Alpha, you wrote,
"As no person is above the law in The Gambia, those whose hands
are stained with blood will have their day in court,
regardless of the office they occupy. They may not be jailed
under the circumstances, but the Gambian people would have the
opportunity to hear from them under oath, and apart from
making a point that no person can expect to commit crimes
without any consequences, lessons will be drawn by the Gambian
people, who are by no means asleep. We can certainly
contribute to this process either financially or by seeking
the service of an internationally renowned lawyer to work with
Gambian lawyers in this case, thus adding to the international
dimension or both. What do you think?"
First of all, thanks for a fantastic job guys. Count me in. I pledge $500.00
from my meager income towards the expenses involved in getting a foreign
(preferably from U.S. or U.K.; certainly not from Ghana) Independent
Prosecutor to The Gambia to prosecute the criminal cases on the April 10 and
11 massacres. Like you, am not very confident about convictions because I
believe the evidence in this case has been compromised. But a real
prosecution of this case, will showcase to the whole world the brutal regime
we have back home. Am encouraged by the fact that the lawyers and the press
are doggedly following this case. The information they gather can come in
real handy for the Independent Prosecutor. I respectfully urge you to appeal
to opposition leaders in The Gambia to put political pressure on Yaya and
his AG to appoint the prosecutor the AG promised us months ago. Both Colly
and I have been appealing to political parties back home to do same. The AG
said, in a press release, that they were prepared to appoint a foreign
independent prosecutor so long as they would not have to pay his/her
external expenses. They would pay the prosecutor the same rates they would
pay to a local Gambian lawyer. Well, we are prepared to pay the expenses
they would not pay. We are committed to see that justice is done in this
case. Our children died for us. We must never forget that. We must ensure
that the prosecution of the criminals in this case is done properly.
Otherwise, we would just be like those evil commissioners in that toothless
commission of inquiry, helping the callous government cover up the murder of
our children. I have a lot of confidence in Gambian lawyers but the recent
spate of abductions and continuous harassment from NIA elements would make
it virtually impossible for a Gambian to prosecute this case the way it
should be. The lawyers recently did an excellent job in the UDP ambush case
and getting the students that were illegally arrested out of jail. But
defending an opposition party leader is markedly different from going after
Yaya. The security apparatus in The Gambia with its gang of thugs will go
ballistic in order to defend their chief thug, Yaya. Like I said before, the
lawyers can work behind the scenes with the prosecutor. I will start to put
money aside and would send it to Karamba as soon as we get the green lights
to appoint a private prosecutor. Again, thanks for the superb job you are
doing helping the victims of the heinous and senseless massacre of our
children on April 10 and 11. It is incumbent upon all of us to help in our
little ways to alleviate some of the suffering of those poor families.
KB
>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: Progree Report No.2
>Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 20:38:24 +0200
>
> Progress Report No.2
>
> Introduction
>
> In this report we wish to inform you about developments which
> have taken place since our last report to the list and put
> before you some of the ideas we, the co-ordinators, have
> discussed or mentioned in our exchanges, for your perusal and
> commentary. Following our last report in May, some comments
> and suggestions were sent to the list. These will be dealt
> with at the appropriate place in the report.
>
> To recapitulate, we identified two main aims 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 first is a gesture of solidarity and is humanitarian in
> nature, whereas the second constitutes an effort to contribute
> to uphold human rights and the rule of law in The Gambia. It
> was suggested that the Fund should be a permanent one, and as
> such, a co-ordinating committee on the ground was deemed
> imperative.
>
> Name of the Fund
>
> From the suggestions made in response to the call to find a
> name for the fund, THE APRIL MASSACRE MEMORIAL FUND, seemed
> most appropriate. The fund will therefore be so called.
>
> Progress made since the last report
>
> Distribution of cash
>
> An amount of $2,800 was sent for distribution to the families
> of the victims in The Gambia. Each family was to receive $200.
