Brother KB,
When I first read that Jammeh had refused to accept the findings of both the
Coroner and the Commission, I was reminded of the ancient aphorism that a
leopard is born with spots and will die with spots - some things in life will
never change. But then some of us are on the record for opposing both the
Coroner and the Commission not in principle but the terms of reference and
the expedient nature of their wherewithal that literally turned them into a
damage limitation strategy. Time, that refuter and debunker of illusions has
proven our case again. I say and write this without any slight hint of
gloating but of regret that we have allowed a fat head like Jammeh hoodwink
us into another scam. It tells you a lot about the state of the Gambia -
morally, politically, socially and intellectually. If Gambians let Jammeh get
away with the murder of our brothers and sisters, without raising hell and
ungovernability by agitating through peaceful and decent means, then we might
as well throw our towels in and ready ourselves for life in exile - forever!
Our indifference and lack of proper response to the Jammeh Mess can only lead
to the Sierra Leone type of situation.
Just look at the PDOIS response - I'm still trying to comprehend the
breath-taking naivety of this once-upon-a-time sophisticated, radical sincere
and smart party! After all we have gone through with Jammeh, these guys still
naively think Jammeh has the moral wherewithal to act sincerely and see to it
that justice is not only done but also seen to have been done. And their
obsessions with commissions? Especially truth and reconciliation commissions
and the ahistorical analogies of South Africa's Apartheid and the Gambia's
Jammeh Tyranny. Do I have to tell them that reconciliation can only come
after oppressors' machinery of oppression had been laid asunder and not vice
versa? The calling for a truth and reconciliation commission is not only
logically absurd at this stage but more importantly it exposes a fundamental
flaw in their reasoning: The idea that this immoral regime of fat heads and
low- lifers are genuinely interested in the dispensation of swift and fair
justice. Do these guys really believe that criminals genuinely set up stuff
that will land them on the downside? Do they honestly believe that that
tooth-less and muscle-less commission and coroner can effectively dispense
the justice needed after the April murders? Do they honestly? Frankly, I have
to come to accept their low-risk and soft criticisms of this regime but it is
on the naïve bit I have some catching up to do.
Well, at least they have released a statement condemning the gov't's
rejection of the findings of the both the Coroner and the Commission. As you
rightly queried, what about the other players - The UDP, NRP, and the rest of
civil society? I have once said somewhere - can't quite remember where
exactly - that the reason why we have come this far with a fathead like
Jammeh is the general lack of faith in Gambians and the virtual non-existent
of any civic society that under circumstances would coalesce and fight a
common enemy. People think faith is just going to mosque and dispensing with
nominal duties of a practising believer! In my book, faith starts off as an
abstract leitmotif and remains at a rock bottom abstract. What do I mean by
this? Faith is not so much about the lengths you to be seen to be doing
nominal and routine believers stuff but how far you let your conscience be
the guardian of your actions and the extent you let it tolerate or even
accommodate injustice or evil. Going by the aforesaid paradigm, clearly the
Gambia has a faith problem. But then the recent hypocritical howling for
"sharia" after a mass murderer, thief and sinner moots the idea just about
exposes how faithless our society really is.
Brother, I still think that us that think and view Jammeh differently can
practically and positively fight against the evil that has hijacked our
country. Brother I saw it reported a while ago in one of the local papers one
family of the victims of the April murders called for civil litigation
against the gov't. We should look at this very seriously. Stuff happens that:
In a society where there is what Tony Giddens calls "civic liberalism", the
families of the victims would have coalesced and formed a support/pressure
group that will independently fight its corner. I suggest we liase with the
folks on the ground and help them form such a group; we might even call the
group - Families/Victims of April 11 Support Group. Then those who are really
interested in justice can contribute whatever they can lay their hands on to
push forward the agenda of those who are still traumatised by the April
events. I'm sure there some good lawyers out there who wouldn't representing
this group on a pro bono basis and sue the gov't for its shabby, despicable,
disgusting and odious handling of the welfare of the victims of the April
events. Above all, I'm of the conviction that courts of law would in the very
end be far more effective in unravelling the truth behind April events and
establishing a premise for one to ponder an international litigation against
the gov't, if need be.
Brother, I thank you for your vigilance, resilience, wisdom and above all
your sense of justice that from had inspired and to this day continues to
inspire.
Hamjatta Kanteh
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