STORY:

International corporations have to make a decision, at least according to Ellen Feudenheim..

[Ellen Freudenheim, Director of Corporate Outreach, Dream for Darfur]:

“15 out of the 19 olympic corporate sponsors that we’ve identified, have chosen to protect their corporate interests in China, rather than risk something as simple as writing a letter, to the United Nations to say please implement the resolution that you, yourself passed under China’s watch, last year.”

Her organization, Dream for Darfur, released a report grading corperate sponsors of the Olympics on the efforts they have made to influence the Chinese communist regime’s attitude towards human rights. Here they are protesting outside Coca Cola’s office in New York, a company that scored a D grade in their report. Their main focus is trying to get Coca Cola to take a stand against the Chinese regime’s support of the genocide in Darfur.

[Hamza Ibrhim, Former Resident of Darfur]:

“I’m from Sudan, from Darfur, from North Darfur, and my village is none, it’s gone. Since 2003 I don’t know where my family are because they’re missing, because the government of Sudan either killed them or either they’re displaced in Chad, or either they ran away because there is no security in Darfur.”

They cite investment in Sudan from western corporations as well as the Chinese regime as factors fuelling the genocide.

[Hamza Ibrhim, Former Resident of Darfur]:

“The government of Sudan, they depend on the money coming from overseas, like Coca Cola, the Chinese companies.”

The, Dream for Darfur organization asked Coca Cola to write to the United Nations and address to Darfur issue with the Olympic host but…

(sound bite)
“Coca cola said no!”

[Ann Noonan, President, NY Visual Artists Guild]:

“Well we’d like to see Coca Cola wake up, and use its ability to follow the path of someone like Stephen Speilburg or Mia Farrow, and its leadership to take positions advocating for human rights. They’re not going to suffer as a company, they’re a huge corporation internationally, so they would be incredible heroes to the human rights world and to the people suffering in China.”

Coca Cola is the oldest sponsor of the Olympic Games, having sponsored the event since 1928, it remains to be seen whether