Culled from GRTS News,

"The government of the Gambia has called a press conference yesterday for
what its spokesman Mr. Sarjo Jallow said was to appeal to all Gambians to
help guide the healing process following fatal students riots on Monday and
Tuesday.  The press conference took place at the Interior Department in
Banjul, and attended by about half of the cabinet, including senior security
officers. The government spokesman Mr. Jallow, who is also the Information
Secretary, said they are in touch with President Yaya Jammeh, whom he said
is expected back in Banjul from Cuba as soon as possible. Mr. Jallow said
the president and the cabinet are concerned about  incidents of the last few
days, and  are committted to see justice done. But he also appealed to the
public to exercise patience and allow investigations into the riots  to
conclude. Meanwhile. the Health Secretary Abdoulie Sallah said 20 people are
still receiving treatment at the RVH. He said nine dead bodies have been
identified, but there still remains two bodies, one of which is a ten-year
old child. The other one is a young man.  Mr. Sallah said a post-motem on
the bodies are being carried out by pathologists, and they will produce
their report by next week.

At the same  press conference, the Interior Secretary Ousman Badgie has
again stated that gun shootings in the riots on Monday were fired by
criminals who attacked police stations to get arms. He said the information
they have is that during the chaos some convicts  from police stations in
Kotu, Bunding and Serre Kunda ransacked these stations, which were then
attacked by ex-prisoners from Mile Two central prisons. Mr. Badgie pointed
out that they now have two people in custudy, whom he said attacked the
armoury of Serre Kunda police and took away arms. He said the two have in
fact revealed eight other names, who also belong to the gang, and are all
said to be ex-convicts. Mr. Badgie's comments corroborate those of the Vice
President Isatou Njie Saidy, who said  on Wednesday that shooting come from
within the demonstrators, thus exonerating the security forces of any firing
of life bullets. Mr. Badgie also denied that there are any students beaten
in police stations or at GTTI. The Interior Secretary has also condemned the
phone-in programmes that Radio One FM, and Sud FM Banjul conducted in the
wake of the riots.  He said they are not encouraging, and  could create an
upheaval. Mr. Badgie said investigations are going on into facts of  the
riots, but he dismissed a call from a jouirnalist that outside independent
police be invited to carry out the investigations. He said the Gambia is a
sovereign state, and it has a competent and capable police force to do that
on its own.

Also speaking at the press conference the Justice Secretary Pap Cheyassin
Secka said an inquiry will be carried out into the events of  the last few
days, and that all offenders will face the law. He also revealed that the
case of  Ebrima Barry, the schoolboy who died in Brikama after allegedly
been  beaten by fire service officers, will be filed next week. He said  his
department will appoint a public prosecutor, and will  foot the bills
itself, but they would not interfere with the proceedings. He also said
members of the public are invited to suggest names of lawyers, either at
home or abroad, who can conduct the prosecution. In the case of the raped
school girl from Brikama-ba, Binta Manneh, Mr. Secka said his office faces
the difficulty of identifying the alleged rapist, and called on the general
public to help in the identification of the alleged rapist.  A few weeks ago
the police lined up its forces and asked Binta to identify who raped her,
but she could not pin-point anyone.  The Justice secretary also pointed out
that students have a right to demonstrate under the constitution of the
country, but he said that right is not absolute. He said students should
have informed the relevant authorities about it, who would have to decide
when and where it should be held. Mr. Secka said pathologists are examining
bodies, and by next week they would be ready to establish the cause of the
injuries and deaths.

The Education secretary Ann Therese Ndong Jatta has also spoken in favour of
the actions of the security forces to put down  demonstrations on Monday, on
the grounds that the government had the right to maintain law and order and
stability. Speaking at a government organised press conference yesterday,
she said the students never consulted her office about what they intended to
do on Monday. She said their move was clandestine, which was lately detected
by the  intelligence service. She noted that the chaos could have been
avoided if  students had contacted the relevant authorities."


A.Drammeh.

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