Russian special envoy remarks on Bashir’s reelection draw fire
By Wasil Ali
December 9, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese political forces reacted angrily to statements made by Russian special envoy Mikhail Margelov in which he appeared to be endorsing president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir for another term in the upcoming presidential elections.
The Russian news agency Ria Novosti Arabic service said that Margelov expressed skepticism about the chances for another figure to replace Bashir as president when Sudanese go to the polls in April 2010.
“I have not yet seen this alternative [to Bashir] even back in January when I had to convince [our] western partners that the arrest warrant by International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest the Sudanese president is not viable and unrealistic” Margelov was quoted as saying in response to a question on availability of other candidates to run for president against Bashir.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir last March charging him with orchestrating war crimes in Sudan’s war ravaged region of Darfur.
He disclosed that he plans to meet with the ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo early next year to discuss “the balance and effectiveness of the court in the Sudanese case”.
“There is an emerging feeling that the ICC decision on arresting the current Sudanese president was rushed and politicized”.
Russia voted in favor of the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 1593 in March 2005 referring the Darfur case to the ICC but opposed the indictment of the Sudanese head of state.
Margelov was on a week-long visit to Sudan which took him to Khartoum, Juba and El-Fasher in North Darfur.
Following his meeting with the Russian envoy today, the Sudanese president hailed bilateral ties and in statements to Ria Novosti Arabic service he expressed hope that Moscow could enter as a “strategic partner” in the oil and energy sector as well renovating the railroads considered the largest in Africa.
Margelov was accompanied in his visit by Russian businessmen, Novosti new agency reported.
SUDANESE OPPOSTION ANGERED
The remarks by the Russian official come at a time of heightened tension in Sudan following a crackdown by Sudanese authorities on demonstrations that took place in the capital on Monday by a coalition of Northern opposition parties and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) which is a junior partner in the government of national unity (GoNU).
The SPLM and opposition parties had called the rally to demand democratic reforms ahead of next year’s elections in a rare public challenge to Bashir’s dominant northern National Congress Party (NCP).
More than a 100 people who took part in the protests were arrested by riot police including three senior members of the SPLM before being released without charges hours later.
Opposition parties said afterwards that the manner by which the demonstrations were crushed show that the current environment will not be suitable to conduct fair and free elections.
The US issued a statement yesterday condemning the “use of violence against and detentions of peaceful protestors” and stressed that lack of political freedoms will threaten “the chances of holding credible elections”.
Mariam Al-Mahdi, a senior figure in the Umma national party, deplored statements by Margelov saying that the choice of who to become president should be made by the Sudanese people.
“The Russian envoy has little understanding of the Sudanese political arena. He has limited his dialogue during his tenure to the two partners [in GoNU NCP & SPLM] so all he really saw was Bashir” the daughter of the former prime minister said.
“The Sudanese people are the ones who should decide on their next president not the Russian envoy” she added.
The leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan Al-Turabi expressed “surprise” over Margelov’s position but downplayed its significance.
“The Russians have only recently been acquainted with democracy and are still carrying the burden of totalitarian rule. What he [Margelov] said has no impact on the ground and with no weight” Al-Turabi said.
“He [Margelov] did not meet with other political parties besides the ones in power or create channels of communication with us so his understanding is lacking. He knows nothing about Sudan or its problems like in South or Darfur or even the country’s history and what happened in the last twenty years [since Bashir came to power],” the Islamist opposition leader added.
Al-Turabi said that the Russian presence in Sudan and the region has been “non-existent” since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s.
“Communism is over and thus whatever linkage they [Russians] had disappeared. Their role is now limited to selling weapons” he said.
The chairman of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur accused Russia of supporting Bashir to secure its commercial interests.
“It is only natural that they [Russians] see through the eye of their own interests. They think that once Bashir is gone, the Sudanese people will tap other venues for their arm supplies” Al-Nur said.
“Russia provides weapons to Sudan almost for free and the regime uses it to bomb and kill our people in Darfur but they don’t care since they have no culture of democracy or human rights” he told Sudan Tribune from Paris.
Al-Nur said that he has not been contacted by Margelov noting that he has held meetings with all international envoys for Sudan including the Chinese one.
“Irrespective of our [SLM] views on the chances for credible elections in Sudan, what Margelov said is unacceptable and insulting” he said.
Margelov has so far only met with the leader of the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the Chadian capital last October which is his first meeting ever with a rebel group.
The meeting took place two weeks after an international workshop in Moscow where Sudan’s special envoys renewed their support to the Doha peace process between Khartoum and JEM.
Ibrahim, speaking to Sudan Tribune via satellite phone from Darfur, said that Margelov owes the Sudanese people “an apology” calling his remarks “unfortunate”.
“I had a lengthy meeting with him [Margelov] and explained to him our point of view on the issues facing Sudan. We got the impression that he came out with a better understanding of the situation” the JEM chief said.
“If Russia wants to be of help in resolving the Darfur crisis then it has to work with all the relevant parties and not just the government. His statements show his contempt of the victims in Darfur and their feelings. Why is he even sitting with Bashir in the first place?” he added.
Ibrahim said his movement “is awaiting an apology or clarification” from Moscow on Margelov’s remarks.
“If Russian wants to continue providing the diplomatic and military cover to Khartoum so be it, but they will no longer be viewed as honest brokers by us” he said.
Appointed in December 2008 by the President Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian special envoy who speaks Arabic fluently, visited Darfur where more than 300,000 were estimated by the UN to have perished, to assess the humanitarian situation. His appointment signaled the desire of the Russian government to play a greater role in Sudan which has good economic and military ties with Moscow.
(ST)