In other international news, it always amazes me who blogs and blogs well. More to the point, its always surprising who actually has the stones to stand up for their convictions, and write the truth as they know it. Last week, a Canadian politician, Garth Turner, was kicked out of his caucus for his blog writings as they were a little too frank for his conservative party.
Today, the Guardian Unlimited writes a piece on how a top UN Official, Jan Plonk, to Sudan has been kicked out of the country for reporting in his blog about the failures in Darfur. The blog is interesting because western journalists have had very limited access to Darfur to confirm details about the conflict there.
This month he reported heavy government casualties, the sacking of several generals and the mobilising of Arab militias to make up for a fall in army morale after frightened troops mutinied.
His remarks were quickly denounced by the Sudanese army which described Mr Pronk as a security threat and the foreign ministry has told him to leave the country by midday Wednesday. A spokesperson for Mr Pronk confirmed he would be leaving Khartoum but added: “He will be going to New York for consultations with the secretary-general.”
Furthermore:
Foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadiq explained the expulsion as resulting from “the latest statements issued by Mr Pronk on his website regarding severe criticism of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the fact that he said the government of Sudan is not implementing the Darfur peace agreement”.
As much as some try and deter the flow of information, I guess sometimes you’ll never know who is really blogging in the background. A lesson for governments and corporations, really.
Dr. Tony Hung also blogs at DeepJiveInterests.com
