US says not supporting boycott of Beijing Olympics over Darfur

June 4, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — The United States is not supporting the suggestion of a boycott of the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing to protest China’s support of the Sudanese government, the State Department said Monday.

China has rejected growing criticism that it is not wielding its influence with Sudan to stop bloodshed in the Darfur region, but activists have been stepping up pressure.

French politicians floated the idea of an Olympic boycott during their country’s recent presidential race, and actress Mia Farrow and others are pushing corporate sponsors of the Games to pressure Beijing to do more.

“That’s a private effort that is under way,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday. “Their perception of the ability of the Chinese government to influence the behavior of the Sudanese government is not a U.S. government effort; is not something that we have supported.”

As one of the U.N. Security Council’s five veto-holding permanent members, China has blocked efforts to send U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur without Sudanese consent, angering those who want more done to quell four years of fighting in the vast western part of the African nation. The United States calls the deadly situation genocide.

China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s oil exports and sells its government weapons and military aircraft, and those ties are becoming a liability as Beijing tries to portray itself as a responsible power while welcoming the world to the 2008 Olympics, a source of national pride.

(AP)