US:President Bush and other leaders should boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony unless China does more to stop bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region, activists said on Thursday.
The umbrella group of Darfur organisations said it was not advocating that countries, athletes or corporate sponsors boycott the games. But it said host China's close ties to Sudan undercut the spirit of the opening ceremony.
"Beijing should not be allowed to bask in the warm glow of peace and brotherhood associated with the opening games if China is still underwriting atrocities in Darfur and still has not done what it should to bring peace and security to Sudan," said the Save Darfur Coalition in a statement from Washington.
The group vowed to continue their call for a ceremony boycott until Sudan accepts deployment of a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur.
Only 9,000 of the planned 26,000 international troops and police have been deployed in Darfur. Western governments have blamed Khartoum for dragging its feet in approving the composition of the force and creating other obstacles. -