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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