Anti-Olympic protesters call for support

Anti-Olympic protest organizers are asking thousands of people to flock to downtown Vancouver on Feb. 12 to help disrupt the opening ceremonies of the Games at BC Place Stadium.

The Olympic Resistance Network made the appeal at a Vancouver briefing Thursday where the group outlined its strategy to derail the event.

'We are not a threat to the public.' — Harjap Grewal, protest organizer

"Next Friday, there will be a demonstration in this town that's probably never been seen before in an Olympic city," said Games critic Chris Shaw.

Shaw said people gathering at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 3 p.m. next Friday will march six blocks to the stadium, where the ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.

The protest is intended to be peaceful, Shaw said.

"If there's violence, it's not coming from us," he said. "If [RCMP Asst. Comm.] Bud Mercer wants there to be no violence, he should instruct his police officers to act that way."

Tent city planned

People who will be on the streets of Vancouver should not fear the protesters, another organizer said.

"We are absolutely a threat to the Games, but we are not a threat to the public," said Harjap Grewal. 

A second mass march is planned for Main and Terminal Streets on Feb. 13, the first full day of the Olympics.

There also are plans for a tent city in the heart of the Downtown Eastside as a protest against homelessness, the activists said.