--- Sigga jagne <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Am I the only one outraged by the "Daily Observer's"
> article on the massacre of the Gambian students
> yesterday? If you have not seen it yet, see for
> yourself below (As posted by Momodou Camara on G-L)
>
> How dare they? The article suggested that the
> student's were the cause of the escalation of the
> incident, to the point of murder by the paramilitary
> officers. It suggested that the Paramilitary
> personnel, only acted out of fear for their safety
> and
> out of desperation. Almost as if they only reacted
> in
> self defense. Is observer hinting that the dead
> students are responsible for their own death? Will
> someone explain to me how trained, armed, killing
> machines like those "Jammeh Assassins" can justify
> their fear of defenseless school children? How can
> they justify their "claimed acts of Self Defense"
> against innocent youths armed with nothing?
>
> I swear as I was reading it, I was almost sure that
> I
> was reading a report on the incident put out by
> Jammeh
> and his "Puppet Government." What is going on
> OBSERVER? What happened to the brave front you used
> to
> present and your usual reporting of injustices by
> the
> government. Why have you decided to play it save in
> this, the Gambian People's most hour of need? I
> have
> to say, as a former fan of the newspaper, that am
> greatly disappointed. This is not a time to report
> "Government Friendly Material." It is a time to
> report the truth, a time for you and all other
> vehicles of journalism to use that unrivaled power
> of
> the press, to make sure the voice of the Gambian
> people are heard world wide. I think that if our
> young can be out in the streets of Gambia facing
> bullets and laying down their lives, we the adults
> can
> surely be shocked into action. For we have indeed
> failed them. If we had knipped Jammeh's lunatic
> outbursts of crazed dictatorship from the beginning,
> then our young will not have found it necessary to
> lay
> down their lives in other to achieve justice. As it
> is, we should be ashamed of the fact that we did
> indeed watch on and in the process, let our brothers
> and sisters down. For we should be the protectors
> of
> our future leaders. Hence, the least we can do now,
> is to make sure that those who died did not die in
> vain. And if anything, I would expect the press to
> lead this call for justice. I definitely did not
> expect the Daily Observer to be the one poking at
> our
> wounds by almost blaming our dead for their own
> murders. Please tell me that you were monitored or
> forced to write this article against your will. For
> I
> cannot believe that such a fine mechanism of
> journalism would drop the batton in the midst of the
> race. In the Spirit of true journalism, I invoke
> you
> to divert this course your newspaper has taken. We
> all know that often, it is the press who help
> re-write
> modern history. So help us re-write our history.
> Help us take the reigns of our country from these
> murderous, inhumane creatures. In Your Heart You
> Know
> The Truth, So Let It Be Heard or better yet, in this
> case, Let It Be Read.
>
>
> I look forward to FOROYAA's version of the events.
>
> Momodou Camara
>
> The Daily Observer Published 04/11/00
>
>
> 10 DEAD IN STUDENTS DEMO
>
> At least ten people are reported to have died
> following clashes between
> demonstrating students and armed police and soldiers
> yesterday.
>
> Students from schools in Serrekunda, Banjul, Brikama
> and Bakau, went
> out on the
> streets to protest against what they said was the
> 'slow pace' of
> justice in the
> prosecution of the Brikama fire officers who were
> alleged to have
> caused the
> death of student Ebrima Barry, and an unidentified
> uniformed officer
> alleged to
> have raped the 13-year-old Brikama-ba school girl.
>
> Among the dead in yesterday's clashes was Red cross
> volunteer, Omar
> Barrow, who
> is also the editor of Sud FM Radio, Banjul.Last
> week,
> students under
> the aegis
> of Gambia Students Union (Gamsu) sent messages to
> schools in the
> Greater Banjul
> Area informing of the strike. Messages on posters
> were
> also pinned up
> in
> schools and along streets in Serrekunda.
>
> Alerted about the strike, the department of state
> for
> the Interior
> Sunday
> issued a press release warning students against
> staging a strike and
> stressed
> that no attempt to disrupt the peace will be
> allowed.
>
> Sources at Interior said the executive members of
> Gamsu were invited to
> a
> meeting where they were briefed on government's
> efforts to speedily
> prosecute
> the alleged errant officers.
>
> However, at about 8am Monday, students carrying
> white
> banners with
> slogans,
> "Justice for Ebrima Barry", "We rather die than
> injustice", "Respect
> the future
> leaders", "Redeploy Brikama fire officers" and
> chanting, "We are hot,
> very,
> very hot!", "We want freedom and justice!", began
> gathering at GTTI
> where they
> were to begin the supposedly "peaceful"
> demonstration.
>
> A contingent of paramilitary officers arrived at the
> scene and
> cautioned the
> students to call off the strike. They refused to
> comply. A short while
> later,
> armed forces chief of staff, Babucarr Jatta, and
> army
> commander, Lt Col
> Momodou
> Badjie, arrived and urged the students to remain
> calm.
>
> The students began throwing stones when the
> paramilitary officers
> barred their
> way. The officers reacted by firing shots into the
> air. There was
> pandemonium
> as some of the students ran amok while others did
> mock
> battle with the
> armed
> officers.
>
> The paramilitary officers regrouped at the mobile
> traffic unit as the
> students
> in disparate groups advanced towards the Westfield
> junction, setting up
> road
> blocks and setting vehicle tyres on fire.
>
> At the Westfield junction, Col Jatta and Interior
> secretary, Ousman
> Badjie,
> tried to calm the students without success.
>
> The students vandalised the Westfield Gamtel office,
> burning the
> building and
> smashing to smithreens the computers and furniture.
>
> They continued on the stoning spree along Kairaba
>
=== message truncated ===
=====
"NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION"
ALSO
"NOTHING IS UNACHIEVABLE, THE ONLY QUESTION IS, WHETHER ONE IS WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE WHAT IS DESIRED"
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