Gambia-L:
Reproduced below is the petition we, Gambians in the UK, submitted to the
Commonwealth Secretary General on 2 May 2000
Ebrima Ceesay
__________________________________________________________
H.E. Commonwealth Secretary General
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Paul Mall
London SW1Y 5AH
2 May 2000
Dear Sir,
The Gambian Community in the United Kingdom have learnt with utter dismay
and a sense of incredulity, the mowing down of scores of unarmed and
defenceless students in Kanifing and the provinces, on the 10th and 11th
April 2000 respectively, by the Gambian Armed Forces. We have also learnt
that scores more have been arrested and detained by the security forces,
following these tragic events.
Information reaching us here reveals that the student demonstration was in
response to police brutality, following the torture and killing of a student
Ebrima Barry, and the rape of a thirteen year old school girl, by members of
the security forces, whilst in police custody. The demonstration was called
by the National Students Union (GAMSU), after repeated requests for an
investigation into the allegation of rape were ignored, and also following a
failure by the authorities to make public the autopsy report into the death
of Ebrima Barry.
Initial official figures put the death toll at twelve (12) and scores more
were said to have been injured. Latest reports from unofficial hospital
sources, however, put the number of dead at twice the official figure. That
number is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks.
Whilst the students had valid reasons and a Constitutional right to stage a
demonstration, the authorities on the other hand, have, in both their
handling of the causes and in the disproportionate response to the
demonstration, displayed a total and callous disregard for the
constitutional and human rights of the students and for the sanctity of life
in general.
Sir, The Gambia government and its murderous security agencies have over the
last six years unleashed a reign of terror unparalleled in the history of
the sub-region, and have in doing so, declared war on the Gambian people.
You are aware, no doubt, of the repressive and undemocratic nature of the
Jammeh government.
In fact, the Commonwealth has repeatedly expressed concerns about the
endemic and persistent violations of human rights and of the denial of basic
freedoms of the Gambian people. Indeed, the issue of human rights violations
in the Gambia continues to exercise the attention of the Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) and of the Commonwealth Heads of Government,
for the last five years.
The Commonwealth is also fully aware of the systematic and widespread
arrests and torture of ordinary citizens and of opposition supporters. The
persistent harassment and intimidation of both real and perceived opponents
of the government is common knowledge. Several of the international human
rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
have repeatedly highlighted the abuses carried out by the Jammeh Government.
The American State Department report of the last five years also catalogued
the many instances of blatant human rights abuses. The national press,
despite the many obstacles placed in their paths by the government, has
managed to bring us credible reports of torture and other cruel treatment of
the ordinary people by the government’s security apparatus.
During Jammeh’s tenure of office, the Gambian people have known nothing but
abuse, harassment, intimidation, abductions, torture, punishment beatings,
imprisonment without trial, deaths in custody and a raft of other indecent
and inhumane treatment. We have now witnessed a deliberate shoot to kill
policy implemented against a group of unarmed and defenceless students whose
only “crime” is the exercise of their constitutional right to assemble and
protest against police brutality.
Sir, the brutal and tragic events of the 10th & 11th April are the
culmination of six years of terror and repression. We are all agreed that it
is time for the state of terror and fear to stop. We are conscious of the
grave consequences of the failure to arrest this slide. We are mindful that
if nothing is done about it now, that it would without doubt, result in a
state of anarchy, akin to the horrors of Sierra Leone or Liberia, and
considering the fragility of the Gambian State, may be even worst. The
question must therefore be asked: when will the International Community wake
up to the simmering national catastrophe awaiting to explode in what is a
very fragile country?
Sir, we state that considering the dictatorial and oppressive nature of the
Jammeh government, the continuing acceptance accorded it, within the
international family of nations, gives it a veneer of respectability to
which it has no claim whatsoever, and the events of the 10th & 11th April
confirms this view. It is also our view that in the face of this
government’s intransigence against the urgings of the international
community, notably CMAG’s calls to restore democracy and the rule of law,
the time has come to bring concerted and sustained pressure to bear on it,
and that it should be ostracised until it conforms to the internationally
acceptable norms and standard of civilised behaviour.
To achieve that end, we suggest that the following recommendations be
considered by the Commonwealth ruling and advisory bodies:
1. That until genuine and verifiable democratic change are implemented in
conformity with the principles and spirit of the Harare Declaration, the
Commonwealth should suspend the membership of the Gambia government.
2. That whilst the despotic political conditions in The Gambia remain
unchanged and GMAG’s and the international community’s calls for a fully
inclusive democratic process continue to be ignored by the Jammeh
government, the restoration of economic and technical assistance to his
government by the Commonwealth and its agencies should be suspended or
reversed.
3. That the Commonwealth should exclude the Gambia government from
participation in all of its programmes and activities, pending the
satisfactory implementation of democratic reforms.
Dealing specifically with the incidents of the 10th & 11th April,
4 That the Commonwealth should support the calls for an International
Judicial Commissioner of Enquiry to be established, to fully investigate the
events leading to and surrounding the demonstration and the killing of
innocent students, and for its finding to be made public.
5 That the Commonwealth should join the calls for all the culprits of this
most heinous crime to be subjected to the full rigours of due process and to
request for the maximum penalty applicable.
6 That the Commonwealth should support the demands that students and their
leaders, as well as other members of the public currently under detention,
following the demonstration, be released without further delay.
7 That the Commonwealth supports our call for an interim package of civil
damages to be paid to all the victims, or to their families pending a final
resolution by the court. Also, that the government pays for the legal
actions that are being taken by aggrieved families against the security
forces and their political masters.
We acknowledge the honourable and principled efforts of some lawyers, who
are working for the families of “The disappeared” and detained on pro-bono.
We call for more of them to get involve in the search for justice in these
cases and many others that take place every day.
Sir, it remains our hope that the organisation which you have so ably
served, and which embodies our common aspiration for peace and harmony among
nations, will, in dealing with its member States, continue to be guided
primarily by its founding principles and also by the tenets of the Harare
Declaration and its stated objectives. We support CMAG’s continued concerns
and efforts regarding the violations of human rights in the Gambia. We
commend your calls for the Gambia government to install a fully inclusive
democratic process and we call for your personal attention in this very
grave matters.
We remain yours faithfully
The Gambian Community U.K.
________________________________________________________________________
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