In an exclusive interview with CNN International, actor George Clooney discussed the arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and reflected on his recent visit to the Darfur/Chad border, giving his take on what needs to be done about the crisis there.

Please find below the full transcript of the interview with CNN International anchor Anna Coren. Images are attached for your use.

The interview can be viewed online at http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/03/05/intv.clooney.on.darfur.cnn.

**All use of materials must credit CNN International. 

Contact: Chris Dwyer (Email: chris.dwyer@turner.com/ Tel: +852 3128 3536) or Evonne Inn (Email: evonne.inn@turner.com/ Tel: +852 3128 3538)

Full Transcript

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR:  Actor George Clooney has made the crisis in Darfur a personal crusade.  He's been trying to call attention to it for years. But when I spoke to him a short time ago, he sounded somewhat hopeful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR:  The truth is that the International Criminal Court, which has come down with this -- with these charges, with these indictments and an arrest warrant, is only -- only as powerful as we make it, those of us in the rest of the community, because obviously the government of Sudan is probably not going to be handing over President al-Bashir.  More than likely, the U.N. is not going to be going in to take him out, or the United States certainly isn't going to be going in to take him out.

So what it requires and what we're hoping is that this is -- it shines a spotlight, again, on how -- how dangerous this regime has been to its civilians, and hopefully that's a way to start to push the people who profit from it, like China, into -- into at the very least making it more difficult for them -- for the government to act the way it does.

COREN:  This is the first time that a sitting president has been charged by The Hague.  I mean, that in itself is quite significant, but do you believe that Omar al-Bashir will actually be brought to justice?

CLOONEY:  I like to think of things in longer terms than the idea that it will happen immediately.  I think that -- not very many people thought Milosevic or Charles Taylor would be brought to justice.  It didn't happen immediately.  It takes some time.

I think at some point, my hope would be that, you know, it's a very complicated issue, because there are, you know, there are people there on the ground, and any form of overreacting can make it dangerous for them.  So I think the trick here is going to be patience.

COREN:  Now you've recently visited the region and can give us your impressions of what's taking place in Darfur?

CLOONEY:  I was in Darfur last a year ago.  This -- about eight days ago, nine days ago I was right at the border of Darfur and Chad.  And what you found was that the -- the European forces, which are going to be changed over to MINURCAT, but the EUFOR forces in Chad have had a certain degree of success in being able to protect the refugees who've come over the border because they've had a chance to be -- because they've had a much stronger mandate.

The problem is across -- over the border, the U.N. forces, the U.N. peacekeepers have been given such a watered-down mandate because the Security Council has given them such a watered-down mandate, that they're not really able to do much.  They can't -- they don't have helicopters, you know, which they could really use, to get there.  Their communications are not good.  They're still understaffed, and they're not really able to react in time to bring safety.  So you find that just across the border, it's much more dangerous than it is in Chad.

What's interesting, you know, when you talk to people who've just come over the border, their reaction -- anyone who gets to Chad, of course, immediately says "justice," which is what the ICC indictments are, is they're asking for justice, which in a normal world, of course, is the only answer. But unfortunately, in the world they live in, it's not always normal.

COREN:  On the issue of intervention, I mean, you recently met with President Obama to discuss Darfur. I mean, what was your -- what was your feeling as to where he wants to go on this issue?  Do you think that he will tackle it?  Do you think that -- will he be proactive?

CLOONEY:  He will be proactive.  He and I did a press conference when he was just a senator back in the day on the subject of Darfur. Secretary Clinton, Vice President Biden have all been very vocal on this subject long before they were the administration, when they were simply senators.

I met with the president.  We talked briefly.  I basically got him up to speed on what I saw.  I spent a good deal of time with the vice president, talking about what their feelings towards policy are and what their next steps are.

They assured me, meaning to assure other people, that one of the first steps is to appoint a full-time diplomatic envoy, not someone who can -- just shows up when violence spikes.

They first have to assess exactly what their policy is.

COREN:  George, in your blog, you write and I quote, "Finding a new outrage is the only way to catch the world's attention."  Do you believe that the world has become too tolerant of what's taking place in Darfur?

CLOONEY:  I think the world has become too tolerant of all of these outrages.  The world is tolerant of the Congo and the world is tolerant of Zimbabwe.  And the truth of the matter is, two or three times, you know -- the world is tolerant of Burma -- two or three times you can get that story out, and then it becomes a story we've seen before. It's just as tragic, and we go away and we have a rally and everyone will feel like, well, we've accomplished something. And you'll do something, you'll put a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound, basically, and at the end of the day, these people are still there and they're still living in this tragedy. And it's not fixed.

We are too tolerant. And we are -- we become more tolerant the longer it goes on.

COREN:  George, we certainly admire the work that you have done in raising awareness for Darfur, and we thank you for joining us here on CNN.

CLOONEY:  I'm glad to be here. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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