INDIA PONDERING A POSSIBLE EXPANDED ROLE IN SUDAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 001764 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA/RA (F MILLER),PM/PPA (R FEATHERSTONE),IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2016 TAGS: PREL KPKO MOPS PHUM IN SUBJECT: INDIA PONDERING A POSSIBLE EXPANDED ROLE IN SUDAN PEACEKEEPING Classified By: Polcouns Geoff Pyatt for reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) MEA Joint Secretary (UN Political) Sanjiv Arora told PolCouns and Poloff on March 13 that UN representatives had informally approached him to ask about India's willingness to help with any UN peacekeeping operation in the Darfur region of Sudan, drawing on India's presence as the major force contributor to UNMIS in southern Sudan (where India's full contingent of 2,400 troops has recently arrived, led by Indian Lt. Gen. Jasbir Singh Lidder). During a January visit to Khartoum, where Arora was India's observer to the African Union summit, UNSYG Special Representative for Sudan Jan Pronk sounded Arora out on India's views on contributing to a mission in Darfur. Later, during a visit to New York, Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi raised the same topic, Arora reported. The UN representatives gave the impression that, for operational simplicity, both the Darfur and the southern Sudan missions might be under one command, Arora added. ¶2. (C) The UN's Annabi suggested to the Indians that any potential mission to Darfur could take 9 to 10 months to set up, and that in any case the Government of Sudan must be on board. Arora said he told both Pronk and Annabi that India was still watching the situation, and would respond to the "informal soundings" at an "appropriate time." India would need to weigh other interests, including its bilateral relationship with Sudan (an important oil supplier),and strong links to the African Union, Arora told us, before deciding whether to undertake this expanded mission. He implied that Sudanese government support would be key to any GOI decision. COMMENT: DOMESTIC FACTORS AGAIN AT PLAY -------------- ¶3. (C) India may also factor the sensitivities of its 150 million Muslim citizens in its calculations if and when the UN makes a formal request for an expanded deployment to Sudan. We anticipate some segments of the Indian political spectrum would attempt to use the Iran playbook, and object to GOI participation in a "Western" action against the interests of a friendly Muslim nation that happens to be an important energy supplier. However, given Sudan's lower profile in Indian eyes (and a diplomatic presence here that is not as meddlesome as Iran's),this criticism is unlikely to resonate with the Indian public as much as the Iran controversy. ¶4. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) BLAKE