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Spielberg Quits '08 Olympics in Darfur Protest
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Steven Spielberg has resigned as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics because of China’s inaction in Darfur. Beijing says the director has “ulterior motives.”
30-Second Summary
In a press conference late Tuesday, Spielberg told reporters that because of China's strong economic and military ties to Sudan, Beijing has an obligation to help end the violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur.
“Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more,” the director said.
China holds sway over Khartoum because it is the leading importer of Sudanese oil, and state-owned China National owns oil reserves and pipelines in Sudan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters that Spielberg’s decision was misguided. He said, “I am afraid that some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept.”
Beijing’s reaction reveals how important the success of the Olympics is for the Chinese government. According to Inter Press Service writer Antoaneta Bezlova, “Chinese leaders regard the games as a symbolic endorsement of their country’s growing global clout,” and Spielberg’s move tarnishes the image Beijing is trying to project.
The director’s protest comes at a time of increased fighting in Darfur’s western region, with recent months seeing the conflict spill over into Chad.
“Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more,” the director said.
China holds sway over Khartoum because it is the leading importer of Sudanese oil, and state-owned China National owns oil reserves and pipelines in Sudan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters that Spielberg’s decision was misguided. He said, “I am afraid that some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept.”
Beijing’s reaction reveals how important the success of the Olympics is for the Chinese government. According to Inter Press Service writer Antoaneta Bezlova, “Chinese leaders regard the games as a symbolic endorsement of their country’s growing global clout,” and Spielberg’s move tarnishes the image Beijing is trying to project.
The director’s protest comes at a time of increased fighting in Darfur’s western region, with recent months seeing the conflict spill over into Chad.
Headline Link: ‘Spielberg in Darfur Snub to China’
Steven Spielberg announced late Tuesday that he would be resigning from his position as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics. The director told reporters that despite its strong economic and military ties to Sudan, China is not doing enough to bring an end to the violence in Darfur.
Source: The BBC
Background: ‘Is China Undermining Human Rights Efforts in Burma and Sudan?’
In October 2007, the Chinese government resisted international calls to exert pressure on Burma’s military government, prompting questions about Beijing’s economic and political support of authoritarian regimes like that in Sudan.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reactions: ‘Ulterior motives’
China has not only expressed regret over Spielberg’s resignation, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the director’s protest was misguided. “It is understandable if some people do not understand the Chinese government policy on Darfur, but I am afraid that some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept,” Jianchao said.
Source: The Guardian
Historical Context: Sudan and the Darfur conflict
After a 21-year civil war, the government and rebels signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. The agreement provides for a president of Sudan, and a vice president of South Sudan, creating two autonomous regions within one country.
Source: The BBC
According to the International Crisis Group, Sudan’s longest civil war, which began in 1983 and ended in 2005, was between the Muslims in the north and the Christians and Animists in the south. The south, west (Darfur) and the east of Sudan have become engulfed by this conflict, which has recently restarted.
Source: International Crisis Group
Opinion & Analysis: ‘Spielburgian Snub: Blow To Cultivated Image’
Inter Press Service reporter Antoaneta Bezlova writes on how Spielberg’s actions will affect China and the Olympic Games. The director’s withdrawal “is seen as a setback to painstaking efforts to stage the perfect ‘coming-of-age’ party,” Bezlova writes. “Chinese leaders regard the Games as a symbolic endorsement of their country’s growing global clout.”
Source: Inter Press Service
Key Players: The people, the SPLM and the African Union
According to PBS, more than 2 million Darfuris have been displaced and 70,000 have been killed since December 2004. The interactive Web site Who’s Who in Darfur shows the relationships among the major players in the Darfur conflict.
Source: PBS Frontline World
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, a rebel group, argues that the successive governments in Sudan have only made "superficial attempts" to solve the economic and political strife in Southern Sudan. Uganda, a neighboring country, has supported the SPLM.
Source: Country Watch
Like the SPLM, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army emerged in February 2003 as a rebel group seeking greater political and economic rights. In response to the formation of these rebel groups, the Janjaweed, an African Arab pro-government militia formed. They are accused of widespread attacks on civilians, including ethnic cleansing through rape, killings and forced displacement.
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The African Union is the only UN-funded peacekeeping regional force deployed in Darfur. The AU was established in 1999 by the Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity to accelerate “the process of integration in the continent to enable it to play its rightful role in the global economy while addressing multifaceted social, economic and political problems compounded as they are by certain negative aspects of globalization.”
Source: African Union
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