Darfur in spotlight as flame arrives in Africa

The Olympic torch touched down in Dar es Salaam last night but the media have dropped their interest in its world tour [CCTV-9]. The flame arrived in the African state after flying from the Argentine city of Buenos Aires and was received at the city's Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport by Dar es Salaam Mayor Adam Kimbisa. While no known pro-Tibet rallies were planned in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, the planned 25 km torch relay was shrunk to a two-hour 5 km run through the streets of the Tanzanian commercial capital.

The torch relay has provoked anger from activists and those protesting a number of issues relating to China’s role in the world. One issue that has drawn significant attention is the continuing turmoil in Darfur in western Sudan. And as the torch is taken around one African state, hundreds are calling attention to Sudan with a rallies outside the Sudanese Embassy in London and the handing in of petitions to Downing Street in London [BBC]. It was all a part of the Global Day for Darfur. Whether or not it was specifically timed for the arrival of the Olympic torch in Tanzania is unclear, but the coverage of the latest leg of China’s ‘coming out party’ has all but disappeared from the headlines.
Earlier, Kenya's Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai announced she was pulling out of the Olympic torch relay in Tanzania, citing concerns for worldwide human rights and China‘s role in Sudan. "We know that China has a relationship with Sudan because it buys much of its oil. If China wanted, it could help improve the human rights and humanitarian situation in Darfur," she told AFP. As the relay embarked on its short 5 km route there was no mention on any of the news channels received in the UK. There was seemingly no way to view proceedings via the internet with Tanzanian TV unavailable by the internet [Xinhua / BBC].