George Clooney and Father Arrested Over Embassy Protest

By Joseph Akahome

Award winning Hollywood actor, George Clooney was hours ago arrested at a planned protest staged at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, United States of America.

Clooney, his father, Nick and others, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia and President of the National Association for the Advancement of coloured People (NAACP) Ben Jealous, were reportedly arrested after being warned three times not to cross a police line outside the embassy. They were handcuffed and placed into a U.S. Secret Service van. It would appear that the activists had deliberately broken the police line in order to draw international attention to their cause.

The actor, along with protesters who held signs that read; ‘Sudan: Stop Weapons of Mass Starvation’, had accused Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, of deliberately blocking food supplies and medical aid from entering the Nuba Mountains, a border region it shares with South Sudan, prompting a humanitarian crisis.

The 50-year-old Oscar Award winner had stated that he hoped to draw attention to the issue and is particularly impressed with President Obama’s personal engagement on it. The actor also hinted at dire consequences if the matter was not proactively tackled, stating that in the next three or four months ‘we’re going to have a real humanitarian disaster.’

Born George Timothy Clooney, the actor has been involved in activism and humanitarian efforts, including advocacy bordering on finding a resolution for the Darfur conflict, raising funds for the 2010 Haiti earthquake,2004 Tsunami, and 9/11 victims, and creating documentaries such as Sand and Sorrow to raise awareness about international crises.