Alpha,
I agree with the action plan and your analysis of the situation. I will send my
contribution as soon as you send the account number.
Here are a few additions to the suggestions you already mentioned:
1. I just want to add that the petition be printed by list members so that
Gambians and friends of Gambia who are not on the internet can also have the
chance to sign and send it by snail mail as suggested by Ylva and Jabou.
2. All letters and petitions should also be translated into various languages
of residence and sent to the local press.
3. I am adding a suggestion that a joint declaration on behalf of Gambia-l to
be drafted and sent to the press, human rights organizations and Government of
The Gambia. Any one on Gambia-l who does not want his/her name/organization to
be on that declaration should send an email to the list managers and their
names will not be written as signatories. All those who do not request not to
be on the declaration will automatically become listed as signatories. At the
moment we have more than 600 members on the list.
Keep up doing the good work down there:-)
"No justice, no peace"
Momodou Camara, Copenhagen - Denmark
On 13 Apr 00, at 6:54, Alpha Robinson wrote:
> Gambia-L,
>
> The number of contributions which have been coming in for the past four days
> condemning the April 10 massacre and calling for collective action have
> demonstrated our collective will to live in a free and just society. I was able
> to finally get in touch with people in The Gambia. From my conversation with many
> there and the reports we have been receiving, people there too are in a state of
> shock and would like to see justice and an end to the rule of terror. In this
> contribution, I want to share some general thoughts, summarise the proposals
> which have so far been made, accompanied by comments and observations.
>
> At this point we need to turn our rage and anger into positive energy in order to
> generate well measured collective actions to achieve our desired goals. Uppermost
> in our minds should be the interest of the motherland and her people. We should
> strive to avoid any further bloodshed and loss of life, without compromising the
> people’s interest. These events, tragic as they are, have demystified the power
> of the state to some extent. Imagine what Gambia would have been like right now,
> if on top of the students’ demonstration all Government workers refused to go to
> work, all relatives of people in uniform being at the frontline telling their own
> sons, daughters, brothers and sisters to shoot them first before shooting anyone
> else; human bodies paving the roads waiting for military vehicles to ride over
> them. The state apparatus will collapse and I want to believe that no Gambian in
> uniform will shoot his blood relatives to uphold the rule of terror.
>
> Unfortunately this beautiful picture is not yet existing and the situation is far
> from resolved. There is still a state of uncertainty in the country and different
> interest groups can be found at all levels, whose interests in the long run is
> not to uphold the people’s will. Anything leading to more confusion should
> therefore be avoided at the moment, as the outcome cannot be calculated under
> these circumstances. It is important, I believe not to promote hatred between the
> military and the people. There are some people in the military whose hearts are
> filled with grief. Most people in the military today have taken up this
> profession simply to earn a living. So they are also victims and not our enemies.
> The people’s enemies are those who keep the country backward and use the military
> and any means at their disposal to enrich themselves at society’s cost. This is
> not to say that the soldiers who committed crimes should not be brought to
> justice, but we should not antagonise the military as a whole. The game which the
> Government is now trying to play by distancing itself from the use of life
> ammunition, thereby putting the blame, by extension, solely on the military and
> perhaps some specific scapegoats, is therefore dishonest and dangerous. As for
> the demonstrators, the letter addressed to The President by FOROYAA has clearly
> absolved them in my view and no honest person with a living conscience can put
> any blame on them.
>
> I also believe that we should focus our attention more on the home front. To
> sensitise the international community about the horrors of the massacre and seek
> assistance from them is absolutely necessary, but we should never lose sight of
> the fact that the solution to The problems of The Gambia lies ultimately on our
> shoulders as a people. Only we can bring lasting peace to the country. Without
> wanting to belittle the effectiveness of the UN etc., let us remember that such
> organisations have not always acted swiftly and effectively in resolving crisis.
> We should therefore try to work closer with the forces of peace and progress at
> home; try to complement their efforts and be a part of the search for solutions
> there, through direct co-orperation, suggestions and initiating mechanisms to
> facilitate the achievement of our common goal. This raises the question of
> information flow. We need to know who is doing what there to promote the common
> good, we also need to have reliable updates of the situation and people who can
> assist us to find the right contacts and answers to questions we may raise, with
> objectivity. The meeting in DC as reported by Latjor did come up with the need
> “to develop a strategy to obtain timely and accurate information on the ground
> (Gambia)” as part of their agenda. This is very necessary, as the effectiveness
> of our actions and the tactics we may employ will largely depend on an accurate
> assessment of the development of the situation on the ground. Finally, we should
> remember that the transition from military rule to civilian rule was largely
> managed by Gambians. So, we have reasons to trust that competence and goodwill is
> available in The Gambia.
>
> It seems to me that the spirit captured in Rolf Christensen’s statement “I am
> deeply ashamed to admit to myself that my complacency in allowing my nation and
> my heritage to be hijacked by a group of despots may have contributed to the
> deaths of innocent school children” and implied by the call for action in the
> 2001 election reminds us that there are both immediate and long term goals. The
> immediate goal being, to restore peace and freedom and bring to justice all those
> who have committed crimes related to the massacre and the events which led to it.
