BY PA NDERRY M'BAI PARAMILITARY MAN AT A GHANAIAN MEETING Dictator Yahya Jammeh and his care taker government are silent about the damaging news story regarding Ghanaian Nationals recently murdered in The Gambia allegedly by members of his security forces. To add insult to injury, the regime deported dozens of Ghanaians this Week for unexplained reasons. PRESIDENT KUFOR DICTATOR JAMMEH SHOCKED BY THE WHY ARE YOU NOT MASS KILLINGS OF TALKING? THE WORLD HIS CITIZENS IN WANT TO HEAR YOUR GAMBIA!!!!! YOUR SIDE OF THE STORY What's clear is that, our nation's image is being tarnished by the Ruling APRC government who demonstrated no interest in throwing light on this embarrassing state of affairs. Deporting innocent Ghanaians will not solve the current problem. Instead it will further indict the Jammeh administration, which is today hunted by local terrorism. The killing of innocent civilians is now becoming common in The Gambia. Attempts by the Ghanaian government, for the Jammeh administration to furnish them with a comprehensive and detailed report about the circumstances surrounding these mass murders had fallen into deaf ears. The Gambia government responded by expelling Ghanaian Nationals from the tiny West African country. Reports from Banjul says, the government action was based on allegations made by some Ghanaian escapees who accused Gambia's paramilitary personnel of murdering their compatriots. Deporting Ghanaian citizens from The Gambia is an affront to the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of people, which the Jammeh government is a signatory. Now that the regime had violated this international conventions, it's up to the Ghanaian authorities to pursue other remedies to seek justice in this high profile case. Current indications from Banjul suggested that there is no way that our Ghanaian brothers could succeed in exploring domestic remedies in this "well coordinated murders." The Yahya Jammeh government is not willing to discuss or throw light on the deaths of these young Ghanaian folks. The issue at hand is being considered by the regime as "sensitive national security." National security for who? As the saying goes"silence means guilt." The current administration should be honest anf frank enough to admit or deny responsibility on current state of affairs. There is no point in buying time. Ghanaians and friends of Ghanaians will not buy any cover up story advance by the regime for these killings. While the official figure for the dead tolls is being put at eleven, there are reports circulating around The Gambia that more bodies are hidden in the Brufut bushes. Such reports cannot be completely ruled out since the Jammeh government is mute over the whole issue. In the absence of an independent and credible fact finding mission team, the truth cannot be established in this matter. Reading a Ghanaian paper called the "Public Agenda" recently, the news medium quoted a concerned Ghanaian who expressed concern over the failure of Gambia's private media to offer an up to date news on the Brufut killings. The paper went as far saying"Another email received from Banjul wondered why The Gambian press had blackout the mysterious deaths. The email says since July 25 when the dead bodies were discovered, all media houses in The Gambia have failed to publish updates for the benefit of the public. "The reason for this silence is not known, but it will surely include the state of fear in the population and the censorship of the press", said a worried Ghanaian. This purported email emanating from this worried Ghanaian national should be read with an open mind. We must ask ourselves the factors surrounding the ongoing media censorship in The Gambia. Who created the situation.? Why are journalists afraid to report such crimes against humanity.? First and foremost, we want to hold Yahya Jammeh and his government accountable for the media insecurity and censorship in The Gambia. In a bid to scare critical and independent minded journalists, the government recently issued a draconian libel and defamation laws. Under this new law, journalists found guilty of libel and defamation charges will face between six months and three years jail terms without an option of a fine. Following a public outcry, the regime amended the law and decided to impose hefty fines against guilty editors and reporters. Secondly, a pro-government group calling itself the "Green Boys" had been on constant rampage burning newspaper houses and killing journalists. Prior to the Ghanaian "serial killings", leading Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara was also killed in what many observers will call a premeditated murder. Journalist Omar Barrow was also killed in April of 2000. We are not implying in way that these factors should warrant journalists to censor themselves. We thought it imperative to highlight the worsening media situation in the tiny West African country. This will enable people to make informed decision on the current state of affairs. It's also important to note that the Point and the Independent newspapers, in The Gambia had been constantly updating Gambians and the world about the mass killings in Ghana town Brufut. Their news stories on this incident could be found at the following websites www.thepoint.gm and www.allafrica.com We are equally concerned about this dastardly and cowardly act. We condemn it in all strongest terms. The Gambian media cannot watch idly allowing our reckless regime to defame or tarnish the image of our country. As indicated time and time, the failure on the side of Jammeh and his care taker regime to clear its name on this serious state of affairs is wrong and totally uncalled for. THE GHANAIAN FISHER MEN IN GAMBIA'S WATERS Ghanaians are generally nice and humble people. They are known to be hard working and patriotic. You hardly find a Ghanaian in The Gambia without engaging in a worth while ventures. While a good number of them are in the fishing industry, some are in the business and educational sectors. Our own president benefited from Ghanaian teachers at The Gambia High School. He cannot deny this. They taught him for years. Our government must do something now before it's too late. Little did know that they are endangering the lives of Gambians in Ghana. We have seen the Senegalese and the Mauritanian war. How about the Ivorian xenophobia.? Thousands of innocent people died as a result of such xenophobic activities. TheJammeh government stand to be accused of xenophobia, in view of the recent deportation of Ghanaians from the country. Ghanaians are tolerant and law abiding people. If not, by now we will be hearing a different story all together. We want to urge them to continue to be tolerant. There is life at the end of the tunnel. If justice is denied in The Gambia, justice will certainly be administered in other jurisdictions outside Gambia's frontiers. Let dictator Jammeh and his cohorts take note of this. The days of impunity and tyranny is getting to end. God save The Gambia from Jammeh's misrule. _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい