Articles and Analysies
Misleading claims by John Gordon
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Aug 22, 2008 - 4:36:08 PM

Misleading claims

In an interview with John Prendergast conducted at the Holocaust Museum on protection, peace and punishment in Darfur, the man's answers were no surprise to those who know his background. Prendergast co-chairs Enough Project and was formerly senior advisor to the International Crisis Group.

Known for his hostile position on Sudan, Prendergast answers to the questions were full of conjectures ranging from seemingly blaming rebels for divisions within them to pinning hopes on the unity of these factions in Juba. "I think that one of the largest blocs now is Juba negotiating about the future of the peace talks," he said.
When asked about the fragmentation of rebels as meaning they are the problem, Prendergast said rebels are part of the problem; an answer that clearly shows his targeting of the Sudanese government that he spared as concession to persuade rebels to come to the negotiating table. Not only that, Prendergast deliberately overlooked the Sudanese government role in unifying rebel factions as evidenced by its participation in the Arusha meetings sponsored by AU/UN for this end. How can such a government be labeled as dictatorial and authoritarian while by the admission of the International Community it was doing all it could to persuade rebels to negotiate peace?
Again, Prendergast falls into move conjectures by describing the government he labeled as authoritarian as 'very strong'. It simply goes without saying that governments derive their strength from popular support. In another part of the interview, Prendergast speaks of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement as a model. The simple question that poses itself is whether that model could have been reached without the flexibility demonstrated by the Sudanese government.

Interestingly, Prendergast said UN and the African Union cannot address the issue without US and other step-up and exercise their leverage. But the man should have been honest enough to state that US in particular has been sending the wrong signals to rebels to escalate the problem.

To sum it up, we believe that Prendergast interview is no more than the orchestrated Western media propaganda hostile to Sudan