The tragic murder of Deyda Hydara has sparked off a campaign by a group of
Gambians for the cancellation of the proposed performance by Youssou Ndour
in The Gambia in January. The Staff Association of Gamtel and Gamcel joins
all decent citizens of The Gambia in condemning this cowardly act and hope
the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be brought to book in the
shortest possible time. The Association deeply sympathizes with Deyda’s
family and Press fraternity.

The linking of Deyda’s murder and the performance of Youssou Ndour in the
Gambia is totally unjustified given the noble objective of this program.
Firstly,   The Gamtel Staff Association is a nonpolitical and nonprofit
making organization and was founded to promote staff welfare and serve
community with commitment and distinction. The Association is independent of
Gamtel management.

Secondly, this is the second time that our Association will be organizing
such an event with Youssou Ndour. Last time our Association donated over six
hundred thousand dalasis to the maternity unit of the RVH. This was done
solely on humanitarian grounds and to assist a place where life begins.

Youssou Ndour is an artist of International repute. As an Ambassador to
Unicef, he keenly identifies himself with such courses. As despicable as the
murder of Deyda is, humanitarian work must go on as our people live in
poverty. Our Association has the moral obligation to continue to fulfill our
social obligations. Those who link this event to the cancelled tour of
Youssou to the U.S. last year must realize that that was done on a matter of
principle, of one sovereign nation unilaterally attacking another without
the mandate of the United Nations. In as much as we condemn this attack as
Gambians we cannot but hope that justice will take its natural course given
the diverse condemnations from both within and outside this country.

We fully respect the views of those who campaign for the cancellation of
this event; however we totally reject and vehemently oppose those who have
been threatening Youssou Ndour and his Management Team to prevent him from
coming. These people have lowered themselves to the level of the murderers
of Deyda Hydara. People who propagate violence do not have any place in our
intellectual forums. The Gambia is a peace loving nation and our people
shall continue to live in peace by the grace of the Almighty.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
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]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