Thank you Yusupha for forwarding this article. About time some one speak out
for our slain children. We sincerely commend Hamat Bah and Kemeseng Jammeh
for bringing the issue of our massacred children into the national
discourse. We must never let Yaya and his cohorts forget that their hands
are stained with the blood of defenseless Gambian children. All decent
Gambians know that Mr. Bah and Mr. Jammeh are not doing this for political
gain. It is sickening to read some of the comments of APRC MPs on this issue
when it was raised by Mr. Bah. This just goes to confirm that these vermin
will murder their own children in order to please Yaya and their myopic
desires. These nonentities will say or do anything in order to be in Yaya's
good books. But we will catch up with them. Secka was lying through his
teeth, as usual, about the release of the reports from the coroner and the
commission of inquiry. Instead of engaging in dubious semantics, he should
have explained why the reports are being treated as top secret documents.
Why is the government not publicizing the reports? Secka promised five
months ago that the government was going to appoint a private prosecutor for
this matter. Can he now explain why no such prosecutor has been appointed?
Yaya and his supporters want to throw this matter under the rug. That will
never happen. Yaya MUST pay for this heinous crime. The opposition has
surmounted a very important threshold, i.e. they have brought up the matter
and no one got hurled to the NIA for questioning. The pressure has to be
sustained. This is the most legitimate cause one can fight for in The
Gambia. Our children died for us. The moment Yaya ordered their slaughter,
he forfeited his right to live. Any day Yaya stays in power in Gambia, he is
living on borrowed time. We respectfully urge the opposition to continue to
remind Yaya and his supporters of their crimes. We should continue to demand
justice for our slain children. We should continue to expose the
insensitivity of people like Yaya, Secka, Jawla and Baldeh who think that
fighting for our children is not a worthwhile cause. Mr. Bah and Mr.
Kemeseng Jammeh should be commended for their stance. We urge them to ignore
the irrational rattling of ignoramuses like Jawla and Baldeh. If cowards
like Secka, Baldeh and Jawla could muster courage to tell Yaya the truth,
they would be saying the same things Hamat Bah and Kemeseng Jammeh are
saying. They are so faint-hearted that they would abandon the cause of brave
children who were merely trying to exercise their constitutional rights. I
bet that when our brave children were demonstrating on April 10 and 11, the
Netty Baldehs of this world were hiding under their beds wishing that the
children will bring the desired changes to the country. The least adults can
do now, is to demand justice for our children and ensure that when we have
another demonstration against this callous regime, the march will be led by
adults that are prepared for a show-down with Yaya. Many THANKS again to
Hamat Bah and Kemeseng Jammeh.
KB



>From: Yusupha Jow <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Hamat Takes Cheyassin to Task
>Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 23:24:35 EDT
>
>At least someone is speaking up.
>Enjoy!
>
>Daily Observer (Banjul)
>  Sept 17th
>
>NRP leader, Hamat Bah, has taken Justice secretary, Pap   Cheyassin Secka,
>to
>task for his "failure" to publicise the long-awaited coroner   and
>commission
>reports on April 10 and 11 students demonstrations, which left at   least
>13
>young people dead. The Upper Saloum representative was speaking on
>Thursday
>before the National Assembly during the ratification of a motion on the
>Afri
>can Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
>   Bah said, "the Justice Secretary promised Gambians that the   Coroner's
>Report would be publicised within one week. He also said the   commission
>will present its report within three weeks.
>   But up to date, the report of the coroner and the commission   has not
>been
>presented to Gambians." Mr. Bah said "young Gambian students were
>butchered
>when demonstrating for their rights." He added that the young Gambians
>who
>were brutally murdered, were exercising their constitutional rights. He
>cite
>d Mali and the Central Africa, where he said children were also being
>butche
>red for exercising their rights.
>   He expressed the need for African governments to come up   with measures
>to
>penalise governments who violate treaties they have signed. Bah   also
>expressed the need to protect and defend the rights of young children.
>   But Hamat's statements riled some members of the ruling   party. Kanaji
>Jawla, an APRC member, accused Hamat Bah of trying to gain "cheap
>popularity
>  by making ridiculous remarks to entertain the public gallery" and in
>order
>to hit the Daily Observer front pages.
>   He said the April 10 and 11 incidents were adequately   addressed by
>President Jammeh during his nationwide television address.   "Government is
>very concerned about the incident.
>   Nobody should talk about it to gain political capital. The   government
>of
>the day is doing everything possible to ensure that the rights of   the
>children are protected.
>   This is a mature government with a leader who has vision for   this
>country," said Jawla. Netty Baldeh also added, "This house does not intend
>  t
>o dramatise and politicise the deaths of the students.
>   We rather prefer to forget and reconcile." Kemeseng Jammeh,   the
>minority
>leader who welcomed the motion said, "It is a move in the right
>direction."
>He commended SoS Secka for bringing the motion before the House. He,
>however
>, supported Hamat Bah's statement on the students riots.
>   "The students were violently prevented from staging a   demonstration,
>which brought about the killing of 14 children. These children   have the
>constitutional rights to stage a demonstration." He also expressed
>concern
>over the delay in publicising the coroner and the commission's   report.
>   "We are interested in the administration of justice." He   also spoke
>about
>the code of conduct imposed on students which he said is   causing a lot of
>controversy in the country. Reacting, SoS Secka told Hamat Bah,   "You will
>have the opportunity to debate the commission's report when it comes   to
>the
>House." He denied saying that the coroner's report would be publicised
>withi
>n a week.
>   "I did say that the coroner will be appointed within a week.   The
>coroner
>has submitted his report to the Justice department and I will advise
>governm
>ent on the report." SoS Secka said he was not aware of codes of conduct
>impo
>sed on students."
>
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