S.F. protest hears an appeal to boycott Beijing Olympics

SAN FRANCISCO – On the eve of the Olympic torch's route through a gantlet of protesters here, Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa led 3,000 people in United Nations Plaza in a chant of "Don't go – free Tibet!"

Earlier Tuesday, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said the committee's executive board will discuss whether to cut short the Beijing Olympic torch relay because of the widespread protests.

Tutu, clad in magenta robes, was the most moving of a dozen speakers who spoke at a "Candle Lights for Human Rights" rally calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics until China changes its policies on Tibet, where violence claimed dozens of lives last month.

Tutu said South Africa was a free, democratic country "because of people like you who demonstrated on our behalf, held vigils … were ready even to be imprisoned on our behalf."

As hundreds of demonstrators lit candles and waved red, blue and gold Tibetan flags, Tutu suggested that President Bush tell China he has a schedule conflict on Aug. 8, the opening of the Games.

"For the sake of our children and the beautiful people of Tibet, don't go!" Tutu said.

He urged world leaders not to let the Olympic torch "traverse Tibetan territory," one of the stops on its world tour.

Tashi Tobgyal, one of about 50 Tibetan refugees from Vacaville, said that was the objective of the San Francisco protests.

"The best thing is freedom for Tibet, but that's not possible right now," he said. If the torch passes through Tibet on its way to Beijing, it will probably trigger a new wave of violence, he said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, businessman Richard Blum, said he and his wife first invited the Dalai Lama to San Francisco 30 years ago and asked China many times to sit down with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

"What a great nation has to fear from a simple monk like His Holiness who preaches peace and nonviolence – they have no good answer; they have no answer at all," Blum said. "We must continue to speak out and urge the Chinese to think anew."

San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly, who co-authored the city's resolution declaring the torch be met with "significant protest," said "to do anything less would be un-San Franciscan."

Ravi Verma, a computer scientist from Rocklin who grew up in India near the Tibetan border, attended the candlelight vigil with teacher Jeanne Chesko of Penryn and her 17-year-old son Ryan.

They went home after actor Richard Gere spoke, not staying for today's protests. "I don't do protests," Verma said.

Verma, a Buddhist teacher, added that he supports human rights in China, "but there should be no ill will toward China – in this, everybody's a victim."

Janette Sperber, a biofeedback therapist from Oakland, held a sign declaring, "Berlin 1936 wrong, Beijing 2008 wrong."

"Hitler was very proud (of the 1936 Games), and I feel China's in a similar situation," she said.

San Francisco is the only North American stop for the torch, on its 85,000-mile route from Olympia in Greece to Beijing, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The White House left open the possibility that President Bush could skip the opening ceremony. Spokeswoman Dana Perino said no schedule has been set for which events he would attend.

International Olympic Committee President Rogge said Olympic executives will talk Friday about whether to end the international leg of the torch relay.

He told the Associated Press he was "deeply saddened" by violent protests in London and Paris and concerned about today's relay in San Francisco.

After San Francisco, the torch is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then to a dozen other countries. It is scheduled to enter China on May 4.

Mayor Gavin Newsom and police officials said they reserved the right to adjust the flame's route, if necessary, but a spokesman dismissed rumors the relay would be canceled.

Leaders of China's expatriate community in San Francisco held a news conference a few miles away in Chinatown, calling for a peaceful Olympic torch relay. They said they were proud China, a country with a long and vibrant culture, was selected to host the Summer Games and were saddened by the anger accompanying the torch.

One runner who planned to carry the flame in San Francisco dropped out because of safety concerns, San Francisco Olympic Torch Relay Committee spokesman David Perry said. The person was not identified.

San Francisco was chosen to host the relay in part because of its large Asian population.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Stephen Magagnini, (916) 321-1072. The Associated Press and Cox News Service contributed to this report.