By Jan Pronk
They requested me to leave the territory of Sudan within 72 hours. I responded that I would report this to Secretary General Kofi Annan and that I would wait for his instructions. At the same time I informed Minister Karti that I would advise the Secretary General to instruct me to return to New York for consultations. I was indeed requested by the Secretary General to hold consultations in New York and also to brief the Security Council. This I did on 27 October.
In an official letter, signed by the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lam Akol (SPLM), the government presented a number of reasons for its decision. The letter has been made public. The Government is of the opinion that I have interfered unwarrentedly “in matters that do not fall within (my) mandate” and “acted in a way incompatible with the impartial and international nature of (my) duties or inconsistent with the spirit of (my) assignment”. The letter then continues as follows: “Regrettably, Mr. Jan Pronk had developed a history of a pattern of hostility against the Government of the Sudan and its armed forces. He has repeatedly abused the powers of his office (and) violated his terms of engagement”.
This is not true. I have never expressed hostility against the Government of Sudan and the armed forces. I have reported about their actions, criticized them when necessary and praised them when appropriate. I have even tried, more than once, to gain some international understanding for the position of the Government and have sought ways and means to foster cooperation between the Government of Sudan and the international community in order to protect innocent citizens.
The Government has illustrated its position by referring to my visit to Tawila, four days earlier. According to the letter I “made statements that the Government of the Sudan did not implement the Darfur Peace Accord (DPA) and is deceiving those who signed the DPA casting doubts about its achievements. He also stated that the Government of the Sudan is biased and is siding with the Arab Janjaweed with the purpose of cleansing the African tribes. ….. Mr. Jan Pronk is now enticing, aiding and abetting the armed groups, signatories to the DPA to break away from the peace process”.
It is a fact that I have criticized the Government of Sudan for violating the DPA and the cease fire agreement implied by this accord. I have also said, time and again, that the Janjaweed should be disarmed rather than allowed to continue attacking villages, raping women and killing unarmed farmers. I have expressed this criticism repeatedly, in my reports to the Security Council, in my press conferences as well as in numerous discussions with members of the government. I was not the only one. At the same time I have also condemned atrocities and violations carried out by rebel movements. However, I have never enticed them to break away from the peace agreement. On the contrary, I always told them: “stick to it, do not throw away the child along with the bathwater, unite with the other movements, signatories as well as non-signatories. Unite with them not in order to fight, but to negotiate further, in order to improve the text of the agreement. Unite for peace, not war”.
In order to persuade the movements I told them that, though they might think having won two battles against the Sudan