To Mr./MS.  ----
Title:

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Sigga Jagne and I am a citizen of the tiny
West African country, the Gambia.  I currently reside
in the United States where I attend graduate school as
well as work as an industrial hygienist.  I decided to
write this letter after reading a publication in one
of the Gambian newspapers about your country resuming
military training assistance to the Gambian
government.  I, like many Gambians the world over, was
shocked by this decision on the part of your
government.  Ordinarily, such an action would
generally have been welcome by most Gambians.  But
recent developments in our country has caused us,
Gambian citizens and friends of the Gambia in general,
to lament the action.  For it came in the wake of the
slaughtering of innocent and armless Gambian children
in broad daylight by the very instrument supposed to
protect them - the Gambian military.  The only crime
that these children had committed was to practice
their right to peacefully demonstrate against the
murder of one of their colleagues- a school boy - by
fire service personnel; and the rape of a 13 year old
school girl by security personnel.  After waiting in
vain for justice to be done in the above named cases,
and after listening to the familiar "never going to be
fulfilled promises to ascertain that justice is done"
by the president.  The students prepared to lunge a
peaceful demonstration on April 10, 2000.  Military
personnel were sent out to shoot them with live
bullets which left about 12 students, including a 3
year old boy, dead and a vast number maimed for life
or seriously injured.  You see sir/madam, even before
this event, the military and other security forces
were constantly being used by the government as a tool
of intimidation and often murder, in order to silence
any voices that dare to speak against the rampant
corruption and injustices that the government has
become known for.  As such, a stage was set in the
Gambia where the security forces and the government's
APRC Youth Wing, backed by the president, has the
authority to arbitrarily arrest, harass, beat,
threaten, kill anyone that so much as utters a word
against the president or the APRC government.  Civil
servants and judges are fired for not supporting or
for merely speaking a good word about the opposition.
The opposition parties and the media are constantly
arrested, beaten and threatened with death.  One of
the major radio stations in the country, Radio One FM,
which is well known for airing the Gambian people's
increasing discontent, was burnt down by the APRC
Youth Wing.  This came in the wake of a meeting held
by the president and his supporters, in which he (the
president) clearly asked his supporters to report any
civil servants or judges who are opposed to his
political party, so that they can be stripped of their
positions.  At this meeting, the president responded
to stories, from his militant youth group, of beatings
and intimidation rendered to those opposed to him by
laughing and applauding.  To top it off, the president
threatened to put "six feet deep" anyone opposed to
him describing such people with language that I do not
dare reiterate in this letter.

Sir/madam, the Gambian people generally live in fear
of these forces and are constantly forced to look the
other way in the face of rampant injustices, in the
wake of constant beatings, arresting, and harassing of
their fathers, mothers, sons, daughters etc.   Such is
their fear that, even when one phones one's friends
and family in the Gambia, many of them hang up the
phone or change the conversation as soon as any
mention of something adverse to the government is
made.  FOR THE GAMBIAN SECURITY FORCES ARE RAGING A
WAR AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF THE GAMBIA BY ORDER OF THE
PRESIDENT.  It should therefore, sir/madam not be a
strange matter that Gambians are outraged that your
government, which is well known for its promotion of
democratic values, seems to be legitimizing the
actions of the Gambian president and his security
forces, by helping in the training of these forces.
Because to Gambians sir/madam, to better train the
present army, only means to better equip them in their
quest to terrorize Gambian citizens.  As I conclude
this letter, I am obliged to point out that even
today, some of the victims of the April 10 shootings
are still suffering immensely without any
repatriations from the government.  At present, there
is a 17 year old boy lying in a Gambian hospital since
April 10, paralyzed from the waist down.  The Gambia
does not have the required facilities to render him
the necessary medical treatment.  And attempts by
people like myself to attain help for him outside of
Gambia are being blocked by the authorities' refusal
to release his medical reports.  We therefore hope
that your government will, in the name of humanity,
human rights and democracy, and in the name of those
innocent children who were murdered or wounded by the
said security forces, reconsider the assistance in
training that is being rendered to the Gambian army by
your government.  For such an action only legitimizes
a government that is bent on destroying its people.  I
am quite sure that the British government will not be
limited in areas to assist our country in besides
military training.  For in the wake of the havoc that
our current government is wreaking on our economy, the
Gambia more than ever needs help in numerous social
and economic arenas.  Your government sir/madam, can
start by making good on the recent promise of  Mr.
John Perrot, the British High Commissioner to the
Gambia, to assist in the coming presidential
elections.  For only with international monitoring can
there be a fair election in the Gambia.  I do thank
you sir/madam.  And I hope that your government will
continue to help the Gambia in its quest for true
democracy.

Respectfully yours,
Ms. Sigga Jagne


=====
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                       ALSO

"NOTHING IS UNACHIEVABLE, THE ONLY QUESTION IS, WHETHER ONE IS WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE WHAT IS DESIRED"

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