Charge Sudan’s Bashir for "war crimes", Clooney tells US senators ArticleComments (4). Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 14, 2012 (WASHINGTON) — George Clooney, a renowned Hollywood star on Thursday accused the Sudanese government of allegedly carrying out indiscriminate attacks and bombings on innocent civilians in the troubled region of Southern Kordofan. George Clooney testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Sudan and South Sudan: Independence and Insecurity hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Getty)Clooney told the US senate committee on foreign relation that Washington must act tough on Bashir and other Sudanese officials wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), if the situation is to improve. "They are proving themselves to be the greatest war criminals of this century, by far," Clooney told the panel, while calling upon Washington to freeze offshore accounts of indicted Sudanese officials. Clooney called to go after their money and to find where it is and to free it like what the US administration did in the anti terror war. The actor told the CNN "These guys are not buying their weapons with Sudanese pounds. So find their offshore accounts in Malaysia, places like that, and freeze them." According to Clooney, the violence between Sudanese soldiers and rebels aligned with South Sudan in border areas mainly involved repeated attacks on unarmed civilians who already face a serious humanitarian crisis. “We saw that very specifically happening on two occasions: rape, starvation, lack of humanitarian aid. They’re scaring the hell out of these people and they’re killing, hoping and trying to get them just to leave,” Clooney told senators. The US actor also detailed before a fully packed audience how he and fellow peace activist, John Prendergast, survived aerial bombing campaigns allegedly carried out by rockets while touring villages in the Nuba mountains. Clooney and Prendergast are co-founders of the satellite sentinel project; an organization that uses satellite images to monitor and deter violence in Sudan and South Sudan, which Clooney calls “anti-genocide paparazzi.” The US actor said to China, which has heavily invested in Sudan, can play fundamental roles in brokering a peace deal in the country. “What I’d like is for the president to send a high-level envoy to China,” he said, adding that, “We believe there’s a moment in time when we can have a non-adversarial relationship with them.” Clooney’s testimony before the senate comes days after meeting South Sudan leader, Salva Kiir during which the duo extensively discussed the worsening relations between North and South Sudan. The meeting, held in Juba, the South Sudan capital also discussed the status of the post-cessation negotiation between the two countries as well as the situation of people affected by the conflict in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states. (ST). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
