Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg has joined Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to demand an immediate end to the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The director of movies like ‘Jaws’, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Schindler’s List’ wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao, requesting him to pressurise Sudan into accepting UN peacekeepers.
China, larger buyer of Sudan’s oil, has vetoed the bid to send peacekeepers to the troubled region. A number of human rights groups have called for a boycott of next year’s Beijing Olympics in protest against China’s stance in this issue.
Spielberg, meanwhile, has offered to work as an “artistic advisor” for the Beijing Games if China changed its policy towards Sudan.
In his letter to the Chinese premier, Spielberg wrote
I add my voice to those who ask that China change its policy toward Sudan and pressure the Sudanese government to accept the entrance of United Nations peacekeepers to protect the victims of genocide in Darfur.
He also sought a meeting with Jintao but the Chinese President’s office has not responded, Spielberg’s spokesman said.
Earlier, celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced that their foundation has donated $1 million to the agencies working in Darfur.
Photo: thecinemasource.com
