About 20 protesters gathered outside the gates of Coca-Cola's headquarters on Friday to decry the beverage company's sponsorship of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

China has been under scrutiny for its relationship with Sudan's government, which experts say has fueled a genocidal campaign in the Darfur region. The advocacy group Dream for Darfur, which helped organize the protest in conjunction with the Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, has been targeting the Olympics' corporate sponsors in hopes they will pressure China's government to change its policies.

CHRIS MEGERIAN/AJC (ENLARGE)

About 20 protesters gathered outside Coca-Cola's international headquarters.

CHRIS MEGERIAN/AJC (ENLARGE)

Mariam Abuhaideri, a student at the University of West Georgia and the state outreach coordinator for the Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, uses a bullhorn outside the gates of Coca-Cola's international headquarters.

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The protesters chanted slogans through a megaphone and wore t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Genocide Olympics," but they were unable to generate critical mass in Coke's hometown.

"People don't seem to fear governments but they fear corporations," said Courtney Hegert, a senior at Agnes Scott College.

Coca-Cola has emphasized that it is not a company's place to comment on geopolitics, but has pledged $5 million to support clean water initiatives in Sudan.

"We are neither a government nor the United Nations, but we can and must be a catalyst for positive change through actions that are appropriate for a business to take," the company said in a statement. "To help in Darfur, we are focusing our efforts and resources where we believe they can make the greatest difference in saving lives and reducing suffering on the ground."

Jonathan Freedman, a spokesmanfor Dream for Darfur, said the Atlanta protest was one of 12 held around the country on Thursday. The protests were held at the corporate offices of Olympic sponsors that Dream for Darfur "failed" on a report card evaluating their level of commitment to the region.