Olympics-China slams critics of Darfur policy
March 29, 2007 (BEIJING) — China slammed calls by actress Mia Farrow and French politicians to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics over its position on the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, and said they failed to understand China’s policies.
In an article published in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, Farrow accused Beijing of “bankrolling Darfur’s genocide” and called on director Steven Spielberg and four corporate sponsors to “add their … voices to the growing calls for Chinese action to end the slaughter…”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he had been unaware of Farrow’s article and had not heard of the actress but said people who made such criticisms were not familiar with China’s policy on Darfur.
“China shares the same goals as other countries in the international community and is making unremitting efforts in this regard,” he told a news conference.
“We don’t think it’s appropriate to connect the Darfur issue with the Olympic Games in Beijing.”
China supplies arms to Sudan and also has huge oil investments in the country. Rights groups say its engagement is frustrating attempts to stop the civil war and the atrocities.
“Beijing is uniquely positioned to put a stop to the slaughter, yet they have so far been unabashed in their refusal to do so,” Farrow wrote.
“That so many corporate sponsors want the world to look away from that atrocity during the Games is bad enough,” Farrow, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, wrote. “But equally disappointing is the decision of artists like director Steven Spielberg to sanitise Beijing’s image.”
POLITICAL SOLUTION
Tang Jiaxuan, a former foreign minister, said China supports a political solution to the Darfur issue.
“China appreciates the efforts made by the Sudanese side and related parties to promote the political solution to the Darfur issue,” Xinhua news agency quoted Tang as telling Nafi’a Ali Nafi’a, deputy president of the Sudanese National Congress and assistant president of Sudan.
China hopes the Sudanese side will further show flexibility in implementing the U.N. peace plan for Darfur, Tang added.
Spielberg is on the production team for the Games opening ceremony in August next year, while Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric and McDonald’s are among the sponsors of the International Olympic Committee.
French presidential candidate Francois Bayrou called last week for a boycott of the Beijing Games if China maintained its current position on Darfur, while his rival Segolene Royal called for “pressure” on Beijing.
Qin said China wished to see the humanitarian situation in the region improve and accused critics of using the Darfur issue to try to enhance their own reputation.
“We’d also like to point out that if some people connect the Darfur issue and the Olympic Games to try to win ballots or prestige, I think they are totally wrong,” he said.
(Reuters)