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August 7, 2008

President Hu's outrageous treatment of our wonderful Joey Cheek!
This is part of a letter released by Team  Darfur yesterday (Team Darfur is an organization initiated by Joey Cheek who won a gold medal in speed skating at the last winter Olympics and chose to donate his prize money to the refugees of Darfur. Since then he has been a tireless, yet diplomatic advocate for Darfur’s people – persistent in drawing China’s attention to the crisis whilst always maintaining sensitivity to the role of the athletes):

“As you have probably already seen, yesterday around 5pm, the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC revoked the visa of Olympic Gold Medalist Joey Cheek to travel to Beijing for the Olympic Games. The Chinese government official who called Cheek stated simply that he was "not required to give a reason" for revoking visas. Joey had planned to attend the Games to support the 72-plus athletes who will be competing in Beijing who have signed onto Team Darfur. We learned today that Team Darfur athlete Chris Boyles <http://www.chrisboyles.com/> , a decathlete headed to Beijing to support a doctor, had a similar experience and had his visa revoked. Earlier this month, Team Darfur athlete Kendra Zanotto <http://origin.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9968123> , who was planning to report on synchronized swimming in Beijing, was denied entry into to China.  

For Joey, having his visa revoked is a minor inconvenience compared to the daily tragedy experienced by Darfurians. That is where he wants the focus - on ending the violence in Darfur.  It is Team Darfur's hope that ultimately this attention will encourage citizens, officials, and countries to take actions to bring about peace in Darfur.  Many of you have already sent us statements of support, or sent your statements directly to the US government.  We greatly appreciate that, and hope you will continue to support the Team Darfur athletes competing in Beijing, and those who were not allowed in to cheer them on.  

Government officials have also taken notice of this event. Senator Feingold of Wisconsin, who introduced the Senate Resolution calling for an Olympic Truce for Darfur, said: "China's decision to revoke Joey Cheek's visa undermines the spirit of the Olympic Games and China's role as host. As a world leader deeply engaged in Africa, and as host of the Olympic Games, China has a responsibility and an opportunity to help bring peace to Darfur. I call on the Chinese government to use the Olympic Games to push for an end to the conflicts in Sudan and I call on President Bush to raise this issue specifically with the Chinese government during his visit."

Please keep the Team Darfur athletes, and the people of Darfur, in your thoughts as we continue our efforts for peace in Darfur.  “
 
 
 
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