· Amnesty International concerned how China will ‘clean up’ Beijing
· Nobel peace prize laureates plead with China’s president
By Tania Branigan
Darfur
Critics say that because it buys Sudan’s oil and sells it weapons, China must share responsibility for the war in Darfur and its atrocities. In particular they point to Beijing’s decision to block tougher action by the UN security council.
China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s oil, an estimated 500,000 barrels a day, worth about £2bn a year. Amnesty International alleges that in return China sells millions of pounds’ worth of arms to Khartoum in defiance of a UN embargo, with some weapons ending up in the hands of the Janjaweed militia. Beijing denies such a breach.
Several analysts suggest China has begun to exert more pressure on the regime. Last year it appointed a special envoy to Sudan and helped persuade the regime to accept a UN peacekeeping force, including a small number of Chinese soldiers. This week, nine Nobel peace prize laureates — including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel — wrote to China’s president, Hu Jintao, urging his country to press Sudan harder.
Tibet
The Free Tibet campaign has called on leading figures to stay away from the games in protest at the country’s occupation by China, but has stopped short of asking athletes to do the same.
The Chinese government reacted harshly to recent reports that the Dalai Lama had given his blessing to peaceful protests during the games, with the foreign ministry attacking him for sabotaging national unity, since China views Tibet as a region of China, not a country, and attempting to interfere with the Olympics.
Human rights
Campaigners fear a clampdown on dissent before the world’s attention turns to China in August.
“Promises to improve human rights have not been kept, and if anything things are getting worse — we’re deeply worried that activists and journalists are being locked up or harassed to silence them,” said Amnesty International UK.
“And there are concerns that the streets of Beijing are being ‘cleaned up’ by throwing undesirables into ‘re-education through labour’ camps without any trial,” a spokesman added. Human Rights Watch says it has documented violations linked to preparations for the games including evictions, land seizures and suppression of petitioners.
