Matarr,

Thanks, and i agree. Ebou has done his share of attacking people, and he 
started the attack on Halifa. 
I hope that all of us will stick to the issues and lay off the personal 
attacks.

Jabou Joh

In a message dated 10/10/03 10:17:17 AM Central Daylight Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:> 
> 
> Sister Jabou
> I quite agree with you that we should by all means try to keep away from
> personal attacks.
> It was Ebou who started the whole thing by attacking Halifa inorder to
> defend his boss (jammeh).
> Halifa did not attack Or say nasty things about Ebous mother, he was just
> trying to warn Ebou that he should be the last  person to attack him an
> dthis has been blown out of proportion.
> Ebou, now you are crying foul but what about the times when you were
> literary insulting people on the Gambia post and L. You see when you live in
> a glass house you shouldnt throw stones.
> 
> No hard feelings.
> Matarr
> 
> 
> >From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> ><[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: On the issue of Ebou Jallow's late mom
> >Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 10:22:43 EDT
> >
> >In a message dated 10/7/03 5:05:45 PM Central Daylight Time,
> >[log in to unmask] writes:
> >
> >
> > > Don't tell me you do not
> > > want to visit your mothers grave (rest in peace)?
> >
> >At the risk of being labelled with all sorts of labels, this needs to be
> >said
> >and I am going to say it because we have to be able to step back and view
> >situations with a clear head and address the issues that need to be
> >addressed
> >just because that is the right thing to do; and because we cannot afford to
> >loose
> >sight of the real issues in any discussion or we will not get anywhere.
> >
> >People, I would like to appeal to all of you who have made mention of the
> >above topic to please not include this topic in the discussions anymore. I
> >should
> >think that a topic like this has no place in our discussions regarding the
> >situation at home. Every time I hear this mentioned, my heart bleeds, why?
> >because I would like to believe that we are a people driven by decency and
> >the
> >conviction to institute a system of government that ensures the protection
> >of
> >rights, and that is why we are out here registering our protest. Therefore,
> >there
> >is no place in such an endeavour to taunt people regarding the death of a
> >loved one, otherwise, we are no better than the brutal regime that is
> >making life
> >miserable for our people.
> >
> >All of us have lost loved ones who have absolutely nothing to do with this
> >regime or the crimes perpetrated by their  offspring or relatives. They
> >deserve
> >to be accorded the respect due to them even  in death regardless of what
> >their
> >relatives may be accused of.
> >If we cannot separate the issue of an individual's guilt or innocence and
> >the
> >protection of rights under a just system, then we have missed the point
> >entirely.
> >
> >The constitution of the Unied States surpasses any other in the protection
> >of
> >the human rights of the individual and those who fight to protect it, be
> >they
> >individuals, lawyers or judges are the reason it stays intact for the
> >benefit
> >of all. Under this system, the issue between the persons' guilt or
> >innocence
> >and his rights under the system are never compromised no matter what they
> >are
> >accused of or even sharged with, and that is why it can continue to be a
> >viable system. The guardians of the system know that they cannot afford to
> >loose
> >sight of the fact that if a person's guilt or innocence becomes
> >personalized by
> >the guardians of the system, then that can compromises not only  the
> >accused
> >person's rights but that of the entire citizenry under teh same system.
> >It is fine line to walk, but walk it we must so that we do not ourselves
> >turn
> >into the dictators we are supposedly fighting. We cannot afford to be
> >selective in the administration of justice and the protection of the human
> >rights of
> >the individual at any point in time, no matter how angry we are at that
> >person.
> >
> >We have to remember that as citizens who stand up for justice and who
> >purport
> >to speak on behalf of the people, we have to be clear headed enough so that
> >our fight does not become personal, but rather an attempt to insitute a
> >just
> >system. A just system ensures the rights of all people, and it is the laws
> >we
> >institute in such a system, and not individuals that determines the
> >appropriate
> >punishment for all crimes against the state or any member of the society,
> >and
> >a court of law is the venue for such decisions. Therefore, even the
> >utterance
> >of words that imply the violation of the rights of the individual is
> >irresponsible and dangerous.
> >One of the main issues we have with the APRC regime is that they are not
> >operating within the law, and a society where people threaten to take the
> >law into
> >their own hands becomes a promise of another dictatorship.
> >
> >In the U.S, even the most despicable criminals are accorded their day in
> >court, and all the rights guaranteed to them under the constitution. If
> >they
> >cannot afford a lawyer, one is appointed for them and paid for by the
> >state. The
> >courts then decide the guilt and innocence of that person and the
> >appropriate
> >punishment is handed down. Even if someone kills your family member, you
> >cannot
> >shoot him or even threaten ot do so in public. This is so that individuals
> >do
> >not take the law into their one hands and thereby compromise the protection
> >it
> >accords to all.
> >
> >This system of laws that protect our rights is what  is being compromised
> >by
> >the APRC regime, and this is what we are fighting against. In our fight  to
> >istitute a fair and just system, we must never forget that at no point in
> >time
> >can we threaten to abbrogate the rights of even someone who is alleged to
> >have
> >committed crimes against us. We simply cannot afford such short
> >sightedness.
> >
> >If we start sounding like the APRC regime who think they are a law unto
> >themselves, this is a frightening prospect because then one is likely to
> >believe
> >that given the opportunity to hold positions of power, such persons will
> >see
> >themselves as a law unto themselves, and this is the direct opposite of
> >what I
> >assume we are working to accomplish.
> >
> >Let us take the issue of Ebou Jallow not being able to go home and disect
> >that point. Why is he not able to go home? Supposedly because the APRC
> >regime
> >will arrest or kill him, or do any number of things to him. Why? perhaps
> >because
> >he allegedly took three million dollars, but the money was alleged to be
> >put
> >into an illegal account for the regime. If all of that should prove true,
> >then
> >is it not a case of one of them trying to outsmart the other in an attempt
> >to
> >defraud the Gambian people? If we taunt one of them for not being able to
> >go
> >home, are we not cheering the others in their attempt to silence someone
> >who
> >may be guilty of the same crime as those hunting for him are?
> >
> >Let us also take the issue of people not being able to go home. I put it to
> >you that there are many others whom the APRC regime would like to lay their
> >hands on, and their only crime is that they have consistently spoken out
> >against
> >the injustices metted out to our people by this regime. If any outspoken
> >person goes home, they will probably meet the same fate Ebou Jallow would
> >at the
> >hands of the regime.
> >If we have a country where any citizen fears going home, that is a problem
> >for all of us.
> >
> >Therefore people, these are points that should make it abundantly clear to
> >all of us that we cannot afford to be selective when it comes to the
> >protection
> >of the rights of any Gambian, be they alleged criminals or otherwise.
> >Again, I repeat that what we need to focus on is the establishment of a
> >constitution that protects the rights of all so that our own will never be
> >compromised, and to have people in positions of leadership who will not
> >loose sight of
> >the important issue of never personalizing any issues such that we
> >jeopadize
> >that very system.
> >
> >Jabou Joh
> >
> >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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