For China, Spielberg snub only the beginning

By Peter Apps

LONDON (Reuters) - China can expect more outbursts by celebrities and athletes angry at its perceived support for Sudan but opinion is divided over whether such action ahead of the Beijing Olympics will have any impact on Chinese policy.

Campaigners say the withdrawal of film director Steven Spielberg as artistic adviser to the Games in August is a sign of things to come for the Chinese organizers.

"The Olympics is China's debutante ball -- their chance to announce themselves on the international stage," said Save Darfur spokesman Allyn Brooks-LaSure.

"If things in Darfur don't change, it is going to get more high profile, more embarrassing, more lonely."

Spielberg said his conscience would not allow him to continue working and he pledged to spend his time and energy not on Olympic ceremonies, but on trying to end the "unspeakable crimes against humanity" in Darfur.

On Monday, nine Nobel Peace Prize winners wrote a letter to China asking it to uphold the Olympic ideals by pressuring Sudan over Darfur.

China is accused by critics of shielding Khartoum in the face of international efforts to send peacekeepers to Darfur. It says the Games should not be politicized and any link made between Darfur and the Olympics is irresponsible and unfair.

Amnesty International said it wanted prominent international actors to use the Olympics to raise concerns over rights issues in China, including the widespread use of execution, labor camps and attacks on rights workers.

But with its high profile celebrity activists such as George Clooney and Mia Farrow, Darfur is likely to dominate the agenda in the lead-up to the August 8-24 Games.

China says it is unreasonable to blame it for killings and displacement in Sudan's west. Campaigners such as the Save Darfur coalition say Chinese weapons sales and oil purchases give it enough clout to get Khartoum to halt atrocities.

"As human rights defenders we can only play on conscience, but China has to respond to the demands of the international community," lawyer Salih Osman, the winner of the European Union's top prize for human rights, said.

"International opinion necessitates that China should at least listen about what is going on," Osman said.

Activists say Chinese officials have been happy to listen to their concerns but taken too little concrete action on Darfur.

China could even face the prospect of athletes using the event to raise the issue. Some international athletes have joined Team Darfur, a collection of sportspeople pushing for greater action.

NO SILENCE