Darfur conflict is on the backburner, Russian envoy says

March 11, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov today hailed progress made towards settling the conflict in Darfur stressing that it is no longer the country’s top issue.

“Contrary to the situation two or three years ago, when everyone was talking about Darfur and the issue seemed too hard to resolve, today a feeling is generated that the Darfur issue is less serious than the issue of the North-South relations or the question of relations between political groups and tribes in the South” Margelov said after talks with the leadership of the United Nations and African Union joint peace mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The Russian official is on a four-day visit to Sudan heading a delegation that includes businessmen and parliamentarians. He held meetings with Sudanese officials from the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) such as presidential advisers Nafi Ali Nafi, and Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Al-Attabani.

Margelov said that prospects for a settlement in Darfur has now become “clear to a large extent”.

“The data for the Sudanese elections [shows] that 70% of the population of Darfur members, including residents of the IDP camps registered to participate in the elections is particularly significant” he said.

“The people [of Darfur] have expressed their desire to overcome their differences in the political arena through dialogue and the normal political process” he added.

Darfur rebel groups have rejected the census result and the voter registration process instructing their followers to boycott it. Many observers say that the restive region should be excluded from the polls given the security situation.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which signed a temporary ceasefire agreement with Khartoum last month in Doha are insisting that April elections be delayed to properly prepare the country for the polls and allow non-registered people of Darfur and Kordofan to participate.

However, the ruling NCP, Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) and National Elections Commission (NEC) signaled that they will not reschedule the elections.

Margelov met today with NEC chairman Abel Alier and informed him of Russia’s decision to send observers to monitor the elections. He said that his government was interested in the elections process “because its success would be a success for democracy in Africa and the Arab world”.

“It is very important for Russia that the elections in Sudan are successful to ensure stability and development” he said, and expressed hopes that the 2011 South Sudan referendum would also be successful.

Margelov’s remarks on the Darfur conflict come one day after US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said that that it is imperative that a peace deal be reached in the region so that the world can focus on the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between North and South.

Russia has recently been expressing interest in Sudan’s affairs particularly in areas of trade and investments. It is currently one of the main importers of weapons to Sudan along with China.

During Margelov’s meeting with the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir last year, the latter offered Moscow a share in the oil and energy sector as well renovating the railroads considered the largest in Africa.

Afterwards, the Russian envoy made remarks that were construed as support to Bashir’s candidacy which drew fire from opposition leaders.

“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 at the time in response to a question on availability of other candidates to run for president against Bashir.

The Minister of Energy and Mining, Al-Zubair Ahmed Al-Hassan discussed today with Margelov enhancing economic cooperation in the fields of energy, mining, petroleum and the infrastructures in the field of processing industry and petro-chemicals.

The representatives of the Russian companies at th emeeting expressed their desire to establish investment projects at the oil, mining, gold and electricity power field in Sudan

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.

(ST)