Justice is the only way to a real peace in darfur

July 17, 2008

The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy would like to share in the joy of all the innocent people of Darfur and Sudan and their supporters committed to justice, peace and democracy for Darfur. We greatly appreciate the tireless work that everyone has put into supporting the human rights of the Darfuri people, whether it is raising awareness, fundraising, or passing laws to force the Sudanese government to change its brutal policies. We also want to express our special gratitude to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for taking the bold initiative required to see that justice is served. By indicting Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, who has been behind the atrocities that have taken the lives of 450,000 innocent people of Darfur , the ICC has provided a welcome change to those who were beginning to doubt their mission. Al- Bashir is the man who has directed, ordered and orchestrated the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He has allowed the leaders of the National Congress Party (formerly the National Islamic Front) along with their allies, the Janjaweed Arab militia leaders, to attack and kill the black African communities of Darfur and target the major tribes including the Massalit, Fur, Zagawa and Dajo. Under his leadership, the militia destroyed over 6,000 tribal villages, poisoned wells (the tribes' only water source) raped thousands of women and girls, looted the properties, abducted the youths and displaced over 3.5 million people.

           Furthermore, the people working under the direction of Omar Al- Bashir (Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Presidential Assistant Nafi Ali Nafi, Abdul-Rahim Hussein, Ghazi Salahuddin, and Ahmad Haroun) have done everything they could to prevent the deployment of  peacekeepers in Darfur. So far they have been very successful in manipulating and diminishing the efforts of the global community to save lives in Darfur. These barbaric individuals carried out a widespread and systematic campaign of targeting innocent people within their villages and camps. They have restricted aid workers from doing their jobs by attacking the convoys of the world food programs and those of others working to provide supplies to the camps. They have made starvation into a military tactic. Not only have they been blocking international aid, but they have turned their brutality on the aid workers, stealing their equipment and money, raping and killing some and forcing others to withdraw. They have created a situation of chaos in Darfur on a daily basis by, on top of everything else, breaking many ceasefires between rebels after they had begun negotiations. This regime, under the leadership of Omar Al –Bashir, has never been willing to accept any peace mission or plea from the United Nations for peaceful solutions. Instead, it has accused the UN of invading Sudan and refused to cooperate with the African Union.

           When Moreno Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the ICC, released warrants to arrest Ahmad Haroun  and Ali Kushayb in 2007, Al Bashir refused to hand them over, insisting they be tried in the Sudanese courts instead of by the ICC. He also threatened to escalate killings and attacks against Darfurians, aid workers and UN peacekeepers if the ICC indicted him. This suggests that even now the Sudanese government has no interest in ending their genocidal rampage. They try to deflect attacks against them by accusing the ICC and by trying to diminish or manipulate the struggle for peace in Darfur. In fact, it is Al-Bashir and his government that has manipulated and diminished chances for peace, ever since they began their systematic campaign of killing from south of Sudan in the Nubba Mountains, Beja in east of Sudan, and now Darfur. This notorious leader and his fundamentalist Islamic terrorist regime that once hosted Osama Bin Laden has been a link between the region and Al Qaeda. Al-Bashir himself said in 2006 that Al Qaeda would take up arms against UN deployment if the US and UN sent peacekeepers into Darfur. Al-Bashir and his regime have proven that they are equal to the likes of Sadam, Slobodan Milosevic of former Yugoslavia, Charles Taylor of Liberia and even Hitler himself.

           The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy urges the UN Security Council along with US, the AU, the EU and the greater international community to support the ICC initiative. This is not a matter of politics but of humanity and a search for justice. Furthermore, we believe that until justice is served, there can be no real peace in Darfur.  Until justice is served, the people of Darfur will be forced to live in fear, a fear that those who have persecuted them for so long will return to cause more havoc and more pain. That is the life the Darfuri people have become accustomed to. Until peace is tangible and sustainable, they will constantly live in fear.

           To those who are crying out against the ICC process to indict Al-Bashir, whatever your motives, the only thing you are truly accomplishing is to give Al-Bashir's government the credibility it needs to continue to kill. It is unfathomable to think that this fact escapes the minds of some people; however it surely must for all of the delay that is taking place in serving justice to those who have it coming. In simple terms, going against the ICC is going against peace.  And what about the voices we are hearing from the Arab League and various African and Muslim countries who have united to speak out against the indictment of Al-Bashir? Does it not seem plausible that they only have their own selfish interests at heart? If one day, Al-Bashir is indicted, the heat of the ICC might fall on them one day as well. They seem to be taking the stance of “united we stand” though “united they fall” would be much more justified.

           And finally, to the ICC, as exhausting and thankless as it may seem at times, your hard work is making a difference in peoples live. You are doing a good thing and we can only hope that, in the face of adversity you will be undaunted and continue on this path that you have chosen until your job is done.  You are the ones who can bring real peace to Darfur and its people. Because of what you are doing, you are making the world a better place for all human beings.