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Sudan: George Clooney In Southern Sudan To Monitor Referendum For Independence (update 12.50 Est)

Southern Sudanese vote for independence this week
Southern Sudanese vote for independence this week
Nyarko Benso, TalkAfrique

Hollywood actor George Clooney is in Sudan to show his support for and keep an eye on the independence referendum that is underway in Southern Sudan. The people of Southern Sudan are going to the ballot this week to decide on secession or otherwise remain part of the United Sudan.

Speaking about his mission in Sudan over the weekend, Mr. Clooney said

“I am excited to see a country vote for its freedom for the first time. I’ve never been around to see one of those before and I’m very honored that I’m able to be a witness of this kind of independence,”

The Hollywood Star has been a fervent activist for human rights in Sudan. He is currently collaborating with Google and other agencies of the United Nations to monitor the situation in Sudan and prevent possible pandemonium that may result from the vote this week. Their endeavor is referred the ‘Genocide Paparazzi’ in some quarters while Mr. Clooney is officially dubbed the ‘Messenger of Peace’ for the United Nations.

Some 3.9 million Southern Sudanese have registered to vote in the referendum, which is part of the 2005 peace agreement that ended a 22-year north-south civil war in which around two million people were killed.

Voting commenced over the weekend. Isolated violence has been reported in some places but overall, the process seems to be moving as envisioned.

Update: There has been clashes in Sudan’s disputed oil-rich Abyei region.  At least 30 people have been killed  including police, reports say

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Clooney, Google, UN Team Up To Watch Sudan Border

Matthew Lee

A group founded by American actor George Clooney said Tuesday it has teamed up with Google, a U.N. agency and anti-genocide organizations to launch satellite surveillance of the border between north and south Sudan to try to prevent a new civil war after the south votes in a secession referendum next month.

Clooney’s Not On Our Watch is funding the start-up phase Satellite Sentinel Project that will collect real-time satellite imagery and combine it with field analysis from the Enough Project and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, organizers said.

The data will point out movements of troops, civilians and other signs of impending conflict. The U.N. Operational Satellite Applications Program and Google will then publish the findings online.

“We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we’re watching, the world is watching,” Clooney said in a statement. “War criminals thrive in the dark. It’s a lot harder to commit mass atrocities in the glare of the media spotlight.”

The groups hope that early warnings will reduce the risk of violence.

Southern Sudan’s looming Jan. 9 independence referendum has raised fears of renewed north-south civil war. The vote is the result of a 2005 peace deal that ended a 21-year conflict that claimed the lives of two million people and left twice as many displaced.

Organizers said the Satellite Sentinel Project will be available online Wednesday at . http://www.satsentinel.org

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