> Ancha Bala Gaye, the person responsible for co-ordinating the
> distribution of the money, collaborated with some reporters of
> "The Daily Observer" newspaper and their collective efforts
> led to the successful delivery of envelopes containing 2400
> Dalasis (equivalent to $200) to the following persons:
>
> 1) Kebba Sanyang, father of 3yr old Abdoulie Sanyang, Old
> Jewsuang;
> 2) Sainey Ginnyalley, Grandfather of Foday Mansally
> Manka, Tallinding;
> 3) Kebba Nyabally, father of deceased Sainey Nyabally,
> Brikama Ba Village;
> 4) Mbye Chune, father of deceased Momodou Lamin Chune, 3
> Jobe St. Serrekunda;
> 5) Bassiru Barrow, father of deceased Karamo Barrow, Ebo
> Town;
> 6) Joseph Carrol, father of deceased Regina Henika
> Carrol, 7 Grant Street;
> 7) Abdoulie Bojang, father of Lamin Bojang, Jambur
> Village;
> 8) Burama Badjie, father of Lamin Badjie, Talinding;
> 9) Malamin barrow, father of Omar Barrow, Dippakunda;
> 10) Baba Njie, father of Bakary Njie, Bakau New Town;
> 11) Marie Terese Ndey Sonko, mother of Emil Calisco Preira,
> New Jewsuang.
>
> The rest of the money is in Ancha's care. It was suggested to
> her that the family of the victim who died recently should be
> included in the list, as one of the dead bodies still remains
> unidentified.
> Speaking on behalf of the families, Mr. Mbye Chune indicated
> that they were thankful and encouraged by our effort.
>
> Co-ordinating committee in The Gambia
>
> Some of the contributions from list members seemed to suggest
> that there was a confusion between the co-ordinating committee
> on the ground and the lawyers with whom the Fund will work
> together. The idea behind the co-ordinating committee or
> representatives as they have been referred to at times, is to
> have people who will participate in managing the financial
> resources of the fund, receive applications from victims, seek
> legal advice and representation on their behalf etc. and
> report to the co-ordinating committee abroad. In other words,
> they will be the link between us, the victims and the lawyers.
>
> Mr. Emmanuel Joof and Mr. Mbye Chune have already given their
> consent to be members of the co-ordinating committee on the
> ground. Emmanuel Joof, a human rights lawyer, is a member of
> the Coalition of Lawyers for the defence of Human Rights and
> an employee of the " African Society for International and
> Comparative Law" based in The Gambia. In his work for the
> latter he deals precisely with victims of human rights abuse;
> giving advice and at times appearing in court on their behalf.
> Mbye Chune is a member of "The Committee of Parents of the
> April 10 and 11 Victims", COMPAV (see below). It is planed to
> include a GAMSU representative in the committee too.
>
> Mr. Sam Sarr of FOROYAA was also contacted. He made it clear
> that he would have liked to serve in this committee, but would
> rather refrain from doing so as a result of the objections
> which were raised on the List following his proposal. He
> would, however, be willing to serve in a private capacity, if
> requested.
>
> Partner organisations on the ground
>
> Among others, the following organisations which newly emerged
> in The Gambia, have been identified as useful partners to the
> Fund, as their work is directed towards similar goals:
>
> 1. Coalition of Lawyers for the defence of Human Rights
> 2. A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) coalition of human
> rights concerns recently formed in The Gambia to enhance
> democracy, the rule of law and respect for the constitution.
> 3. The Committee of Parents of the April 10 and 11 Victims,
> COMPAV.
>
> Contact has already been established with both the Coalition
> of Lawyers for the defence of Human Rights and The Committee
> of Parents of the April 10 and 11 Victims, COMPAV. As
> mentioned in the last report, henceforth referred to as
> progress report No.1, the Coalition of Lawyers fought
> successfully for the release of the students who were
> illegally held in custody and partly tortured, after the April
> 10 and 11 events. This, they did at their own cost. We have
> been informed that they are willing to file civil suits for
> both the dead and the wounded, to not only claim damages, but
> also send a message that there are sanctions attached to
> irresponsible and illegal actions. We gathered from them that
> they will not charge any fees for representation. Our
> assistance will however be needed to cover filing fees (fees
> that have to be paid to file a case). Each case filed will
> cost about 500 Dalasis. Initially, an amount of about $5,000
> (five thousand dollars) was estimated to that effect. They
> also made it clear that they plan to forge ahead with or
> without our support!
