United Nations envoy Jan Pronk says he does not regret comments he made about the Darfur conflict which saw him expelled from Sudan.
By
AFP

Source:
AFP
25 Oct 2006 - 12:00 AM  UPDATED 22 Aug 2013 - 12:18 PM

Mr Pronk told radio listeners in his native Netherlands that he did not regret posting the comments, which were highly critical of Khartoum’s response to the crisis, on his personal website.

"I was very careful... What I wrote was an open secret," said, speaking to the private BNR Nieuwsradio station after leaving the Sudanese capital.

On Tuesday UN Secretary General Kofi Annan gave Mr Pronk his “full support”.

The Sudanese military had accused Mr Pronk of "waging psychological warfare on the armed forces by propagating erroneous information".

It’s claimed Mr Pronk reported that the Sudanese government forces suffered major losses against Darfur rebels.

Mr Pronk said the reports he had mentioned on his website had also been published in Sudanese newspapers.

"The key thing is that a peace agreement has been signed on Darfur," he said. "But the (Sudanese) army is taking no notice of it and is trying to win a military victory regardless," he added.

"That's what I've been denouncing, for several months now. And that's what they don't like," he said.

Weblog

Mr Pronk's personal weblog entry of October 14 said that the Sudanese army had suffered major losses.

He also said the military was working with elements linked to the Janjaweed, a pro-government militia accused of gross abuses against ethnic minority civilians in Darfur.

Despite Mr Annan's expression of support for Mr Pronk, a UN diplomat who was speaking on condition of anonymity said the Dutch official had put the world body in a bind.

Queried about Mr Pronk's blog comments last week, Mr Dujarric said they reflected his "personal views."

As to the propriety of having a senior UN official sound off on policy matters in a personal blog, Mr Dujarric replied: "Staff regulations have not kept up with technology."

The European Union voiced deep concern and stressed that "the United Nations plays a key role which must be reinforced".

Mr Pronk has long been a thorn in the side of the Khartoum government.

He has openly called Sudan a "police state" and said refugees in Darfur were victims of "Arabic racism".