Though acknowledging that such boycott will have no significant effect to the changing of the nation's laws, the 'Gravity' actor asks, 'Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens?'

AceShowbiz - George Clooney has called for an immediate boycott of all the Sultan of Brunei's hotels in protest of his nation's new anti-gay laws.

In a guest column for online movie news site Deadline, the Oscar winner suggests fans, friends and peers should stay away from the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Hotel Bel-Air and other luxury resorts to protest the imminent legalisation of laws that strip the LGBTQ community of its rights in Brunei.

The "Gravity" star writes: "The date April 3rd has held a unique place in our history over the years. Theologians and astronomers will tell you that Christ was crucified on that date. On April 3rd Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, arguably the greatest postwar intervention in the history of man. The first portable cellphone call was made on April 3rd. Marlon Brando was born on that day."

"But this April 3rd will hold its own place in history. On this particular April 3rd the nation of Brunei will begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay. Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone."

He adds: "Brunei isn't a significant country. Its population is less than 500,000 people, pretty small in relation to most of its neighbors... But Brunei has oil. This year it was ranked as the 5th richest nation by Forbes. Good for them. Of course they haven't had an election since 1962 and have adopted the most extreme version of Sharia law so, not so good for them."

"At the head of it all is the Sultan of Brunei who is one of the richest men in the world. The Big Kahuna. He owns the Brunei Investment Agency and they in turn own some pretty spectacular hotels. A couple of years ago two of those hotels in Los Angeles, The Bel-Air and The Beverly Hills Hotel, were boycotted by many of us for Brunei's treatment of the gay community. It was effective to a point."

"We cancelled a big fundraiser for the Motion Picture Retirement Home that we'd hosted at the Beverly Hills Hotel for years. Lots of individuals and companies did the same. But like all good intentions when the white heat of outrage moves on to the hundred other reasons to be outraged, the focus dies down and slowly these hotels get back to the business of business. And the Brunei Investment Agency counts on that."

Noting the firm owns nine of the most exclusive hotels in the world, and he has stayed at "many of them", Clooney continues: "They're nice hotels. The people who work there are kind and helpful and have no part in the ownership of these properties. But let's be clear, every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery."

"Brunei is a Monarchy and certainly any boycott would have little effect on changing these laws. But are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent citizens? I've learned over years of dealing with murderous regimes that you can't shame them. But you can shame the banks, the financiers and the institutions that do business with them and choose to look the other way."

Clooney concludes his column by listing the Brunei Investment Agency's hotels around the world - they also include The Dorchester in London; the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, France; the Hotel Eden in Rome, Italy, and the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, Italy.

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