildings.

That tightened security was not yet in place Monday when activists
began climbing suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge just after
the morning rush hour. Tethered together, the two men and a woman
scaled the cables about 10:30 a.m. to unfurl two banners. One said,
"One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08."

Seven protesters were arrested on the bridge, including four who aided
the climb, CHP spokeswoman Mary Ziegenbein said. All will be charged
with felony conspiracy and public nuisance, she said. The three
climbers will face an additional charge of trespassing.

San Francisco officials said they hoped such tactics would not be
repeated Wednesday. Rather than going down narrow streets as in Paris,
they said, the relay route would mostly be on the Embarcadero, a wide
boulevard where they hoped police would be able to keep protesters far
away from the torchbearers.

"I'm all for any nonviolent, peaceable expression, and my fingers are
crossed that people will express themselves appropriately," said Aaron
Peskin, president of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors.
"If that's not the case, San Francisco has the resources and expertise
to deal with things accordingly."

Newsom met for more than an hour Monday with Chinese ambassador Zhou
Wenzhong. Among the topics covered were flame attendants from China,
whose presence angered many London protesters.

Mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard said the attendants would also be on
hand in San Francisco.

"But let me make it perfectly clear that San Francisco Police Chief
[Heather] Fong is in control of the scene and will be calling the
shots," he said.

One torchbearer for the San Francisco relay said he wasn't intimidated
by all the discord at other relays.

"Quite the opposite," said Eric Burke, a science teacher at Luther
Burbank Middle School in Los Angeles. "It's so exciting to see people
out there expressing their opinion."

His wife, Stefani Tovar, said she was worried -- but not about his
security. Her fear was that activists would block her view of her
husband's big moment.

"I'm worried the protesters are going to hog up all the spaces," she
said.

john.glionna@latimes.com

geraldine.baum@latimes.com

Glionna reported from San Francisco and Baum from Paris. Times staff
writers Tim Reiterman in San Francisco and Evan Halper in Sacramento
also contributed to this report.