Thank you very much Alpha, Soffie, Karamba and others for your tireless
efforts. I just want to respond to your call for suggestions about legal
representation for our fallen heroes. A name that comes to mind is Lawyer
Ousman Sillah. He is a man of integrity with a very strong sense of justice.
He represented Pap Cheyassin Secka after the 1981 coup. I understand that he
also represented Ousainou Darboe on numerous occasions when the latter was
harassed by the Yaya regime. Am just mentioning these few achievements to
demonstrate that I do not think that this is a man who can be easily
intimidated or who would easily compromise his strong legal ethics. Give him
a call and see what he thinks. I wish I could help you with his phone
number. Continue the good work.
>From: Alpha Robinson <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Progress report
>Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 20:29:06 +0200
>
>Progress report
>Gambia-L,
>
>Soffie Ceesay, Karamba Touray and Alpha Robinson have been co-ordinating
>efforts
>towards the Fund which resulted from the discussion around the action plan
>initiated on the List after the April massacre in The Gambia. To
>recapitulate
>briefly and for the benefit of those who joined the List afterwards, it was
>proposed and endorsed on the List, that a Fund should be established. Two
>main
>aims were set for the Fund:
>1. To assist the Families of the massacre victims
>2. To assist in paying the legal bills of victims of human rights abuse
>
>The purpose of this mail is to give you an update of what has so far
>transpired,
>the plan for action and the thoughts and ideas so far developed by our
>joined
>efforts as the co-ordinating team to that effect. Even though Soffie and
>Alpha
>were selected as coordinators in the U.S. and Europe respectively, Karamba,
>who
>played an important role in the whole process continued to play an active
>role in
>all efforts following the establishment of the co-ordinating committee.
>First
>we'll give you an update on the amount thus collected before proceeding to
>deal
>with what has so far transpired towards the achievement of the aims stated
>above.
>
>The State of The accounts
>
>Two separate accounts have been opened in The U.S. and in Europe
>respectively.
>The state of the account in the U.S. can be accessed by anyone at
>http://www.gambian.com/. Up to the time of compiling this report $4,033.00
>(four
>thousand and thirty three U.S. Dollars) have been collected in the U.S. and
>Canada. The account in Europe has so far 1,000.00 Dkr. (one thousand danish
>kroners. A service charge of 165 kroners was also paid from the total
>amount
>collected, making a total of 1,165.00 Dkr) from Denmark; more is expected
>from
>Denmark after a planed meeting on the 20th of May 2000. In Sweden, 5,
>419.50
>Swedish Kronors have so far been collected and more is expected from
>further
>fundraising activities in the very near future. Gambians resident in
>Finland and
>Norway have indicated that their contributions will be forthcoming soon. In
>the
>U.K. and Germany too, contributions are being collected. The amount
>collected in
>Germany so far stands at 200.00DM. Further contributions are expected after
>a
>planed meeting in May 2000. One problem hampering transfer of money to the
>designated account within Europe is the high service charge involved.
>Efforts are
>under way to adjoin the List of Contributors from Europe to that of the
>U.S. on
>the same Web site. These lists shall also be made available to Yankuba for
>the
>site designed on behalf of the list and to Kartim and team mates for the
>“Free
>Gambia Web site” they are working on. By the way, contributions are not
>only
>restricted to Gambians. So, friends of The Gambia, here is one way in which
>you
>can pay tribute to the victims of the massacre and human rights abuse.
>Contributors who wish to remain anonymous will be treated accordingly.
>
>Progress made so far
>
>It was recognised that efforts from abroad can only be effective with the
>help of
>someone or a group of people co-ordinating things in The Gambia. Some
>progress
>has been made to that effect, but certainly any assistance from people on
>the
>ground will be very highly appreciated.
>
>1. Financial Assistance to victims’ families:
>A letter of condolence was sent to the victims’ families and some
>newspapers in
>The Gambia, expressing our condolences and informing them that some
>financial
>assistance will be forthcoming in the near future.
>
>In the meantime, Ancha Bala Gaye has accepted to play a role in
>co-ordinating
>activities relating to our relief efforts. Ancha was contacted following
>the
>announcement on the List of the establishment of a Memorial Foundation in
>support
>of victims’ families through her collective efforts with other people
>(Ancha was
>a member of the GESO team on the List). Sam Sarr of FOROYAA was also
>suggested,
>as reported by Buharry before. He will also be contacted to see how he can
>work
>together with the Memorial Foundation or assist in any other way, if he so
>agrees.
