Beijing 2008: Olympics for Activists, NGOs

Whether its recalled toys, Darfur, Tibet,  the environment, or a half dozen other issues, the Beijing Olympics represent a target-rich environment for NGOs and activist groups who will be focusing their ire at corporate sponsors. 

No doubt PR reps at Coke, Adidas, Visa, Panasonic, GE and McDonalds have had a long run-up to create stories about cooperative initiatives.  Interest groups won't make much hay as they are likely to compete for attention rather than coalesce around one issue.   Look for media to be blase about protests as a result. 

From the Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

Already, some activist groups say they are broadening their attention from attacking China's government to targeting Olympic sponsors.

General Electric wind turbines at farms outside Beijing will supply power to Olympic venues.

In letters sent last month to Olympic sponsors, Robert Ménard, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based group promoting global press freedom, warned: "We plan to publicly challenge those companies that are participants in the Beijing Games without doing anything in the area of human rights. We will address their shareholders, their clients and the general public."

Next week, Olympic Dream for Darfur, a New York-based activist group protesting China's support for the armed conflict in Sudan, plans to release a report grading 19 Olympic corporate sponsors on their attempts to influence the Chinese government. (The group gave passing grades to only a few sponsors.) China has been under pressure because it has large investments in Sudan and is perceived to be using its influence to prevent United Nations intervention in the conflict.

The Darfur activists are a force to be reckoned with: In the last year, pressure from such groups has prompted some 20 U.S. states and several universities, including Harvard, to divest billions of dollars from companies linked to Sudan. "This will only get more uncomfortable for organizers and sponsors," says Jill Savitt, the group's director.