Gambia-L, The unimaginable has happened in the Gambia, and Monday 10 April 2000 will, without doubt, go down in the annals of Gambian history as a day to be remembered - forever - for two reasons. First, it was the day on which Gambian students, under the aegis of GAMSU, woke up early in the morning and determined to do whatever it would take, including giving their precious lives, to rid their country of tyranny and repression. Second – and more significantly – it was on this very day that the security forces, under the instructions of their Commander-In-Chief, Yaya Jammeh, had used live bullets on innocent students, to break up protesting students, thus resulting in the killings of at least 14 people and more than 100 injured. Just for the record, the students applied but were refused a permit for a march organised to protest against the death of Ebrima Barry, a student who was allegedly tortured by the Fire Service Personnel, and the reported rape of a 13-year old by a Police officer. Yes, Gambia-L, this was last straw: the ultimate crime had been committed by the Jammeh regime on the 10 April 2000; and as the Commander-in-Chief of the Security Forces, the buck rests upon Jammeh himself to answer to the deeds and actions of the security forces. The authorisation of the killing of defenceless students is the ultimate crime to be perpetrated by the Jammeh regime and Jammeh himself must take responsibility for what happened in the country last week. The Jammeh regime already has a track record of extra judicial killings with impunity, but I for one would never have thought that they would dare slaughter innocent students daylight, or in the open. By the way, do you want proofs that the Jammeh regime has a track record of extra judicial killings? Well, I'll refresh your minds with some facts: In November 1994, just four months after the coup, several soldiers, including Lieutenants Barrow and Saye etc, were killed by the regime for their alleged involvement in a coup attempt. What about Captain Sadibou Hydara who died in custody in June 1995, six months after he was arrested together with Sana Sabally and accused of attempting to kill Jammeh in order to seize power? The Government had claimed that Captain Hydara's post mortem had concluded that he had died as a result of a "long-standing high blood pressure" which affected his kidney and lungs. But Hydara's family reacted by saying that as far as they knew, Sadibou Hydara never had or even complained of high blood. What about Ousman Koro Ceesay, the former Finance Minister who was found dead in June 1995, in the burned-out wreckage of his Mercedes Benz? Should we forget Yaya Drammeh, one of the alleged rebels who attacked the Farafenni Military Camp in November 1996? Yaya Drammeh too died in custody at the Mile 2 prisons in May 1997. Does the name Lt Almamo Manneh ring a bell? The Jammeh's thugs, it would be recalled, had executed Lt Manneh, in January of this year, for his alleged involvement in a "foiled coup conspiracy". So the list goes on and on! And needless to say, all these extra judicial killings are contrary to the Gambia’s obligation under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights which the Gambia had ratified in June 1983. Article 4 of the African Charter clearly states: "No one may be arbitrarily deprived of his right to life"... In any case, from the cited cases, it is indeed fair to insist that the Jammeh regime has/had a track record of extra judicial killings with impunity and there is ample evidence to prove that Jammeh himself has been sanctioning all these murders. If not, then why hasn't he taken action against the culprits? Extra-judicial killings, torture, imprisonment and harassment of critics and opponents are therefore the hallmark of the Mr Jammeh's regime. Hence, it is clear that the massacre of these young lives last week, had been an extension to the culture of the violation of both civic and human rights Gambians have been encountering since Mr Jammeh came to power. In fact, the soldiers have been made to believe that any action designed to appease Jammeh – no matter how foul it is – is legitimate. This is why, in the wake of the student killings, Mr Jammeh, since he is the commander in chief of the forces, owes us not just an explanation, but a resignation from public office as well. Since its inception to power in July 1994, the Jammeh regime has been exposed for what it truly is – a tyranny. In a state of tyranny, however, a people must rally not around principles, but behind a common and immediate objective which – in effect – is the removal of the tyrant. As we mourn the deaths of our brothers and sisters who gave their precious lives in order to rid the country of oppression, we should now focus – both at home and abroad – on how to strategize and develop a mechanism to uproot this gory regime. Certainly, a regime that unleashes its weapons upon its children without any thought but bravado, denials and triumphalism, is a regime that does deserve to be destroyed, or it else it shall continue to cause more destruction of precious lives. Our preservation as a society, therefore, rests upon our organisation and desire to uproot such a tyranny. The Jammeh regime has been both corrupt and brutal and it is fair to say that it lost its cliché as a regime "with a difference" before it even celebrated 100 days in office! Clearly, this is a regime that does not contemplate, but only sustains itself as a sanguinary regime. My fellow Gambians, a despot has taken over power in our motherland, and we must not yield to his cowardly and dastardly threats. If Jammeh was the brave man he portrays himself to be, then why did he sneak into Banjul early Sunday morning (4 am) from his visit to Cuba? Why didn't they announce the time and date he was to return to Banjul? We must be ready – as a people – to show solidarity to the militancy of the students. We must show leadership and foresight to derail this regime. It is, therefore, the duty of all opponents of this regime, particularly the political forces, to try and forge a tactical alliance and oust this nefarious and bloodthirsty regime. Yes, it is not going to be easy to unseat Jammeh, knowingly fully well that he is still determined to cling onto power, and will be out to destroy all forces which seek to dislodge him from his position of privilege; but all the same, it is not an insurmountable task. It is doable! This regime must go! It is over allergic to the dictates of democracy and in fact decided from the onset, that there will be no debate, or at best, a one-sided debate with a pre-determined winner – the Government. Anyway, the events of 10 and 11 April that we have witnessed, are new phenomena. The defiance and the scale of it clearly suggest that a people at the end of their tether are willing to sacrifice the most precious thing of all, that is life itself (to end oppression). Those youths who died or got wounded are martyrs and our heroes respectively that we should be proud of! They have