Civil Disobedience: The Battle Against Jammeh's Cruelty
      EDITORIAL 
  As the African Union meeting draws near, the authorities in The Gambia are busy sprucing up the visible images of our impoverished and embattled country. Much needed national resources that are better utilized to feed poor and starving families in The Gambia, are instead diverted to provide a life of bliss if only for a little while, to a gathering of some of the wealthiest people on the African continent. This is a classic case of robbing Paul to pay Paul, and everyone of those scheduled to attend knows it. But, the A.U. insistence on holding their meeting in Banjul, epitomises the collosal failures and unwillingness of the A.U. and the O.A.U. before it to bring African leaders to account for their brutalities. Now, with all the Gambians languishing in jail without cause, and those that have simply vanished from the face of this earth, an A.U. meeting in Banjul at this time is a slap on the face of all Gambians. Right now, rather hosting leaders from around Africa,
 Jammeh ought to be in chains standing in a docket either in Sierra Leone or in The Hague. The disappearance of five soldiers, presumed executed summarily, does by itself qualify as a mass murder that Jammeh must answer for to the Gambian people. 
  But now, even as preparations for an A.U. meeting are underway, The Gambia is entering into a new phase in its contentious political journey. For the first time in our history, the government is monitoring and censuring what our people read, watch and listen to. With its record of extra-judicial killings, murders, disappearances, and tortures, the Jammeh regime is determined to hide the reality from public view and scrutiny. Without a doubt, the social and political atmosphere in our country at this time is very toxic and has been for a long while. Our country has taken on a new character that is alien to our cultural values and our aspiration as a nation. The fear among our people is palpable, and in their despondence they walk the street tongue-tied. Today, even a benign verbal commentary about this regime is enough to land someone in a jail cell. Arbitrary arrest and detention has become Jammeh's calling card, and it is his answer to every problem; real or imagined. In
 the process, he and his thugs are also changing or adding new meanings to the language in which the euphemism for summary execution is escape, and reader of the online newspaper freedomnewspaper are contributors. This regime's mouth-piece, The Daily Observer has printed these words in ways that make it clear that the summary execution of our sons and brothers must only be interpreted one way; that they escaped. How sad, how surreal, and how cruel. Equally important, it is hard to imagine that in The Gambia today, people have to hide to read the freedomnewspaper or any other paper critical of this regime. The Gambia is moving fast forward to a dark pit, where the only rights that exist will be the ones that the regime allows. Forget the Constitution, for it has long ceased to be relevant. Only one thing matters now, the laws as set by Yahya Jammeh. 
  If there is anyone in The Gambia who needs convincing about the brutality, disregard for the law, and of human life of this regime, consider the cases of Kujabi and Ngor Secka. Their removal from Royal Victoria Hospital for Mile Two prisons, not only breaches our Constitution and U.N. Human Rights law, it is also a common crime. In this latest scandal, Jammeh is once again demonstrating his callous nature and mean spiritedness. However, the hospital administrators who had a moral imperative to refuse State House orders for the removal of sick patients from their care. The under belly of this beast we call a government is marked by atrocities that showcase the worst of the human character. But, Jammeh himself is a walking paradox, adorning himself with sacred Islamic prayer beads, while overseeing and supervising some of the most cruel and criminal acts The Gambia has ever experienced. It now appears as if everyone in our whole nation is fearful of taking the moral high
 ground, and call this regime and Jammeh to his sadistic ways. It is so abundantly clear now that Jammeh is defined by his low intellect, and the longer he stays the more damage he will do to our society. I believe it has come to the point where our civil service, which has been maligned for so long, stand up to Jammeh and put their feet in the ground. That is why I take my hat off to the career police commander who resigned his position a while ago on principled grounds. I wish we had more like him, but more importantly, everyone can emulate his example. Standing up to Jammeh, in the final analysis, means standing up for The Gambia. In lieu of another coup de etat, civil disobedience is the best alternative and most peaceful way to bring this regime down. Choose a day, stay home and refuse to work until Jammeh's behind is out of our State House. Until we do so, we must brace ourselves for more dark days ahead, and the nightmare that is coming our way, because with this
 regime in power, our predicament, however we look at it, will continue to look bleak. There will be tears, more sorrow and more pain in the weeks and months to come, but the time to stop this growing pain is now. We must begin the battle for the soul of our country now. Until we do, we have no one to blame for our past and coming misery. That we can allow one person to play with our lives the way Yahya Jammeh is doing, is unconscionable. Are we a nation of cowards? I don't think so. Jammeh must be stopped, NOW. 
This editorial was written by Associate Editor Mathew Jallow. You can reach the editor at this address: [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] If you know that it is happening or is about to happen, please contact us. The Freedom Newspaper, is your most trusted source of news.     
Posted on Sunday, June 11, 2006 (Archive on Thursday, June 29, 2006)
Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI
    Return
        Rating:           [input] 1   [input] 2   [input] 3   [input] 4   [input] 5    Comments:      Save  
---------------------------------
          Current Rating:  4.00                        Rating:   3    As long as Allah is with Jammeh and the humble Gambians, the evil will continue to fail.come sept. election Jammeh is gonna win Insallahu            Rating:   5    
             

      Copyright 2006 (c) Freedom Newspaper, LLC.   :  Powered By PointClick  :  Terms Of Use  :  Privacy Statement [input]   [input]   [input] 
 __________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