If you follow New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof on Twitter, you know George Clooney is currently visiting Darfur. Kristof shared with the Internet that he and George are currently not showering while they visit the war-torn region.
Tonight on NBC Nightly News, George shared his hopes for the region with Ann Curry. George said that he doesn't see much change in Sudan since he last visited three years ago.
In the years that have passed since that visit, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor requested a warrant for the arrest of Umar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, alleging genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Still Bashir remains in power and the genocide continues. George hopes that a little celebrity-induced attention will raise international awareness.
To see a clip from George's interview, read more.
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1Maybe Clooney can use his influence to get the UN to do their job.
2I think the mighty U.S. should take care of that UnDave.
3Several other countries have told Darfur activists that they're not interested in doing anything we urge them to do on Darfur - they say we lost our moral standing when we invaded Iraq. At least people like Clooney and Mia Farrow can keep the story in the news.
4No-bo-dy cares about this Darfur situation. If we wanted to end it, we could.
5The planet is infected and there is a small pustule festering away. It is called Darfur, but the body as a whole chooses to ignore it.
I think you're on to something, Michel.
6True Mich.
7I never knew how many people actually twitter..am I the only one who doesnt? sheesh!
"I think the mighty U.S. should take care of that UnDave."
So, you want to send our soldiers to help in places where there are attrocities happening (like Iraq), but it's only a good cause if the left believes in it?
8That's what I was thinking.
9We don’t have to jump to the troops option - a war isn’t going to save those people.
We could however, impose sanctions and an arms embargo - the Sudanese seem to be responsive to U.S. pressure; we could fully fund the aid effort; improve protection of civilians in Darfur –– expanding a beefed up AU mission with an explicit mandate to protect Darfur’s 2 million displaced people rather than just "monitor" their mistreatment, the killings can at least be slowed.
There’s a proposal for an "oil trust fund" in Sudan, which supporters say could force Khartoum to allow UN peacekeepers to enter. China, India, Malaysia and other countries who import Sudanese oil oppose sanctions. An oil trust fund would keep money away from the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed, while securing oil supplies for India, Malaysia, China and others. It would only allow the use of oil revenues for humanitarian and development purposes.
The UN Secretary-General has asked for 24 helicopters for transport and security. But to date, not one country has contributed a single helicopter. One report found six countries were best placed to supply the mission - that between them, India, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Italy, Romania and Spain could provide 70 helicopters; 14 nations in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could come up with a total of 104 helicopters: among the bigger contributors, Italy might be able to supply 13, the Ukraine 14 and the United States 30.
ETHIOPIA is the only country that has offered helicopters -five- to the U.N.
10Another reason I love Clooney
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