奥林匹克抗议运动打开它的视域对主办者
星期三， 2008年4月23日
由 Tania Branigan 并且 保罗· Kelso |
连接的圆环在每个中国焦炭瓶和飞跃的运动员在每麦克唐纳纸袋作证到世界的最大的公司相信的力量这夏季奥运会挥动。
但花费巨大的总和，主办北京比赛的公司将由抗议的成功促进的运动家发现自己一场新，更加苍劲的战争的目标在中国的人权纪录沿火炬中转路线。
昨天西藏小组的联合警告可口可乐它是“complicit在一个人道主义灾害”，除非它使用它的影响保证西藏从火炬路线投下了。 并且明天，梦想为Darfur将发射一个重要“报告卡”在比赛的主办者。
运动家敦促公司按国际奥林匹克委员会和北京为变动-或冒险损坏他们的品牌。 “公司[谁不行动]将得到物理抗议; 他们将收到信件; 我们将要求人关闭他们的广告”，主任说Ellen Freudenheim，公司胜过在梦想为Darfur，争辩说，他们在苏丹应该给中国施加压力施加压力作为它的主要油买家。
显示中国的橄榄球上尉的广告
郑Zhi在北京。 相片： 色味淡的雪茄烟Cortes或路透社
“主办者不制订政策，并且我们了解那。 但结合他们有关于国民生产总值加拿大，世界的第八大经济的等值; 他们有政府事务办公室; 他们有游说的企业; 他们有国际存在-，并且他们全都参与政治”。
谨慎的活动家瞄准太代表品牌的星： 乔治Clooney已经说他提出了Darfur的问题与Ω、奥林匹克主办者和给做广告他的手表制造者。 目标将创造多米诺作用，因为spokespeople或消费者压力主办者，反之推挤IOC入游说中国。
每一个12个全球性伙伴为今年事件支付了£30-40m 4年的成交。 IOC女发言人昨天说： “A number of companies engage in partnerships with the IOC and the Olympic Movement to help us fund the work we do and spread the Olympic values. Their support is key not only to the success of the Olympic Games but also to the sustainability of the Olympic Movement.
In the period 2001-2004, sponsors contributed $1,459m, 39% of the IOC’s revenue.
Activists believe their protests are already having an effect. The angry reception afforded the Beijing torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco earlier this month caused acute discomfort to the relay sponsors Coca-Cola, Lenovo and Samsung. Last week, Human Rights Watch accused “cowardly” partners of “remaining “largely silent” in the face of abuses; just a few days earlier the media freedom body Reporters Without Borders disrupted Coca-Cola’s annual general meeting.
Campaigners say some sponsors are raising concerns privately.
“Realistically, everyone who signed up for Beijing knew there were various risks involved,” said Damien Ryan, a Hong Kong-based media consultant advising several sponsors. He acknowledged that this “risk factor has escalated”. Activists are well aware that multinationals hope sponsoring the Beijing games will give them privileged access to 1.3 billion increasingly wealthy people without entrenched purchasing habits.
“Almost all of the top level sponsors want to leverage the games to a better market position in China,” said David Wolf, president of Beijing-based corporate advisers Wolf Group Asia.
Olympic sponsors argue it is simply unfair to hold them responsible for every action by the Chinese authorities.
The sportswear giant Adidas, a Beijing rather than IOC partner, said in a statment it was “conscious of the exceptional importance of the protection of human rights”. “Sponsors, however, should not be expected to solve political issues. We clearly see the limits of our influence.”
A Coca-Cola spokesperson pointed out that the soft drinks giant had supported the Olympics since 1928, expressed “deep concern” for the situation in Tibet and cited its support for charities working in Sudan.
Amnesty has asked all Beijing games partners to raise human rights concerns directly with the IOC and Beijing.
“The universal declaration on human rights calls on every individual and organ of society, which includes corporations, to ensure human rights are respected. Corporations do have influence, and we would call on them to exert it publicly,” said Robert Gooden, Amnesty’s Asian-Pacific campaign co-ordinator.
See More:Sports World NewsHave Your Say: Olympic protest movement turns its sights on to sponsors
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008at 5:44 amand is filed under Activism News, Sports News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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