Bishop Andudu and George Clooney arrested
See the Huffington Post article here
The political situation in Sudan is still dire. President Omar Al Bashir continues to wage war to the marginalized region of South Kordofan (Nuba Mountains), Blue Nile and Darfur.
In the Nuba Mountains, people are daily facing indiscriminate bombardment and hunger. All the roads from the big cities to the Nuba Mountains have been closed and the Government of Khartoum is using the restriction of food as a weapon to fight the people of Nuba Mountains.
Well known actor, George Clooney and John Prendergast visited the Nuba Mountains last week, passing through South Sudan and Yida refugee camps in Unity State.
They witnessed how the people of Nuba are starving, hiding in caves for protection from bombardment by the Government of Sudan, killing its people – they saw Antonov planes dropping bombs.
They came back to USA on the morning of Mar 13, 2012, the same evening the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City organized an event for George Clooney, the guest speakers were Bishop Andudu, Chairman of Advocacy Committee in Sudan, John Prendergast and Omar Ismail. The event was arranged to raise awareness by speaking of the war crimes and genocide currently being committed by the Government of Sudan on the ground. It was a well received and well attended event with government representatives and NGO organizations present and significant media coverage.
The following day Mr. Clooney met U. S. President Obama, they discussed the political situation in Sudan for possible solutions.
After two days, Bishop Andudu joined George Clooney’s team, along with many other supporters, for the Rally in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington DC. Bishop Andudu gave his speech at the rally, calling the US Government and international Community to intervene by stoping the bombardment of the Government of Sudan in Khartoum, and allowing humanitarian aid safe passage to the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile. He called for serious negotiation and for conflicting parties in Sudan to bring justice, peace and freedom to the people of Sudan.
At the Rally George Clooney, John P, Martin Luther King III, three Congressmen and others were arrested, having taken a stand with people of Sudan.
On George Clooney's recent trip to Sudan, he made a video, featured on Enough's website and embedded in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing video; along with Clooney, John Prendergast of the Enough Project and the US Institute of Peace's Jonathan Temin addressed that committee last week. Later, he headlined a rally outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC, which also featured a number of Congressmen, NGO and religious leaders, including Prendergast and Voices for Sudan cofounder and president Jimmy Mulla, who called for a moment of silence to remember Congressman Donald Payne. The Guardian offers a critique of George Clooney's recent activism, and the Sudanese organization Sudan Change Now has published an open letter to Clooney thanking him for his actions but asking him to take the time to talk to Sudanese people from around the country to broaden his view of the people's issues. Foreign Policy describes the humanitarian crisis in the Nuba Mountains and the desperate need for aid but also looks at the risks involved in extending humanitarian aid without the agreement of Sudan and South Sudan. Representative Jim Moran of Virginia gave an interview on the issues, the rally, and the arrests. Rabbi Stephen Gutow, President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, blogged about the jail experience of those who were arrested.