> These tragic deaths should not be repeated. What we ultimately want, I believe,
> is a free and just society led by people working in an environment of good
> Governance to pave the way for prosperity and happiness for the ordinary Gambian.
> Bearing this in mind can help us focus better on the important issues.
>
>
> The proposals
>
> After going through all the mails, the proposals made so far can be summarised as
> thus:
>
> 1.) To write a petition letter to the UN secretary General, Human Rights
> organisations, Gambian Missions abroad etc.
>
> 2.) To prepare an e-mail petition to be sent to relevant organisations. Yankuba
> Njie has volunteered to prepare an automated e-mail petition. Relevant addresses
> have been provided by Momodou Camara, Momodou Buharry Gassama, Ebrima Ceesay etc.
>
> Buharry has already drafted a letter which can be used for both 1. And 2. Above.
> Do we want to prepare a more detailed letter for 1)?
>
> 3.) Write to elected representatives of countries of the countries of residence;
> US Congress etc. and sensitise Foundations like The Gates Foundation. Should we
> use the general petition together with a covering letter?
>
> 4.) To organise a Universal Demonstration and other isolated demonstrations. Saul
> Khan was suggested to arrange the date etc. for the Universal Demonstration.
> Should a few proposals (dates) be made and one agreed on?
>
> 4.) To form local co-ordinating committees, mobilise local communities and inform
> Gambians about what happened and course of action
>
> 5.) To Nominate Gambia-L crisis co-ordinator who will be responsible for:
> a.) Collecting money for the emergency fund.
> b.) Help in seeking legal representations
> Saffie Ceesay was nominated for the USA and Alpha Robinson for Europe.
>
> 6.) To mobilise local communities
>
> 7.) To host a website for information and promotion of our goals and activities.
>
> 8.) To support opposition parties in mobilising for action at home
>
> 9.) To form an organisation to monitor human rights violations
>
> I apologise for failing to mention any name or proposal. Please feel free to add
> any omissions to the list. Also note that some proposals have been combined
>
>
> Observations and comments
>
> It is my believe that we can work many proposals at the same time. In order to
> avoid proposals being left unattended, it may be helpful for us to think about
> how to realise any given proposal. Some co-ordination work is definitely
> necessary, lest we may leave some things undone or be waiting for someone assumed
> to be responsible to act. To avoid this, people who feel that they are competent
> to handle certain tasks may volunteer or others can nominate them. It may be
> necessary to form task committees to handle certain duties. So, please take a
> look at the list and see what you think you can do. What do you think?
>
> Pictures showing scenes of tragedy can be powerful in getting a message across. I
> am sure most of us will remember how the picture of Hector Peterson moved the
> whole world after the 1976 uprising in South Africa. If anyone on the ground has
> access to such photos, it may be helpful to forward them to the “website
> committee”. The Website can be useful in sensitising visitors about the tragedy
> and providing information about the course of action. It can be a source where
> non-Gambia-L members can be referred to for further information. Messages and
> summaries of discussions on the list can be regularly posted there to update it.
> On the long run, the website can serve as a forum where political parties can be
> invited to present their party programmes and discuss issues of the day and for
> other similar purposes.
>
> Local co-ordinating committees can help to act as a bridge between Gambia-L and
> non-members living in the various communities. Since not all concerned Gambians
> are on the list (some do not even have access to computers) efforts should be
> made to reach out to them. Local co-ordinating commitee members can further serve
> as contact persons for concerned friends of the Gambia or the media and so on.
>
> The emergency Fund can be converted to a permanent Fund which will serve the
> purpose of providing legal fees for victims of Human rights abuse who are unable
> to shoulder the cost. We can give it a name which bears relevance to the massacre
> as a fitting tribute. For example, it can be called “The Ebrima Barry Foundation
> for victims of Human Rights Abuse”.
>
> Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to accept the nomination for
> Gambia-L Co-ordinator in Europe. I think we should take a closer look at the
> designated second responsibility Here, we can work with Human Right organisations
> in The Gambia and reliable, honest citizens who will be in a position to advice
> us accordingly. As far as collecting money is concerned, it may be cheaper for
> people outside of Germany to arrange for someone to collect all contributions and
> send a single cheque to reduce service costs. You may send cheques and Money
> orders etc to:
>
> Alpha Robinson
> Brueder-Grimm Str. 4
> 37671 Hoexter
> Tel. +49 5271 920043
>
> In cases where you may wish to recommend to someone else or an organisation to
> donate or contact me for information or simply where deemed helpful, you may use
> my official address:
>
> Dipl.-Ing. Alpha Robinson
> Research Engineer
> University of Paderborn, Abt. Hoexter
> An der Wilhelmshoehe 44
> 37671 Hoexter
>
> By tomorrow, I hope to be able to provide a bank account as well.
>
> Finally, what do you think of declaring April 10 as a national holiday?
>
>
> Alpha Robinson
>
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