>
>For now, we thought it prudent to concentrate efforts on the families of
>the
>dead. We found it particularly necessary to act rapidly in order to ensure
>that
>the financial assistance to these families reach them before the fortieth
>day.
>After assessing the financial situation an amount of 200$ (two hundred U.S.
>Dollars) was proposed per family. This amount can be covered from the
>account in
>the U.S. (see State of the accounts above). Taking the number of deaths to
>be 14,
>will bring the total sum required to 2800$ plus 50$ to cover transport etc.
>Among
>the 14 identified so far one body remains unidentified. It was thought that
>part
>of the 200$ due to his yet unknown family can be used to arrange for a
>fitting
>burial and the rest kept until further progress has been made in
>identifying his
>family. Subscribers to the List in The Gambia can play a part in assisting
>to
>identify the contact persons and urging them to contact the co-ordinators
>on the
>ground as soon as possible and indeed in any other way they may deem
>helpful.
>
>The unresolved question is what to do with the injured. It seems that some
>of the
>students sustained injuries which may result to some form of physical
>handicap.
>How can we help them? Who needs urgent help? Can we assist them to claim
>damages
>from the Government? Some may require further treatment abroad. Are there
>organisations which can be contacted for help (Medcine sans Frontier?..)
>Again,
>we will require the help of subscribers on the ground to properly asses the
>needs
>of such people.
>
>2. Legal assistance:
>Having received the news that some lawyers have volunteered to represent
>the
>students who were kept in custody illegally, we thought it encouraging to
>find
>out from these lawyers how we can assist them. Ancha intimated to us that
>the
>lawyers rendered voluntary representation, but perhaps we can take over
>part of
>their traveling and material costs incurred in the process. We are trying
>to
>asses with their help, how we can make some contribution to that end.
>
>We are of the opinion that a Fund should be established which will
>initially
>contribute to financing partly or wholly legal assistance required by
>students
>who may be charged for whatever crimes relating to the April massacre
>(indications are that no charges have been brought forth yet. However, the
>possibility that charges will be made against some of the student leaders
>cannot
>be ruled out, as far as we are informed).
>
>The Fund, however, should be extended to cover cases of human rights abuse
>in
>future, where the victims may encounter difficulties in finding money to
>pay for
>a good lawyer. It was thought that this will be a fitting tribute to the
>students
>who fell while defending their rights.
>If we are to go by the present trend, you will appreciate that a lot of
>money
>will be required, but this will be a noble battle to fight. We should
>therefore
>intensify our fundraising efforts. Also, there should be some organisations
>out
>there, which may be in a position to provide some form of assistance. If
>you know
>of any, please contact them or put them in touch with us. Are there any
>suggestions of a name for the Fund (if we agree to go ahead)?
>
>Since no person has been charged so far and since the Coroner’s inquest is
>still
>on, we could not come up with any estimates for legal representations. The
>outcome of the Inquest and its aftermath and whether student leaders will
>be
>charged or not will determine our course of action in this area. There was
>mention of challenging the draconian Codes of Conduct which have reportedly
>been
>drawn by "the Gambia Conferences of Principals of Junior and Senior
>Secondary
>Schools and the Gambia Teachers' Union Executive" for schools in The Gambia
>Gambia. We will need some legal advice on this. Are there any initiatives
>in The
>Gambia concerning this matter?
>
>In any case, we need to have someone or a group of people on the ground to
>co-ordinate the activities of the Fund. Such persons need to be carefully
>chosen.
>Here, we will be looking for someone who will not be easily intimidated and
>whose
>interest will not conflict with the duties he or she will shoulder. In a
>nutshell, by providing legal assistance for victims of human rights abuse,
>one
>will be challenging, the legal authority of those whose decisions and
>actions
>lead to such abuses. Which undemocratic government will endorse the
>activities of
>such persons? One may end up being unemployed or subjected to constant
>harassment
>by the NIA or both; at least the possibility cannot be ruled out. Are there
>any
>suggestions or volunteers?
>
>That was the latest update. We look forward to your comments, suggestions
>and
>criticisms. Your participation will help us to be effective, we therefore
>welcome
>questions and suggestions from you.
>Thanks.
>
>Soffie Ceesay, Karamba Touray and Alpha Robinson
>
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