George Clooney and John Prendergast are calling on the U.S. Congress and the Trump Administration to act immediately to freeze and seize assets of Sudan’s military leaders responsible for murderous attacks on peaceful protesters.
In an op-ed published today in Politico, “How Congress Can Help Stop the Killing in Sudan,” Clooney and Prendergast urge strong actions by the Trump Administration and Congress, including Global Magnitsky sanctions and actions by the U.S Treasury, aimed at preventing an escalation of mass violence in Sudan.
The call for action comes as the Trump administration’s top Africa official, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy, is traveling to Khartoum this week.
George Clooney and John Prendergast, Co-Founders of The Sentry, said in the op-ed: "Traveling throughout the Sudanese region of Darfur and neighboring refugee camps during the mid-2000s, we saw firsthand evidence of the monster the Sudanese regime had built to carry out a genocide. The government organized, armed and deployed militias, known then as the “Janjaweed,” alongside the regular army as the primary instruments of its killing machine. Ethnic cleansing and mass rape were the Janjaweed’s weapons of choice. Now known by the deceptively anodyne term “Rapid Support Forces,” the Janjaweed militias over the last few days have killed more than 100 unarmed protesters, dumping many bodies in the Nile River, as well as raping, whipping and robbing Sudanese civilians throughout Khartoum. Hundreds more are missing and feared dead. Janjaweed have raided several hospitals and assaulted medical staff."
George Clooney and John Prendergast are Co-Founders of The Sentry, an investigative team that follows the dirty money connected to African war criminals and transnational war profiteers and seeks to shut those benefiting from violence out of the international financial system.
More than 100 unarmed protesters have been killed in Khartoum by armed militias, under orders from the Transitional Military Council, which recently took power in a coup. Hundreds more are missing and feared dead. The armed force responsible, known as the “Rapid Support Forces,” is a notorious militia responsible for brutal attacks on ethnic and religious minorities, composed of former leaders and members of the genocidal militia the Janjaweed.
Clooney and Prendergast add: “Sudan is a country that has unified Republicans and Democrats in Congress and successive administrations in Washington in defense of human rights and peace. Much more can be done now by the current Congress and the Trump administration — as well as allies in Europe and Africa — to create consequences for the leaders of the regime and the Janjaweed destroying and looting the country.”
Read the full article in Politico.
