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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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Spielberg Quits '08 Olympics Over Darfur

Filmmaker slams China for failing to pressure Sudan

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(Newser) – Steven Spielberg stepped down today as a 2008 Beijing Olympics adviser over China’s links to the Darfur genocide, the BBC reports. “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual,” the filmmaker said. China has been criticized for buying oil from the Sudan, selling it weapons, and supporting it at the UN while Khartoum has waged war in Darfur.

A group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates and ex-Olympians also sent an open letter to China's president today in honor of a "Global Day of Action" to aid Darfur. "We are all aware of the tremendous potential for China to help bring an end to the conflict in Darfur," the letter said.

Visitors walk along a road in front of the National Stadium in Beijing Tuesday Feb. 12, 2008. The stadium will be the main site of the 2008 Olympics. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
Visitors walk along a road in front of the National Stadium in Beijing Tuesday Feb. 12, 2008. The stadium will be the main site of the 2008 Olympics. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)   (Associated Press)
Director Steven Spielberg arrives for the 79th Academy Awards in this Feb. 25, 2007, file photo in Los Angeles. Ties between China and the Sudanese government have prompted the filmmaker to withdraw from his position as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
Director Steven Spielberg arrives for the 79th Academy Awards in this Feb. 25, 2007, file photo in Los Angeles. Ties between China and the Sudanese government have prompted the filmmaker to withdraw...   (Associated Press)
Director Steven Spielberg smiles as he listens to the Democratic presidential debate between presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008. Ties between China and the Sudanese government have prompted the filmmaker to withdraw from...
Director Steven Spielberg smiles as he listens to the Democratic presidential debate between presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., at the Kodak Theater in...   (Associated Press)
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