Alex Reid

Here’s an interesting story.

Jan Pronk, a Dutch politician and the United Nations special representative for Sudan (where a massive genocide is taking place), wrote a post on his blog critical of the Sudanese government which prompted the Sudanese government to kick him out of the country.

The latest blog entry said Darfur rebels had beaten the army in two major battles in the last two months. He said generals had been sacked, morale was low and soldiers were refusing to fight in North Darfur. This wasn’t the first critical statement Pronk made on his blog. He’s received condemnations from the Sudanese government as well as death threats in response to his blog posts.

It’s not so much what he said or who he upset, but it is intriguing, if not outright amazing that such a high-level diplomat contending with a delicate job of conflict resolution in a harsh land would have a blog and discuss his thoughts on the contention at hand on a regular basis.

I don’t know the politics of Sudan, but I applaud Mr. Pronk for his honesty and communication with the world. Few of us really know what is going on in Sudan and its refreshing to hear from the top guy, an open and honest opinion.