Charleston Gazette (16.02.2008) -- Actress Mia Farrow joined activists worldwide Tuesday in using the Olympics as a backdrop for human rights concerns, urging Beijing to exert political leverage on Sudan's government to help end the crisis in Darfur.
Farrow and former Olympic swimmers Shannon Shakespeare and Nikki Dryden delivered an open letter addressed to Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Chinese Mission to the United Nations, condemning Beijing's support of the Sudanese government.
"We are all aware of the tremendous potential for China to help bring an end to the conflict in Darfur,'' said the letter, signed by Nobel Peace Prize laureates, celebrities and 13 former Olympians.
The letter was part of a "Global Day of Action'' that focused on Darfur, where more than 200,000 have died and an estimated 2.5 million have been displaced since 2003.
A separate letter signed by 120 lawmakers also called on Hu to use his "significant influence'' to help with peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts in Darfur.
Olympic speedskating gold medalist Joey Cheek, who co-founded the Team Darfur athletes coalition, joined activists in Washington. Rallies also were scheduled for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and Chicago and for 10 other countries, including France, Germany and Egypt.
"How can Beijing host the Olympic Games at home and underwrite genocide?'' said Farrow, a U.N. goodwill ambassador, shivering in freezing weather outside the Chinese Mission. "Time is running out for the people of Darfur.''
Farrow suggested China use its influence to disarm the janjaweed, the government-backed Arab militia, demand the Khartoum regime halt bombings and ground attacks on civilians, and use its economic clout to force the government to ensure safety for U.N. peacekeepers.
China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports. In turn, China sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has defended Khartoum in the U.N. Security Council.
Farrow also assailed movie director Steven Spielberg for working as an artistic consultant on the games' opening ceremony, saying he "lent his mantle to an undeserving recipient.''
