Tombong,
I have read your reply and although I have a lot of comments to make about
the crocodile tears being shed by some, I will narrow my email to a few
issues you raised. First of all, you said:

"The coroner's inquest has started and as far as I can recall, this is the
first time such an inquest has been set up to find the truth."

The reason you cannot remember an inquest of this magnitude is because no
government in The Gambia has ever gunned down children in broad daylight and
then set out to deceive the public about what actually took place. If you
understood the piece I wrote a few days ago about the powers of the Coroner,
you will realize that this inquest actually has very little to do with
taking us to the heart of the matter …. WHO ORDERED THE FATAL SHOOTING OF
OUR CHILDREN?

You also mentioned that: "The commission of enquiry is already set and will
be announced next week."

May we ask what kind of powers this commission will be endowed with? Not
much to ask, is it? And also, what happened to the attorney general's
proposal to appoint the INDEPENDENT PROSECUTOR? Justice is meted out every
day in The criminal courts of The Gambia. Why not hoist the perpetrators of
these atrocities before the regular courts, like all common criminals?

Finally you said: "The President has said in his speech that he will not
leave any stone un-turned in the search for the truth, and those who are
responsible for this tragic day, will be dealt with accordingly. I do not
think we should rush into taking decisions and making judgement before all
the facts are laid in front of us. The justice we are all looking for will
be done. We need peace and justice and that we will have in The Gambia."

Well, I'll remind you of this statement another time in the near future. You
are right about our need for peace and justice. But let me say here that the
peace part will only come after Yaya is gone (BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY)

KB


>From: TOMBONG SAIDY <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: TOMBONG PLEASE HELP US ANSWER THESE
>Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 02:19:32 PDT
>
>I do not see the contradictions you are talking about. There was nothing in
>the President's speech indicating that all detainees or detained students
>should be released. Despite what some of you think or are made to believe,
>students were being released either on bail or to the custody of their
>parents as far back as 13 April.
>
>Besides, there is a process through which all detainees must go through,
>whether they are detained legally or illegally. My last posting on this
>matter stated clearly that all students were released except 6 and this was
>before the President visited the wounded at the RVH. Their cases were being
>processed and presently there is no single student in detention because of
>the events of 10 & 11 April 2000.
>
>The President showed his compassion and expressed his sorrow and sympathy
>to
>the bereaved and wounded and this was clearly stated in his address to the
>nation and during his different meetings with opinion leaders, religious
>leaders and principles of the various schools. He will also be meeting with
>the students to hear from them directly, their side of the matter. The
>President was not in the country when this tragic event took place and it
>is
>only fair for him to listen to every possible side in order to get the true
>picture of what really happened. Believe me, the President wants to know
>the
>full story, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do not see any
>thing wrong for the President to visit the wounded at RVH. He went there
>alone (not Secretary of State or security chief) to talk to the students in
>private and to wish them well. He went to visit them because he cares.
>
>The coroner's inquest has started and as far as I can recall, this is the
>first time such an inquest has been set up to find the truth. It is open to
>the public and no body will be prosecuted or intimidated because of
>evidence
>they gave in this inquest. The coroner is expected to submit his report by
>May 15th 2000.
>
>As the Attorney General stated on many occasions, it is the judiciary
>system
>which is on trial here and things should not only be done in a transparent
>manner, but Gambians should see it being done in a transparent manner. The
>commission of enquiry is already set and will be announced next week.
>Membership to such a commission should be made of people with good
>reputation, independent mind and people who are not pro or anti Jammeh, but
>people who would look for nothing but the truth. I know the members and I
>would have liked to reveal the names here but since it has not yet been
>announced by the Attorney General, I would wait for him to announce it to
>the public. You will definitely agree with the team that would make this
>commission.
>
>The President has said in his speech that he will not leave any stone
>un-turned in the search for the truth, and those who are responsible for
>this tragic day, will be dealt with accordingly. I do not think we should
>rush into taking decisions and making judgement before all the facts are
>laid in front of us. The justice we are all looking for will be done. We
>need peace and justice and that we will have in The Gambia.
>
>
>PEACE
>
>Tombong
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail 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
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail 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

----------------------------------------------------------------------------