Clooney Lobbies For Egypt’s Help With Darfur

CAIRO, Egypt (December 13, 2006) — Actor George Clooney lobbied Wednesday for Egypt’s help in getting protection for victims of Darfur’s increasing violence.

The Oscar-winning actor met with Gamal and Suzanne Mubarak — the powerful son and wife of Egypt’s president — and with Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in his campaign to bring relief to the war-torn region of western Sudan.

Clooney said he was focusing on trying to find some way to at least ensure protection for those who have been displaced in the fighting.

“We are still talking about all the problems in Darfur right now,” Clooney said. “We are hoping to just constantly keep the conversation going on humanitarian issues, that’s our big goal, trying to stay out of the political arena and just trying to find humanitarian issues.”

Aboul Gheit explained to Clooney the Egyptian view of “the intertwined nature of the political, social and economic situation in Darfur.” He explained that “a reason for the deteriorating security situation was that some rebel groups are still outside the peace agreement signed in Abuja in May,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The foreign minister expressed his appreciation for “the noble aims of the Darfur campaign and Clooney’s efforts,” the statement added.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir “will find that we are not trying to invade Sudan,” Clooney told students during a talk at Cairo’s American University.

Egypt has been trying to mediate with its southern neighbor Sudan over resolving the crisis in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes by three years of fighting.

Last week, Clooney was in China, which has close ties to the Khartoum government and is one of Sudan’s biggest customers for oil. Beijing has resisted any attempt by the U.N. to force Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

Sudan has rejected deployment of a U.N. force in Darfur, insisting instead that an overwhelmed 7,000-member African Union peacekeeping mission there should be strengthened.

Clooney, who is accompanied on his trip by fellow actor Don Cheadle and two former Olympians, said he was not carrying a particular political agenda.

“We are here simply to ask questions and hopefully to find answers about Darfur.”

Clooney is well known for his activism and has been urging Congress and the United Nations to help end atrocities in the Darfur region.

In September, Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel met with U.N. Security Council members to urge them to act on Darfur. Clooney and his father, Nick, visited the region in April.

The conflict began in 2003, when rebels of ethnic African tribes took up arms against the Arab-dominated government, complaining of discrimination and mistreatment. The government is accused of responding with a brutal counterinsurgency led by Arab militias.

Among those traveling with Clooney were Kenyan Olympic runner Tegla Loroupe, who serves as a U.N. ambassador of sport; U.S. speedskater and gold medal winner Joey Cheek; Cheadle, one of Clooney’s “Ocean’s 11” co-stars and an Academy Award-nominated actor for “Hotel Rwanda”; and David Pressman, a human rights lawyer.