Apr 7, 2008 12:38 pm US/Pacific
Olympic Torch Protesters Scale Golden Gate Bridge
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
Three people protesting China's human rights record and the impending
arrival of the Olympic torch climbed up the Golden Gate Bridge Monday
and tied the Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables.
The banners read "One World, One Dream. Free Tibet" and "Free Tibet '08."
One of the climbers was Laurel Sutherlin from the San Francisco
Bay
area. Speaking to CBS station KPIX-TV while hanging from a bridge
cable, Sutherlin said he and his fellow climbers were urging the
International Olympic Committee to ask China not to allow the torch to
go through Tibet.
The protesters wore helmets and harnesses as
they made their way up the cables running next to the south tower of
the famed span that connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County.
The climb had the group suspended about 150 feet above traffic,
said Mary Ziegenbien, a spokeswoman with the California Highway Patrol.
Ziegenbien said for safety reasons, authorities did not try to
get the protesters down. They waited for the trio to climb down on
their own before arresting them.
"We didn't want to put their lives in danger by going and grabbing them off the suspension cables," she said.
The CHP also detained four other people on the walkway near the protest, CHP Officer Julie Powell said.
She
indicated the group of seven protesters were on the bridge at 11:15
a.m.; three of the group members then went climbing on the cables of
the bridge to hang the banner. Golden Gate Bridge Spokeswoman Marry
Currie said that metal workers later used skyboxes to cut down the
banners.
The torch relay is taking place on Wednesday in San Francisco -- its only North American stop.
China has been called to task over its treatment of Tibet ever since the torch was lit.
The
torch path around the globe already has been marked by protests against
China's policies toward Tibet and Sudan. In Paris, organizers canceled
the final leg of the Olympic run after chaotic protests, snuffing out
the torch and putting it aboard a bus.
Rallies, vigils and
news conferences related to the torch's arrival have taken place in San
Francisco almost daily for the past several weeks. More are planned
over the next two days in anticipation of the torch's arrival.
About 80 torchbearers will carry the flame on a six mile route along the bay.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
