Athletes Announce Open Letter on Darfur and Olympic Truce

Stephanie Clifford writes on the New York Times blog:

More than 130 athletes have signed an open letter asking the international community to pressure Sudan for a truce during the Olympics, the activist organization Team Darfur announced at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday.

“The Olympics has a great tradition and a great history of being a force for unity and peace in the world,” said Joey Cheek, who won a 2006 gold medal in speed-skating. He is Team Darfur’s president and co-founder; the group brings together athletes to raise awareness of the Darfur crisis.

Together with Mia Farrow’s group Dream for Darfur, Team Darfur was asking world leaders, and particularly China, to force a 55-day truce in Sudan.