S.F. mayor denies keeping Olympic torch relay route under wraps

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was delighted when his city beat out Seattle last year to become the only North American host of the Olympic torch relay traveling from Greece to China.

Turns out, Newsom also won the right to host North America's biggest torch relay protest.

"Be careful what you wish for," Newsom said Tuesday at the Sacramento Press Club.

A coalition of Beijing Olympics protesters in the Bay Area, ranging from advocates for Tibetan independence to those who accuse China of backing genocide in Sudan, are angry at Newsom because San Francisco has yet to release the city route for the April 9 torch relay.

Bay Area protesters contend that Newsom and relay officials are intentionally dragging their feet to prevent them from planning demonstrations along the relay route, which will stretch approximately 8 miles from AT&T Park to Justin Herman Plaza.

The international torch relay began Monday in Greece, where a ceremony was disrupted when a protester displayed a banner showing handcuffs in place of the five Olympic rings.

Similar displays are expected elsewhere along the 85,000-mile path, but few places are as ripe for protest as San Francisco, a hotbed of liberal activism. Organizers are also offering to arrange housing for out-of-town activists.

"We should be able to have access to this (route) information," said Giovanni Vassallo, president of the Palo Alto-based Committee of 100 for Tibet. "They're afraid of disruptions. They think that because of what's been labeled as riots in Tibet that there's going to be unruly behavior here in the Bay Area. But we're a peaceful bunch."

Newsom said Tuesday that he isn't trying to hide the torch relay route and that it has not been released because it remains a work in progress. He said protesters already know the relay will start near AT&T Park and end at Justin Herman Plaza at Market Street and The Embarcadero because they have filed applications for permits at those two areas.

Activists have accused the city of withholding public information and say Newsom wants to set up "free speech zones" that limit where they can protest. But Newsom said Tuesday that protesters can set up shop anywhere along the parade route without a permit as long as they do not disrupt the relay.

"You don't need a permit to protest," Newsom said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California asked the city for documents related to the torch relay, but the group has only received letters from the city asking for time extensions, said Michael Risher, a staff attorney.

He described it as "extremely unusual" for the city not to have permits in place for the torch relay only two weeks before the event. He said he is concerned that outside organizers may impose restrictions on activists' free speech rights.

"A big problem in this whole process has been a lack of transparency," Risher said.

Newsom said San Francisco won the right last year to host the torch relay because the city is seen as a gateway to Asia and has the first and largest Chinatown in the United States. He noted that roughly one-third of the city's population is of Asian descent.

"We thought that it was a wonderful honor and at the time we felt like that, until the acuity of some of the concern around China's foreign policy began to take shape," Newsom said, mentioning the country's controversial involvement in Myanmar, Sudan and Tibet.

Activists are planning a "Tibetan Freedom Torch Relay" and rally in San Francisco on April 8. Vassallo said actor Richard Gere and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu have been invited to speak at a candlelight vigil that evening.

Defa Tong, spokesman for the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, said his government believes the majority of local residents support the torch relay and the Beijing Olympics.

"There are some people who try to take advantage of the Olympic Games to fulfill political aims which we think violate the spirit of the games," Tong said. "It is an honor and privilege for the host city, as Mayor Newsom has said, and it is supported by the majority of people here. So we believe any attempt to boycott the torch relay will not be supported by the majority of people here and will be doomed to fail."

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