UN Annan to meet expelled Pronk Thursday
Oct 25, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — UN special representative Jan Pronk, who was expelled from Sudan over his criticism of its handling of the Darfur crisis, will meet with UN chief Kofi Annan Thursday, a UN spokesman said Wednesday.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated that Annan “continues to have full confidence” in the Dutch official, “who remains the secretary general’s special representative in Sudan”.
“We deeply regret the Sudanese government’s decision to ask for his removal,” the spokesperson said, noting that the deputy head of UN peacekeeping operations, Hedi Annabi, on Monday protested the move in a meeting with Sudan’s UN ambassador here.
In a letter to Annan, obtained by AFP reporters on Wednesday, Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol meanwhile said Khartoum “remains committed and will co-operate with a replacement of Jan Pronk in accordance with the agreements concluded with the United Nations and recognised principles of international law”.
The Sudanese minister was also quoted by Sudanese state media as saying that Khartoum was ready to cooperate with Annan’s designated successor, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon.
Annan’s top envoy in Sudan, Pronk was ordered to leave the country after President Omar al-Beshir’s regime accused him of overstepping his mandate by commenting on the Sudanese army’s performance in combating rebels in the western Sudanese region and linking it to the infamous Janjaweed militia.
Khartoum argued that Pronk was seeking to increase pressure on the government to accept the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur, where African Union (AU) monitors have failed to stem the bloodshed.
Beshir’s regime has consistently rejected such an option, which it considers part of a US-engineered plot to invade Sudan and plunder its resources.
At least 200 000 people have died as a result of fighting, famine and disease in Darfur, and more than two million have fled their homes since rebels launched an uprising in early 2003, prompting a scorched earth response from the military and its Janjaweed militia allies.
(AFP)