Mr. Ebrima Ceesay,
I think that itīs only two years back that some on this Gambia-l argued
that the national day in The gambia should not be independence - day, but
rightly the 22, nd of july.
Things shift very quickly.
From my corner, I will say, that "enough is still not enough" because "the
people" are not protesting, marching, loudly expressing their sentiments
with the living conditions, the situation in the country, the leaders, the
harrasment, the arbitrary arrests, the torture when held in custody, the
people not brought to the court to face a trial (look at the information on
the hunger strike in the prison, where several men charged for murder have
been detained for many years without being in the court) etc.. Maybe there
will have to be many more sacrifices and sufferings, more people to die
before enough is enough. Only God knows and history will tell. I know I
sound cynical, but my european history has taught me so.
Itīs easy for me to sit here outside and watch things develop in one way or
another. I did the same when the people in some places in Europe suffered
from the oppression from their own leaders. When "enough was enough" in
East-German, in Czeckoslavakia, in Rumania, the people overcome their fear
for the state, for the secret police, the military, for the torture, and
gathered in the streets. The military and police did not obey orders given
from the leaders. And very soon in both germany and czeckoslovakia the
leaders handed over the power. In Rumania it went on more violently.
Maybe one day the women of the Gambia, the mothers will take their children
by the hand, come together in every marketplace all over the Gambia. Or
maybe one day march from Tabokoto , from Bakau, Serekunda, Kanifing, Jeswang
up to Banjul and join their sisters in Banjul and in choir cry out "enough
is enough". I donīt know. But if so I wonder if their husbands, fathers,
uncles, cousins or their sons will dare to touch them, attack them with
live bullets, knock them down, bring them to prison camps, torture them.
Our mothers fear nothing, when they want to teach us a lesson or tell the
truth. They have given us life, brought us up till what we are. Will we dare
to raise hands against them ?
We saw some students in april tried not to express that "enough was enough",
but only that they could not understand, why the police did not investigate
two reported cases, where two young students were killed and raped. They
wanted to show their solidarity, and ask for justice to be done, but they
were met with the ultimate powers of the state.
Then they experienced that their "brothers, fathers, uncles, neighbor
comrads" in the paramilitary "misunderstood" their duty, the oath they have
sworn with their life to defend the country from an intruder. Their
"brothers" showed lack of discipline, or were "brainwashed" to hate their
student-comrads, and went wild. They forgot to question the orders given
according to military-discipline and international law.
Afterwards we did not see many relatives, come forward together with their
neighbors, their friends from schools, compounds and march showing their
solidarity. The fear for the police and paramilitary sat in their minds, and
they were all taken by surprise, that such an incident could happen in their
normally peaceful Gambia. They never imagined but now they all know and had
experienced.
Some years back we have seen that the mothers of the russian soldiers could
end the first attack on Tjetjenia, when they demonstrated that their sons
should not fight that war. And we know of the powers of the chilenian women,
when they in several months demonstrated and daily asked the authorities
where their husbands and sons were gone or kept.
I believe that the gambian women know when itīs enough. And maybe that could
be demonstrated on the 22. july ? Who knows ?
Just a thought and comment from Asbjørn Nordam
* As a soldier, when you are given an order, which you think is wrong to
carry out or to your knowledge is illegal - f.in. murder of civilians,
torture, rape, stealing property -, you will have to ask your superior once
again before you carry it out. You got to tell him why you think the order
is wrong. If you then are repeatedly ordered, you have two choices: do what
ordered or deny, in both cases you risk something. Thatīs how we were taught
military discipline, when I served the security forces for NATO-Baltap at a
danish airforce base. And itīs still the military rules. That is why I say
that the paramilitary forces in The Gambia which opened fire into civilians
in april broke against military code. Maybe they were ordered to fire even
they were not threatened. Maybe they took command in their own hands. If
they wanted, they could have withdrawn, laid down weapons or stopped the
students in another way - they were trained in combat, the students were
not.
on 15/07/00 23:42, Ebrima Ceesay at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> My fellow Gambians:
>
> Next Saturday, the APRC is planning a lavish celebration to mark six years
> in public office, but the question to be asked by all Gambians is this: "Do
> they (the APRC) have any reason to celebrate their forthcoming 6-year
> anniversary of seizing power in The Gambia?". I say a very definite NO. Why?
> You may ask.
>
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