George Clooney Chats To Brit PM About Darfur Crisis
April 9th, 2008
George Clooney took a break from promoting his latest film, ‘Leatherheads’, to meet with British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and discuss how they can convince governments to speak out about China’s foreign policy in Sudan.
The two met as the Olympic torch arrived in San Francisco for its only North American stop in the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which has been plagued by human rights protesters in London, Paris and Istanbul.
The protests have been fueled by anger over China’s human rights record, its grip on Tibet, and China’s support for Sudan, despite years of bloodshed in the country’s western Darfur region. China is a major trading partner with Sudan, and has resisted United Nations attempts to force Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.
"I think the protests are good. They’ve been warned for a while that there was going to be some protests," Clooney told reporters, on the red carpet for the British premiere of ‘Leatherheads’.
Brown has praised the 46-year-old actor’s role in drawing attention to the violent conflict in Darfur, which since 2003 has displaced 4.27 million civilians and left more than 200,000 people dead.
”The situation in Darfur is unacceptable,” Brown said after meeting with Clooney.
”The rebels and government continue to openly flout United Nations Security Council resolutions through attacks on civilians… this is a humanitarian tragedy of colossal proportions and the world must take note and act.”
Brown said that Britain was working with the international community and others to pressure all sides in the conflict to agree to a ceasefire, start peace talks and allow peacekeepers to deploy.
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Photo courtesy of Castle Rock.
