Dutch Diplomat Dooced

Apparently the Northern European fondness for plain speaking is an art not full appreciated by the genocidal government in Sudan.

Jan Pronk, a Dutch national working for the United Nations in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, was declared persona non grata for writing on his weblog that Sudan’s army had suffered hundreds of casualties in fighting against rebels in northern Darfur. Pronk, the top UN official in the country, was given 72 hours to leave.

Technically, of course, Pronk has not been dooced, because he still has his job with the UN. Still, he’s been shown the door, and the blog was the ostensible reason. Was he surprised that his blog was read in Khartoum? Was it a deliberate provocation? No word yet from the suddenly tight-lipped diplomat.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 23rd, 2006 at 2:54 pm and is filed under A Fistful Of Euros, Life, Not Europe, Websites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

1. Guy Says:
   October 23rd, 2006 at 11:04 pm

   BTW, Jan Pronk’s weblog (in English):

   http://www.janpronk.nl/index120.html

   And thanks, Doug, for posting this. I did not have the time. Interestingly, the Dutch media seem to be blaming Pronk for being undiplomatic instead of addressing the Darfur issue and Sudan government. Dutch link:

   http://www.sargasso.nl/archief/2006/10/23/sudanpronk-karaktermoord-of-genocide/#more-6264

2. Guy Says:
   October 23rd, 2006 at 11:11 pm

   Oops, you already had the link to his weblog in your post.