Clooney Puts Pressure on Olympic Sponsor

LONDON — Hollywood star George Clooney has put pressure on an Olympic sponsor to speak out over China's foreign policy in Sudan.

Clooney promotes Omega Watches _ one of the worldwide Olympic partners for the Beijing games.

"I have talked with Omega (about China) for over a year and will continue to talk to Omega," Clooney was quoted as saying on the BBC Web site on Tuesday. "I have and will go to the places I and China do business and ask for help."

Clooney has publicly spoken several times about the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and about 2.5 million people displaced in three years of fighting between African rebels and government troops allied with Arab militia known as janjaweed.

China is a major trading partner with Sudan, and Beijing has resisted United Nations attempts to force Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

The push to link the Beijing Games to the Darfur crisis gained wide attention last month when Hollywood director Steven Spielberg said he could not in good conscience serve as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies.

"I have and will continue to ask China to use its considerable leverage with the government of Sudan."

Omega has been the official timekeeper for the Olympics since 1932 _ including the boycotted games in 1980 and 1984. Swatch Group chief executive Nick Hayek, whose company owns Omega, said executives had discussed the issue with Clooney.

"We have full respect for his strong engagement in the fight for the good cause and share his opinion, especially concerning Darfur, and we are proud to work with a person who has such high ethical views," Hayek was quoted as telling the BBC.

"It is our policy not to get involved in politics," he was quoted as saying, because it would not serve the cause of sport, which he called one of the noblest human endeavors "for creating understanding and peace all over the world."

Hayek said Omega would speak out on China's association with Sudan, but directly with high-level contacts rather than publicly.

"Of course, it is a continuous process but we do it the Swiss way of 'little strokes fell great oaks,'" Hayek said.

Comments

[YankeeCanuck]

12:54 PM on 03/13/2008

Ginzaman said" The reality is that diplomats and governments don't appreciate an "ambassador of peace" (glorified part-time diplomat) telling them what to do. Deal with that fact George and THEN you'll start to make actual headway."

I say it's heartening that we have a person of character and fortitude who has the public's attention to speak of global ethics where genocide is concerned. The US has a long history of doing nothing in the situations, or standing by and hand-wringing while disingenuously stating ".. but there's nothing we can do." There was Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and now Sudan.

I recommend you read Samantha Powers' "Problem from Hell" or Romeo Dallaire's "Shake Hands with the Devil" if you want to find out how little, left to their own devices, governments and/or diplomats can/will do in these situations without efforts from many sides.

Good for Mr. Clooney!

[moodygirl]

01:37 PM on 03/12/2008

I agree that the Olympic Committee should be held responsible for awarding the 2008 Games to China. But now that this government is using the Olympics to promote themselves everything anyone, and that includes Steven Spielberg and George Clooney, can do to make them change their human rights policies in their own country as well as in Tibet is very important. China also continues to prop up governments like the ones in Darfur and Burma who are committing atrocities against their own people. Boycotting the Beijing Olympics and all its sponsors, not just Omega, is a necessary goal. The quiet, diplomatic way has not brought about any changes.

[chirps]

01:05 PM on 03/12/2008

I think the important question to ask here is whether or not the rift between George Clooney and Fabio can ever be healed. Yes or no?

[fcsakes]

09:57 AM on 03/12/2008

Unity through sport my ass. It's about the big bucks. Boycott the Olympics - they stopped being about sport when professionals took over years ago. Now they will be used to help finance China in it's drive to own the world and particularly the oil reserves under Africa's southern land.

That China should make millions off the backs of oppressed people is obscene. China wants the land in Africa so it can drill for oil. It's as simple as that. Supplying the weapons that are killing women and children in Darfur in order to obtain oil does not offend them (sort of like Bush I guess).

[ailbhe]

10:17 PM on 03/11/2008

The Olympics should not be politicised, it is about unity through sport.

This is China's opportunity to open up to the world. An influx of foreigners from all over the world could be very beneficial to expanding discussion BUT a bunch of Westerners barging in wagging their fingers at the Chinese, threatening to hijack an event they have been planning for years and demanding they do as American poseurs say will result only in hatred for the West and particularly America.

They can point to the wars in Iraq, Afghanastan, the US subsidised invasion of Somalia and a host of other crimes against humanity which the US is directly involved in to prove your hypocrasy.

China will not be influenced by lectures and hypocritical preening by the West, rather it will only entrench their position.

If we are only going to allow the Olympics to be held by regimes who we agree with and who only do business with people we agree with, there is not a country on this planet without serious objectors.