made a statement by their actions; and the statement is clearly a political one – no more repression in the Gambia was the statement they made judging by their actions. Why do I say so? You may ask. Well, because their main targets of vandalization or attack were military or police institutions, indicating that they were challenging the oppressor and his instruments of control and torture. Their anger/rage was directed at the very heart of the oppressor. Now, the responsibility rests upon all of us, particularly the politicians, to seize upon the momentum generated to continually (and vigorously for that matter) expose a chronology of events of the regime’s hypocrisy and tyranny. History has therefore confronted us with this challenge and if we fail to live up to it, it would be to our own detriment. This regime's lack of civility and their arrogance are already manifested in the regime's continued harassment and torturing of innocent civilians and now even the students are not spared. However, times have changed and the good thing is that the youths clearly have become more enlightened and therefore would not accept oppression any more. The political groupings – at home and abroad - must now organise themselves more effectively to enhance the potential unleashed. This regime is a discredited one, and based on their record, we shouldn't wait for them to account for anything, because they are simply a Government of denials and prevarication. All they do is LIE and LIE to the brink of their teeth. And worst of all, the regime is also parasitic, unproductive, pernicious and totally devoid of social commitment or vision! We have already had enough of their lies and trumped-up stories, but their true colour – as a regime engulfed in lies and garblings – exposed itself more convincingly, in the wake of the demonstrations, having regard to the conflicting accounts they were giving us of what happened on 10 April. We should therefore continue to endeavour – without fear or funk - to get rid of such an iniquitous regime that is necropolis, mean, niggardly and brutal. We are now at a historical juncture when we should both preserve our Nation and destroy the tyrant before our beautiful country slides into mayhem. And let us remember that they say under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist; all that remains is a fiefdom. However, having said that, I hope all of us, especially Jammeh, would learn from these events that oppression shall never silence an enlightened people. The regime must therefore learn to accept basic fundamental rights in this day and age since oppressors, in the final analysis, will always be the losers. Tyrants may kill and maim, but they shall never have the last word – the people will! People power is a reality that frightens despots. The Gambian people must now understand that power rests in their hands and as a result, they are the ones who should decide the destiny of their nation. If we choose complacency, we may be taken for granted, but if we choose to live in dignity at a price, we can only be the winners. These young heroes have shown us the way, and we must never back down or let them down. They demonstrated a fact known for ages in Political Science: that People Power is potent and irrepressible. Wherever people are willing to die en masse in refusing to be oppressed, tyrants have to give way. It was a terrible thing that happened in our country last week, and a lot of people will be wondering how we have come to this, especially given the fact that Gambians have always wished for peace and at times even bent over backwards just to avoid confrontation with the authorities. But persistent and continuous injustice, corruption, and poverty over decades have eroded their patience. And it is in fact encouraging observing that the younger generation – in the face of tyranny and corruption – is the least tolerant, thus indicating an evolving or a changing culture. This is a healthy sign! Meanwhile, even the optimists have finally given up hope of seeing a prosperous Gambia under Jammeh. They know that the Jammeh regime, as I said in a previous commentary, is a bubble about to bust and in fact Jammeh himself knows this for a fact. He has only managed to maintain a grip on to power, thanks to the Army, but if he thinks or believes that the army will always be there for him, then he needs some lessons in History. Right now, his message to the soldiers is very clear: "Kill to keep me (Jammeh) in power and in turn you too will be safe." Anyway, let the security forces continue to follow Mr Jammeh’s orders and keep terrorising the people. Because once it becomes clearer to the people that no one is safe to say or do anything against Mr Jammeh or his interest, then the people will soon realise that this is no way to live; that it is better to die a free man or woman than to live a slavish hypocritical, existence, consigned to poverty and lack of opportunity. This government is unbearable and deserves to go, especially following the terrible and despicable crimes its security forces had committed against innocent students on Monday. Jammeh has clearly betrayed the Nation’s trust and we must not tolerate him any more, because it will only get worse! In short, Mr Jammeh's 5 years rule has only resulted in rampant corruption and a lack of probity in public life; a psyche of militarism that has developed; a loss of respect for the Rule of Law; and a loss of sense of belonging, self respect and dignity. As for Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy, a sister I admired when she was at the Women's Bureau, I would also join my colleagues at The Point Newspaper in calling upon her to resign, in the wake of the events of 10 April. (Deyda Hydara, I commend your editorial in which you asked both Ousman Badgie and Mrs Njie-Saidy to resign). I must remind everybody that the call to high public office is a challenging assignment, which call for decisiveness, integrity, personal discipline, honesty and selflessness. It was the duty of Isatou Njie-Saidy to check and balance the actions of her brothers in uniform, but in fact, she approved of the shootings even though she is a mother and one of the kids could have been hers. So she has to go as well! Mrs Njie-Saidy, no hard feeling; I am just speaking my mind. Finally, Gambia-L, I ask this question: Am I the only one who has not seen statements from the Gambia Bar Association, Teachers' Union, Supreme Islamic Council, Christian Council (if there is one), Trade Unions CONDEMNING these killings outright or in unequivocal terms? Ebrima Ceesay Birmingham, UK. PS: Gambia-L, I did promise to do a comprehensive report on the events of 10 April. But because some Institutions here also asked me to do a "detailed and reliable" report for them on what happened, I thought I should take my time and gather as much facts as possible. Anyway, whenever I am ready with it, I'll send it to the L, even if it is already stale. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------