2008 Woodie Awards
Beijing Olympics elicit memories of Moscow in '80
Jessie Lowry
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: OpEd Page
Earlier this month, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg announced his decision to withdraw from his role as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies of this year's Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. Spielberg has criticized China's human rights violations and believes that China has not done enough about Darfur. Also jumping on the bandwagon, Joel Voordewind, a Dutch lawmaker has called for an international boycott of the opening ceremony to protest China's human rights record. Along with Spielberg and Voordewind, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne has said that he will also skip the Olympics. He supports Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile since a revolt against Chinese rule in 1959. As criticism increases, should there be a call for an international boycott or should there remain a distinct division between sports and politics? Would a refusal to attend the Olympics actually produce a change?
Conflict erupted five years ago in Sudan's Darfur region mainly due to ethnic tensions arising between Arabs and Africans. Hostility intensified by a devastating drought in the 1980s, which left various religious and tribal groups competing for shrinking resources. Although Darfurian rebel groups are accredited for the initial attacks, the transformation from limited conflict quickly amounted into mass killings initiated by Arabization policies introduced by the Khartoum government. These policies targeted southern Christians as non-Muslims and Darfurians as Africans. The Darfur rebels included the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/SLA) and a broad base of support across Sudan's major ethnic groups. Accordingly, Arab tribesmen sided with the government to form the janjaweed. Since fighting began in February 2003, the United Nations has estimated that over 200,000 are dead from violence and disease and over two and a half million have been displaced.
China's human rights violations against their own people and their "special" relationship with Sudan's Islamic regime have created a political conundrum for the international community. China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports, and sells Sudan weapons and military aircraft. China has also defended Khartoum in the U.N. Security Council. China has also been accused of funding militias and allowing its military to brutalize civilians in Darfur.
Conflict erupted five years ago in Sudan's Darfur region mainly due to ethnic tensions arising between Arabs and Africans. Hostility intensified by a devastating drought in the 1980s, which left various religious and tribal groups competing for shrinking resources. Although Darfurian rebel groups are accredited for the initial attacks, the transformation from limited conflict quickly amounted into mass killings initiated by Arabization policies introduced by the Khartoum government. These policies targeted southern Christians as non-Muslims and Darfurians as Africans. The Darfur rebels included the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/SLA) and a broad base of support across Sudan's major ethnic groups. Accordingly, Arab tribesmen sided with the government to form the janjaweed. Since fighting began in February 2003, the United Nations has estimated that over 200,000 are dead from violence and disease and over two and a half million have been displaced.
China's human rights violations against their own people and their "special" relationship with Sudan's Islamic regime have created a political conundrum for the international community. China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports, and sells Sudan weapons and military aircraft. China has also defended Khartoum in the U.N. Security Council. China has also been accused of funding militias and allowing its military to brutalize civilians in Darfur.
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