Sanusi,

Believe me, I know that the mass burial durign the attempted coup of 1981 was
a matter of public health. As you said, they had to do something about all
those bodies at the morgue that could not be idenrified by family members in
time. They had no other choice. My comments here were meant to point point out
thehypocrisy of the APRC regime in trying to get political mileage out of this
and i think that is the only reason they are making such a fanfare of this Mass
Grave.
It is also the reason I said that instead of this political ploy at the
expense of the families of those who are buried in this mass grave, the APRC needs
to address the issue of the mass graves that were not created out of necessity
but out of a deliberate and calculated scheme to murder Gambians and which
they are accused of having created behind those toilets at the Yundum Barracks.


Jabou Joh

In a message dated 1/22/04 12:16:12 PM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> Aunty Jabou
>
> All this business about MASS GRAVES in BANJUL has NOT
> been honestly debated.
>
> Whilst, I sympathise with OKO and many other swho
> suffered during that brief period of Kukoi's reign of
> terror and the PPP's Government inability to crush a
> rebellion without the loss of so many lives, I cannot
> accept with their analogy that the GRAVE between the
> Muslim and Christian Cemetry at MILE I should be seen
> as a MASS GRAVE per se.
>
> As mentioned in previous emails, this GRAVE had to be
> erected as a precautionary measure. There were so many
> Gambians who were killed either by the Rebels or
> Loyalist Forces of the PPP regime/ Senegalaise Forces.
> The remains of these Gambians were left in the
> mortuary with no real hope of finding any relative
> that could give them a descent burial under the
> prevailing conditions.
>
> It is therefore unfortunate that APRC have tried to
> use such a national disaater to castigate the Former
> PPP. Whilst, PPP made no secret of a MASS GRAVE for
> those who died in the 1981, we are still waiting to
> see where the likes of Lt Barrow and many others were
> buried after the events of 11 November 1994 and during
> other related incidents.
>
> So lets debate this issue in a sincere manner.
>
> By the way, just to inform I have never supported the
> PPP government, my points here were made from a
> broader perspective.
>
>
> Thanks
> Sanusi
>
>
> "
>
>
> --- Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > In a message
> dated 1/22/04 12:03:14 AM Central
> > Standard Time,
> > [log in to unmask] writes:
> >
> >
> > > I wonder why they are concentrating
> > > ONLY on mass graves under the first republic, and
> > want to ignore the mass
> > > graves under their own republic.
> >
> > Elhadj Mustafa,
> >
> > They are concentrating on that because they think it
> > is a political ploy in
> > their favour.
> > The APRC regime is foolish enough to believe that
> > everytime they are in
> > trouble, all they have to do is pull a trick out of
> > the first republic accusation
> > hat and Gambians will gladly keep them in power
> > against their will.
> > Let me be clear, the mass murder of Gambians under
> > any republic is not
> > acceptable, but in recognizing mass graves under the
> > Jawara regime, the APRC can
> > show their sincerity and at the same time refute
> > allegations of the mass graves
> > of soldiers murdered under the guise of coup
> > attempts and buried behind the
> > toilets at the Yundum barracks as alleged by former
> > members of the GNA.
> > I think that they should go further and let
> > independent forensic experts into
> > the country to dig up the areas in question and
> > conduct some tests to show
> > the people that these allegations are either false
> > or that they are innocent of
> > these acts.
> > Now THAT! will be really doing something meaningful.
> > We muslims do not put much reverence on the erection
> > of monuments to the dead
> > because it is infact forbidden by the Sunnah of
> > Rasulullah as any learned
> > Islamic scholar can confirm. Even graves are not
> > supposed to have any structures
> > built upon them. Another indication that these
> > people are shooting from the
> > hip before thinking in the hope of convincing
> > people that they are good for us.
> > Their actions are akin to one being finely attired
> > while their behind is out
> > in the open for all to see. Their record is already
> > enshrined in the Gambian
> > history books, and the more they do, the more they
> > will have to pay for those
> > deeds.
> >
> > Jabou Joh
>

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