The Genocide Olympics campaign began in late 2006 and gathered steam in 2007 with support from Mia Farrow and other celebrities. The man who started that campaign believes it was inevitable Spielberg would pull out and yesterday he did. Spielberg said he left his contract unsigned for nearly a year hoping to persuade the Chinese government. Now he said he wants to do all he can to bring the crimes in Darfur to an end. That’s exactly the response Darfur activists were hoping for. The professor decided China, with its interest in Sudan’s oil, was key. China has reacted by saying it is unreasonable and irresponsible to link the Olympics with Darfur. This China analyst says this will not have much effect. Spielberg’s decision has generated enormous media attention. Even before this there were signs that China has been feeling the heat. Despite this apparent success, Darfur activists still have a feeling of foreboding, as Chad and the region has slipped into conflict as well. This activist says if there is going to be action in Darfur, it needs to happen now. the action activists want to see is the full deployment of peacekeepers. That force has been hampered by the Sudanese government and also by lack of contributions from UN member states. The US administration also wants those peacekeepers on the ground. China too says it wants the troops deployed.
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