Spielberg urges China to act for peace in Darfur
May 11, 2007 (LOS ANGELES) — Legendary director Steven Spielberg has asked Chinese President Hu Jintao to pressure Sudan over the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, according to a letter obtained by AFP on Friday.
Spielberg, who is serving as an artistic advisor to organisers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, called on China to persuade Sudan to end its opposition to the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in the region.
“I share the concern of many around the world who believe that China should be a clear advocate for United Nations action to bring the genocide in Darfur to an end,” Spielberg wrote in the April 2 letter to Hu.
“Accordingly, I add my voice to those who ask that China change its policy toward Sudan and pressure the Sudanese government to accept the entrance of United Nations peacekeepers to protect the victims of genocide in Darfur.
“China is uniquely positioned to do this and has considerable influence in the region that could lead efforts by the international community to bring an end to human suffering there,” Spielberg added.
The Darfur conflict has caused 200,000 deaths and led to two million people being displaced, according to the United Nations. Sudan contests the figures, saying that only 9,000 have died.
China has been criticized for not using its clout as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and a top investor in Sudan to force Khartoum to end the violence in Darfur, where ethnic tensions erupted into a revolt in 2003.
China is also the leading customer for Sudanese oil and a key supplier of military arms and equipment to the huge African state.
Spielberg, the Oscar-winning director of Holocaust epic “Schindler’s List”, said in the letter to Hu he was certain that atrocities in Darfur constituted genocide.
“For four years I have followed the reports of the chaos and human suffering of the civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan,” he said.
“There is no question in my mind that the government of Sudan is engaged in a policy which is best described as a genocide.”
Spielberg was the subject of stinging criticism by actress Mia Farrow in March over his involvement with the Beijing Olympics.
“Is Mr. Spielberg, who in 1994 founded the Shoah Foundation to record the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust, aware that China is bankrolling Darfur’s genocide?”
Farrow warned the American director that he risked becoming a modern version of Nazi propaganda filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, known for her 1936 Berlin games film “Olympia.”
“Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games?” Farrow wrote.
On Thursday more than 100 US lawmakers signed a strongly worded letter calling on China to take immediate action to stop the bloodshed in Darfur.
The letter warned China’s image would be tarnished ahead of the Olympics if it failed to do more to curtail Khartoum.
“If China fails to do its part, it risks being forever known as the host of the ‘Genocide Olympics.'”
(AFP)