Vancouver police chief: No Beijing-style protest zones for 2010 Winter Olympics

Police chief: No protest zones Vancouver Games

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Vancouver’s police chief says there will be no Beijing-style protest zones at the Winter Olympics.

Chief Jim Chu is trying to quiet a backlash over a bylaw the city says is aimed at so-called guerrilla marketers trying to horn in on Olympic publicity. Critics say the bylaw will limit the right to protest and allow officials to enter private homes to confiscate signs.

Chu says his officers aren’t the “sign police.” He adds that there are no designated protest zones and people are free to gather near Olympic venues.

But the chief says he’d like groups to suggest sites that would allow demonstrators to be seen without disrupting Olympic festivities.