SF torch relay: The great surprise

SAN FRANCISCO — It was a day of conflict and confusion, with angry clashes between protesters and a last-minute change Wednesday in the route of the Olympic torch relay that left thousands awaiting a spectacle that never arrived.

“It’s really upsetting to be denied the right to see the torch, and the right to protest,” said Jenny Mitchard, 21, a pro-Tibet protester from San Francisco. “Now the world won’t be able to see that we had a strong presence.”

What the world did see were lines of police officers on motorcycles and dozens of others in riot gear surrounding torchbearers as the relay participants waved to a handful of surprised San Franciscans going about their daily business on the surprise route down Van Ness Avenue.

Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco police officials made the switch, as they had warned they might, to prevent a repeat of the Paris relay, where protesters lunged at torchbearers and choas forced the torch onto a bus.

Newsom told the Associated Press that the switch was prompted by the size and behavior of the crowds massing outside AT&T Park.

But the secret switch and cancellation of closing ceremonies left thousands at AT&T Park, Justin Herman Plaza, the Ferry Building and along the Embarcadero waiting and wondering just what was going on.

“It completely impeded our freedom to express what we wanted to say,” said Mina Litvak, 26, a law student at the University of San Francisco who said she waited about four hours for the torch with friends along the waterfront.

Despite her frustration, she said the change did prove the protests were successful.

“In the end we made them cancel it,” she said, referring to the planned route.

Protesters set the tone early for the chaotic day as two large groups of pro-Tibet and pro-China protesters collided on The Embarcadero at about 9:30 a.m.

Flag-waving supporters of freedom for Tibet marched across Washington Street toward the waterfront shouting “Torture in Japan, torture in China, human rights in Tibet, free Tibet now.”

That brought forth those supporting China and bearing the nation’s distinctive red flag. They shouted back “liar, liar” at the protesters, and at one point the two sides engaged in pushing and shoving, marking the sharp differences at play.

It was the only North American stop for the Olympic torch as it makes its way now to Buenos Aires and eventually back to Beijing.

Joy Wang, 27, a Millbrae software engineer originally from Beijing, said those using the torch relay as a forum to voice grievances with China were “just wrong.”

“You should separate the sports from the politics. This is for people all over the world,” she said.

But for 38-year-old Penpa Tsering, it was the perfect moment, when the eyes of the world were on San Francisco.

Tsering said he fled Tibet when he was 19 in search of religious and cultural freedom as a Buddhist. He now lives in Berk-eley and insists he does not have anything against the Beijing Olympics or the Chinese people.

“Our religion is one of compassion and non-violence,” he said, waving a giant Tibetan flag. “We’re just trying to take a stand against the Chinese government.”

About 700 San Francisco police officers were monitoring the relay, San Francisco Police Lt. Jim Miller said, adding that sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents also were on hand.

There were minor skirmishes and at least one arrest, when a man holding a Free Tibet banner charged the police line in an attempt to get at a torchbearer. He was quickly wrestled to the ground.

“This has become an Olympic event, but now the event is how can you get through the cops to the torch,” Miller said before the torch relay started.

Dignitaries were a part of the torch relay, including former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

Brown, dressed in khaki pants and a white Olympics shirt, hurried past the crowds before his participation, saying he wasn’t worried about a repeat of the violence that erupted in Paris when the torch relay was suspended.

“I’m honored, and you should be too,” he told reporters, as he made his way alone through the crowd.

San Francisco officials cut the length of the route from 6 to 3.5 miles before the opening ceremony, deciding to double up runners and lessen the chance for conflict along the route.

Opening and closing ceremonies were expected with the route up the waterfront and doubling back to the Ferry Building. But only a quick speech by the chief operating officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee standing alone atop a platform, and then a lighting ceremony would mark the official ceremonies.

The torch symbolizes “peace and unity,” said Norman Bellingham, who in addition to his duties with the Olympic committee is a former Olympic medal winner in kayaking.

“It’s one of the greatest forces for good our society has,” he said, adding San Francisco was chosen because it so well represents America and tolerance.

Forty-five minutes later, a bus full of torchbearers appeared on Van Ness Avenue, prompting a scramble by reporters, photographers and others hoping to follow the relay.

Stacy Conti, 43, of Marin sat in her minivan at the front of a line of cars with her friend Mary Kavanaugh, 42. They had driven into the city around 1 p.m. to view the torch relay with their five young children.

Conti said she didn’t mind being stuck at the foot of the bridge. They had driven into the city just in time to run into the relay on Van Ness Avenue and saw a torch hand-off 10 feet in front of them, she said.

“Except for the alarming factor, we feel honored to be part of history," she said. "It was up there in my life moments.”

The torch concluded its tour of San Francisco with a brief closing ceremony at San Francisco International Airport.

Newsom said canceling the closing ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza had been part of a contingency plan city officials had developed if it appeared it would be too difficult to safeguard the torch and the runners.

That left the waterfront to protesters of all stripes, including two women from Fort Wayne, Ind., who watched a traditional dragon dance by performers outside the Ferry Building.

They said they traveled to San Francisco to give voice to the troubles facing Darfur in Western Sudan.

Mastora Bakhied, said she came to San Francisco to do one thing: “I want to tell China, from the women and children of Darfur, that we are human. That they do the Olympics is not right.”

For others, the lasting image of the day will be the image of buses pulling away and crowds dispersing without explanation from anyone.

“I was just looking so forward to it,” said Jeff Yang, 35, an engineer in Santa Clara.

“I was very excited. I’m sad I didn’t get to see them run.”

You can reach Staff Writers Shadi Rahimi at 521-5280 or shadi.rahimi@pressdemocrat.com and Lauria Norton at 521-5220 or laura.norton@pressdemocrat.com.

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