>
> Present state of the account
>
> The state of the account is as follows:
>
> US account
>
> Up to the time of writing this report, contributions from
> individuals and groups in the US amount to $5,248.00. Proceeds
> from the T-shirt sales total $270, with some outstanding
> collections yet to be made. An interest of $5 was earned since
> the opening of the account. This brings the total to
> $5,523.00. Expenditures to date are: $2,800 for victims'
> families ($200 to each victim's family), $50 for
> transportation, $60 to pay for the transfer of the funds from
> the US to the Gambia. $600 investment in the T-shirts. The
> balance therefore is: $5,523-(2800+50+60+600), which is equal
> to $2,013.00 (two thousand and thirteen US Dollars).
>
> Europe account
>
> Up to the time of writing this report, contributions from
> Europe are as follows:
>
> Denmark: 1000.00 DKK ($127.03)
> Finland : 440.00 FIM ($70.14)
> Germany: 300.00 DEM ($145.38)
> Norway: 4000.00 NOK ($463.83)
> Sweden: 5, 419.50 SEK ($613.36)
> UK: 50.00 GBP ($75.62)
>
> Total amount collected is therefore $1,495.36.
>
> What next?
>
> Based on the state of both accounts, an initial amount of
> $2,000.00 (two thousand US Dollars) can be sent to the
> Coalition of Defence Lawyers through the co-ordinating
> committee in The Gambia, to cover part of the filing costs in
> the civil suits, pending further progress in our fund raising
> efforts and in the legal process. Please let us know what you
> think.
>
> In the Progress Report No.1, we mentioned that further action
> to be taken would depend on the outcome of both the Coroner's
> Inquest and the Commission of Inquiry. While awaiting the
> Coroner's Report, the Commission of Inquiry is still on.
> Nevertheless, despite clear attempts to cover up and deviate
> from the pressing question of who gave the orders for the
> children to be massacred, and who was involved in the
> massacre, witness testimonies made under oath in both cases
> will provide some basis for prosecuting the real culprits in
> future.
>
> Newspapers and lawyers have been following and documenting the
> proceedings. We were informed that members of the Coalition of
> Lawyers for the defence of Human Rights, for example, have
> been following the proceedings closely.
>
> As no person is above the law in The Gambia, those whose hands
> are stained with blood will have their day in court,
> regardless of the office they occupy. They may not be jailed
> under the circumstances, but the Gambian people would have the
> opportunity to hear from them under oath, and apart from
> making a point that no person can expect to commit crimes
> without any consequences, lessons will be drawn by the Gambian
> people, who are by no means asleep. We can certainly
> contribute to this process either financially or by seeking
> the service of an internationally renowned lawyer to work with
> Gambian lawyers in this case, thus adding to the international
> dimension or both. What do you think?
>
> The task ahead
>
> THE APRIL MASSACRE MEMORIAL FUND, together with partner
> organisations on the ground can significantly contribute
> towards upholding human rights and the rule of law in The
> Gambia. The great task ahead lies in pooling resources
> together, both financial and human.
>
> We should therefore intensify our fund raising efforts. At the
> moment, we can barely shoulder the filing cost for the civil
> suits on behalf of the victims, both dead and living, as
> planed by the Coalition of Defence Lawyers. Further
> prosecutions in future will also cost a lot of money. How do
> we go about it? Should people contribute on a regular basis,
> say every month, every three months, yearly etc.? Should
> existing organisations, which subscribe to these views in
> different countries or individuals, be more actively involved
> in organising fund raising parties, sales and so on? Should we
> approach Government officials, NGOs and human rights
> organisations or movements etc. to assist us financially or
> otherwise? One thing is clear. Without financial resources our
> contribution will be limited! So what do you think? Should you
> deem it more appropriate, do not hesitate to send a private
> mail.
>
> We also need to identify partner organisations abroad with
> whom we can collaborate at different levels. Any organisation
> involved in the defence of human rights and the rule of law is
> a potential partner from whose experiences we can learn and
> perhaps receive assistance or obtain information about where
> to look for assistance.
>
> Through our collective efforts we can build a nation where
> human rights and the rule of law will be given due respect by
> any Government in The Gambia, but we must start to act now!
>
> We look forward to your comments and suggestions.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Soffie Ceesay, Karamba Touray and Alpha Robinson
>
>
>
> .
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
