SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Human rights groups on Tuesday warned protesters against targeting the Olympic torch on its route through San Francisco, saying further disruption to the troubled relay could backfire.
Thousands of activists are poised to take to the streets here Wednesday as the torch arrives for the US leg of its global tour, two days after chaotic scenes in Paris where pro-Tibet forced organizers to cut short the relay.
It followed similarly rowdy protests in London on Sunday, where police arrested dozens of demonstrators seeking to draw attention to China's recent actions in Tibet and human rights record.
While myriad rights groups are planning to hold demonstrations in San Francisco on Wednesday, an increasing number of activists have called on protesters to avoid attempting to disrupt the event.
"We are calling on all of our supporters to remain calm, not to disrupt the torch relay as much as to come out in great numbers and show the strength of the movement," John Ackerly, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, told a panel discussion organized by Amnesty International.
"There is a certainly a danger if people jump in front of it and try to grab the torch, but such actions could sway public opinion against us. We stand by non-violence."
Lucie Morillon, of press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, said a repeat of the scenes in London and Paris could hand China a propaganda victory.
"We want demonstrators to show restraint," Morillon said. "Violence against the torch could backfire and give ammunition for Chinese propaganda.
"When you see such incidents as in London and Paris...trying to take a torch from a woman in a wheelchair is giving a bad image to people demonstrating for human rights in China.
"We should not forget the big picture though, the real violence is what is happening in China and Tibet every day."
Rebiya Kadeer, who spent six years as a political prisoner in china for championing rights of the Uighur ethnic group in Xinjiang, said however she understood protesters attempting to grab the torch.
"We need to go beyond the political rhetoric of getting so upset about such behavior," Kadeer said. "I don't advocate violence, but I can understand those those that are feeling that way."
Groups holding protests on Wednesday are split over their tactics, with some saying they have no intention of attempting to disrupt the vent while others vow civil disobedience.
The Save Darfur Coalition, which is lobbying China to exert more pressure on Sudan's leaders to end violence in the country, categorically ruled out any attempt to halt the progress of the torch.
"I can tell you absolutely unequivocally that we have no plans to interrupt or disrupt the torch relay," coalition spokesman Allyn Brooks LaSure told AFP.
Nyunt Than, president of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance, said his organization was planning "direct action" during the relay.
"That means civil disobedience. It's still considered non-violent. We might be sitting across the street but that is not violent," he said.
The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper in a editorial on Tuesday expressed support for the different groups planning to protest on Wednesday but urged demonstrators not to interfere with the relay.
"All we ask is that the protesters make their point in a civil, nonviolent manner," the paper opined. "Say your piece, wave your signs, but let the torch and its proud bearers proceed in peace. The torch is not the enemy."
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