This is the edited version of the letter published by FOROYAA and dispatched
to all FOROYAA subscribers through E-mail. We cannot dictate what
subscribers send to the L. We only hope that they are sent without any
comment that will misrepresent our position



A Tragedy Should Teach A Lesson To The Wise

  A government which is fit to lead a sovereign people is one which is
committed to principles, standards and values aimed at safeguarding and
enlarging the dignity and worth of our people. A personality whose only
vision is to acquire and retain power and whose only mission is how to
acquire and retain power by any means can only sow the seed of political
decadence in a nation. The ramification of this is the display of utter
disregard for the dignity and worth of the sovereign Gambian people.

Mr. president history is calling on your government to take charge of the
security machine of this country and give responsibility to those who can
distinguish anti government emotional out bursts from actual security
threats, law enforcement concerns from concerns pertaining to the security
of the state. Arrest utilised as instrument of coercion to suppress opinion
can never promote the integrity of a government on the contrary, it robs a
government of public confidence and outrages the conscience of all decent
citizens of a sovereign republic.

Mr. President, April 10 was established as remembrance day by GAMSU. The
Chairman of the symposium, held to draw lessons from the inciden, declared
the day as one for mourning, prayer, fasting and reflection. Security forces
accompanied the students during their march. Intelligence and plain clothes
security personnel were present throughout the symposium. People spoke their
minds freely. The students reminded each other the significance of the day
and called upon the government to be true to its words. When Alhagie
Nyabally made his criticism his colleagues intervened and every body in the
hall could see that the organisers behaved with immense maturity without
giving any iota of indication that they were engaged in a state managed
activity. Every speaker spoke with sincerity. Divergent views were expressed
and the people present accepted the views that were clearer to them. There
was no clapping, no applause and no rousing of emotion. The whole exercise
served as the basis for reflection. Every one left the hall to go home
feeling that all had gained some food for thought in order to nourish the
minds groomed for sober reflection.

It is now clear that there were people in the hall who were not in tune with
the noble vision and mission of the day; people who are not committed to
combating the opinions they disagree with by the power of reason but aim to
stifle opinion through methods of coercion. Such people can only succeed in
discrediting a government. Coercive measures can only alienate. It creates
uncertainty and discomfort.
What do we mean?

Mr. President, the crowd dispersed from GTTI before 2 pm. Mr. Nyabally's
colleagues claimed that they saw some people talking to him as he rode his
bicycle to leave GTTI.

They claimed that since the organisers and security forces congratulated
each other for making the remembrance day a reality few suspected that any
arrest will follow the incident. All those observers who attended the
symposium whose hearts beat in unison with the heart beats of the just and
humane must have left the hall with a new spirit and commitment to reawaken
the conscience of the nation. Even though, Alhagie allowed his heart to
speak  just as it felt, his colleagues were able to inspire him to temper
his words to suit the circumstances. Every competent observer could see that
the students were most organised and no one was allowed to stray from the
cause of giving their departed colleagues  befitting remembrance. The
authority of the chair was given utmost respect without any equivocation.
The whole society became inspired by the maturity displayed by the students
and there was renewed hope that student unionism would not continue to be
seen as a pretext for hooliganism by the authorities. It was anticipated
that the maturity displayed by the students will be recognised and their
representative institutions respected as the embryo of representative
institutions at the national levels.

Mr. President, few students would have expected that after such a sober
reflection at the symposium, Alhagie Nyabally would disappear for almost
three days. Reports received by us indicated that at about 5.30 pm on
Tuesday 10 April no one had trace of him. We contacted the police and they
gave assurance that he was not under their custody. The NIA was contacted
and the Director promised to conduct an investigation. Eventually, we
received information that he was released. He is yet to fully reveal to the
press  what transpired after his arrest. It is however necessary to convey
to you what is known so far so that you can intervene with immediacy to
arrest these coercive interventions. The constitution states categorically
that the authority of government should be exercised to promote the general
welfare of the people. This imposes on you the burden of establishing
institutions, standards and practices which are reasonable and justifiable
in a democratic society. In a civilised society opinions are fought with
opinions. The power of reason is utilised to combat what is deemed
unreasonable and unjustifiable. A mature leadership must engage the people
it leads to teach decency through decent conduct. It strives to earn respect
by decent conduct and power of reasoning not by coercion and might.

It is therefore absolutely essential for the government to recognise that
interest groups such as unions and other associations are instruments for
the articulation of collective concerns. In any democratic society such
civil society organisations should be encouraged to provide information for
the decision making process of policy makers.

You are duty bound to make it a policy for the security chiefs to be alerted
of the arrest of any member of GAMSU leadership so that they can discuss and
advise each other what to do to prevent any unnecessary harassment. The
GAMSU leadership need the protection of law. The government has the duty to
offer such protection.

History is taking evidence. It will distinguish facts from fiction. It will
pass its judgment based on facts. Power is borrowed from the people and must
be given back to them. Those who exercise it to promote the general welfare
of the people will always be absolved by history. Those who utilised it to
spread pain, misery and mischief shall always be indicted. History will not
absolve such people. You have a choice to make while you are at the helm.
The way to avoid the mistakes of the past is to learn from the lessons
derived from them.

For The Central Committee

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