When the Olympics first started in Ancient Greece, wars would cease for the Games. Mortal enemies in combat competed peacefully alongside with each other.......that is the whole point of the Olympics.
People cannot be friends while fighting or shoving their ideologies/politics down each others throat. Make friends first, then you have influence.

[moodygirl]

04:33 PM on 03/12/2008

Of course they can point to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia and a lot of other stuff (Guantanano, torture, undermining civil rights etc.) the US administration is doing in the world that they should be endlessly criticized for. But, the US is not holding an Olympics this year so this way to protest is not open to world citizens. If this were Ancient Greece and wars would cease to hold these Games (and political prisoners would be released, and children would stop being forced to be soldiers, and women would not be raped by hostile armies, and monks would be allowed to protest peacefully and so forth) then maybe one could justify them if only to give people some temporary relief, but none of that will happen in our time. The violence continues unabatted and doesn't even make the TV news cycle because we need to watch Beijing 2008 events.

[ailbhe]

05:53 AM on 03/13/2008

I agree that with all the focus on China, the press should use it as an opportunity to highlight human rights abuses, which they should be doing anyway. My point was that there is a difference between debate and an advertising campaign!
People are talking about boycotting the games which would be detrimental to relations and damage the influence of those who are raising serious issues.
Athletes are talking about how they are going to 'use the games as a platform to raise awareness about........' which just bores everybody and cheapens the arguments.

People do not like being sold to, they don't like lectures and the natural reaction is to recoil from those who try, thereby damaging the argument before it has begun.

Athletes are there to perform, nobody cares for their politics.

Outside America, Darfur is reported.
America is to concerned with Britney Spears latest breakdown, which politician has been caught with his pants down and foreign news comprises of some celebrity showing how wonderful they are by posing with poor people in Africa. It is not the fault of the Chinese that your media is crap, neither is the US media reporting on the games. They are reporting on Stephen Spielberg quitting because the Chinese government refused to change their foreign policy to suit him, outside the US people admire the Chinese for ignoring celebrity preening. Human rights were of no concern to him until he realised it would affect his posing capacity in America amongsts Hollywoods self appointed saviours of humanity.

Nobody has a problem with journalists reporting the news. People are sickened by the news being replaced with advertising. This advertising shuts out the real debate and exacerbates the problems of regions like Darfur. There is no logical argument about what to do, only shrill screeches imploring us to all look and blindly support those who are exploiting the unfortunate refugees to expand their interests in the region.

[Ginzaman]

05:04 PM on 03/11/2008

Let's get past the IT'S GEORGE CLOONEY! hype for a second. No offense, but he's an actor. If Spielberg (who is one of the most powerful showbiz people on the planet) drops out of the Beijing Games and nobody cares, why the hell should anybody listen to Clooney? The reality is that diplomats and governments don't appreciate an "ambassador of peace" (glorified part-time diplomat) telling them what to do. Deal with that fact George and THEN you'll start to make actual headway.

[Prousa]

05:10 PM on 03/11/2008

How interesting! You are saying that Clooney, has no place voicing his opinion (or, at least, having it heard) because he's simply an actor.

Yet here you are voicing YOUR opinion for all of us to hear!

[rini]

07:43 PM on 03/11/2008

Exactly. Why the animosity towards people who are trying to make things better with the media exposure that they get? Is it better if they rake in the cash and don't give a ##$$***? If everyone were as responsible as Clooney, we wouldn't do any business with China at all, and they would be forced to change.

[AurigaRa]

07:56 PM on 03/11/2008

excuse me
Clooney has a bit more visibility than Spielberg at this point in time.

Good for him that he knows this and is using celebrity to help someone less fortunate. At least he is bringing attention to something worthwhile. And YOU are doing what ..???

[observing]

04:49 PM on 03/11/2008

If you're such a humanitarian George, why do you break women's hearts?

[AurigaRa]

07:57 PM on 03/11/2008

he is a human after all

[Serena67]

09:00 PM on 03/11/2008

LOL

[ibivi]

02:20 PM on 03/11/2008

The Chinese should be held to some accountability for their involvement in Darfur. The Olympics are a world forum and they can't just take the glory. For too long they have shielded themselves from criticism of any kind. Good for Clooney.

[IronMikeHouston]

07:52 AM on 03/13/2008

Who really cares about Darfur, not the American people. There are all those people attempting to make us aware and damn, Americans don't really care. I know I don't!