Darfur's Uncertain Peace

May 5, 2006

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy is paying close attention to the Abuja peace talks, which are ongoing at this time. It appears that a peace agreement may be imminent as Minni Minnawi of the SLM has consented in principle to sign an agreement with the Sudanese Government. We hope and pray for a lasting peace.

Damanga hopes for a just peace that will give hope to the people of Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of our people have been killed and raped. Our homes and crops are destroyed and the Janjaweed have taken our land. We are faced with a sad existence. The Sudanese government has agreed in principle not to slaughter us anymore, and in return the rebels will put down their arms.

In return for stopping the genocide, the perpetrators will continue to rule over the victims and will apparently never face justice. Our people are so downtrodden that we do not even demand the removal of the murderers, but ask only for a fourth, powerless vice-presidency in Khartoum. And even this we will not get. It is like asking European Jews three-fourths of the way through the Holocaust to agree to allow Hitler to stay in charge in return for a vague promise that the international troops will be allowed in the area. We have no guarantees, having seen Khartoum ignore its obligations in the South-North peace agreement. And yet we have no choice.

The international community refused to pay the political price to save the people of Darfur, so we are forced to make a horrible decision. To save our people from annihilation, we must compromise with the devil after he has killed our fathers and raped our sisters. We do not even know if they will return our people whom they have enslaved.

Damanga is thankful to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and British official Hilary Benn for their tireless efforts to bring peace to the region. We only hope that if an agreement is reached, the U.N. will immediately arrive in force to implement it so that our people can return. The international community must realize that this peace will be fragile, and must continue to protect our vulnerable people against the might of Khartoum.

In addition, we must eventually bring the perpetrators to justice in the International Criminal Court or the peace will never truly be accepted in the hearts of Darfurians. We watch the talks in Abuja with great hope because they mean the genocide may be over. But it is bitter to see that after all the struggle and sadness we will continue to live under the yoke of the oppressors.