UN Pronk doesn’t regret Sudan’s Darfur comments
Oct 24, 2006 (AMSTERDAM) — The U.N. envoy who was ordered to leave Sudan said Tuesday he had no regrets about making the remarks that led to his abrupt departure.
Jan Pronk stopped in the Netherlands, his home country, en route to New York to consult with Secretary-General Kofi Annan after Sudan gave him three days to leave. He left Khartoum on Monday.
The Sudanese order was in response to comments on Pronk’s personal Web diary that Sudan violated U.N. resolutions by mobilizing Arab militias in Darfur province following heavy losses in recent fighting with rebels.
“This was in (a local) newspaper,” Pronk told the Dutch state broadcaster NOS. “So I didn’t do anything but repeat an open secret … as a call to the rebels: you have won twice now. You’ll lose the third time. So now you must abide by the cease-fire, by the peace accord. Don’t attack.”
Pronk said he had offended elements within the Sudanese government “who continue to seek a military solution and don’t want anybody peering over their shoulders.”
Violence has risen dramatically in recent weeks in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in more than three years of fighting.
Pronk said he was glad for the commotion his confrontation with the Sudanese government caused.
“North Korea, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan – they compete of course with Sudan for (the world’s) attention,” he said. “It’s good that more attention be paid at this crucial moment for Sudan, not for my sake, but to prevent that despite the whole shaky peace accord, a real military confrontation is being sought.”
Annan has said he still has full confidence in Pronk, the U.N.’s special representative in Sudan for more than two years.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said Pronk was being recalled for consultations at Annan’s request – and not departing to comply with the Sudanese government’s order.
The Sudanese order against Pronk heightened a dispute between the U.N. and the Khartoum government over peacekeeping in Darfur.
Sudan has refused to allow U.N. peacekeepers to replace a poorly equipped African Union force that has been unable to halt escalating violence in the vast western region.
The outspoken Pronk, a former Dutch politician and diplomat, said in a Web posting on Oct. 14 that Sudan’s military reportedly had suffered “hundreds of casualties in each of the two battles, many wounded soldiers and many taken as prisoner.”
Pronk also said the government responded “by directing more troops and equipment from elsewhere to the region and by mobilizing Arab militia” which have been accused of horrific atrocities.
“This is a dangerous development,” Pronk said. “Security Council resolutions which forbid armed mobilization are being violated.”
The Sudanese military denounced Pronk’s allegations, branding them “psychological warfare against the Sudanese army,” claiming he had demonstrated “enmity to the Sudanese government and the armed forces.”
(AP)