Fellow Gambians and Friends,

Many of us can vaguely remember the classic Greek plays about revenge. In
those ancient tragedies, sorrow and rage fuel an endless spiral of anguish
and retribution. The themes are apt to seem as modern as the past seven
years of abductions, disappearances and torture of the innocent in The
Gambia. However, in the Gambia, the main perpetrators of such atrocities
tells us that they are doing such to safeguard ‘national security’ in an
effort to distance themselves from such primitive cycles of violence. The
prevalent conceit is that they stay away from the fray – even when
torturing and maiming on a regular basis. Up to seven plus years of
inconceivable abductions and torture of the innocent, the APRC toadies are
pleased to take a virtuous bow in our midst as the victims and their
families struggle to live with what has befell them. With steadfast and
barbaric candor, we are told, the interest of ‘national security’ is being
guarded. Yet, only a few decent folks have explored how these abductions
and tortures will fit into the possibilities of our nation being plunged
into recurring cycles of violence.
This group of thugs called A(F)PRC can point to horrible stories
perpetrated by the former PPP, defenders of whom will deny that those
allegations ever occurred. The thugs will insist that the atrocities they
committed did not really occur – or were justified in response to some
cooked up coup attempts. Such tendencies to justify atrocities by pointing
to those committed by former regimes will merely ensure that the pattern of
reciprocal massacre remains unbroken by a subsequent regime.
In April of last year when the thugs gunned down fourteen of our young
brothers and sisters, they declared that the reason was to end the
destruction of property and in the ‘interest of national security’. That is
what they will always say. However, no amount of spin or proclamation of
saintly intent can change the fact that these ruffians have signed into the
indelible collection of Gambian massacres, tortures and illegal
incarcerations. For many of us, these bloody signatures will be
unforgettable.
Far from being antidotes to Gambia’s history of carnage, these atrocities
committed by the A(F)PRC are now part that history. Some of us may savor
the claims of justifiable intent from the thugs, but for hundreds of
grieving relatives and hundreds of our young shaken, or yet suffering,
brothers and sisters who survived these atrocities, the perception is bound
to be very different.
The failure of the A(F)PRC government to embrace a single standard of human
rights or human dignity is a continuing tragedy of immense proportions,
clearing the way for all kinds of duplicity in subsequent regimes. I hope
not! Is it possible to commit so many atrocities on so many people without
fueling deadly cycles of violence? Rarely asked by many of us, the question
remains.


Abdoulie A. Jallow
(BambaLaye)

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>