Olympics row: others come under pressure

Film director Steven Spielberg's high-profile exit from the Beijing Olympics has led to other figures linked to the Games coming under pressure to quit. As reported on The First Post yesterday, Spielberg withdrew on Tuesday from his unpaid position as artistic consultant to the Games' opening and closing ceremonies over Chinese support for the regime in Sudan, where at least 200,000 people have died in the Darfur crisis. Now the Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, also on board as an artistic advisor, and Quincy Jones, the American music producer who is writing a theme tune for the Games, are among those being targeted by activists.

A spokesman for Jones said  on Wednesday that he "supports Mr Spielberg's decision" and was considering whether to follow suit. Other prominent directors who will be urged to reconsider their involvement are Zhang Yimou, China's best-known film maker; Ric Birch, the Australian who choreographed the Sydney Olympics ceremonies, and Yves Pepin, a French events specialist.
 
They are feeling the heat as campaign groups, led by actress and activist Mia Farrow, step up the pressure on China and its human rights record. A host of celebrities, such as Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Don Cheadle, have joined in the criticism of China, the largest customer for Sudanese oil and a major supplier of weapons to the Khartoum government.
 
Meanwhile Britain's Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has dismissed calls for a boycott of this summer's Games over the Darfur crisis. "A call for a boycott doesn't serve any purpose and it would be a great pity," Jowell said, before adding. "This doesn't mean, however, we should be distracted from the urgency of Darfur." ·