TOMBONG SAIDy, If you are not able to see the contradiction then it is Ok for you,but some of us are just wondering ,if the president did say he was in constant contact with his government on the ground during the whole event and now you are telling us that the president want to know what was happening then there are two things here ! 1)It was not true that the president knew what was happening on the ground,he was not in constant contact with his government on the issue 2)Or after his returned from Cuba,he now believed that he was not informed of the whole truth and that he should find it out himself,why is he then maintaining the same government,the same people who informed him wrongly or believed to have informed him wrongly?talking to the students to find out what happened is that not duplicating the efforts of those responsible for the hearing or he simply does not trust them ? There is a vital question that the president needs to answer,who gave the command for the shooting ? should this person sit and command still whiles he await for His/her removal ?Until then the struggle continues !! For freedom Saiks I do not see the contradictions you are talking about. There was nothing in the President's speech indicating that all detainees or detained students should be released. Despite what some of you think or are made to believe, students were being released either on bail or to the custody of their parents as far back as 13 April. Besides, there is a process through which all detainees must go through, whether they are detained legally or illegally. My last posting on this matter stated clearly that all students were released except 6 and this was before the President visited the wounded at the RVH. Their cases were being processed and presently there is no single student in detention because of the events of 10 & 11 April 2000. The President showed his compassion and expressed his sorrow and sympathy to the bereaved and wounded and this was clearly stated in his address to the nation and during his different meetings with opinion leaders, religious leaders and principles of the various schools. He will also be meeting with the students to hear from them directly, their side of the matter. The President was not in the country when this tragic event took place and it is only fair for him to listen to every possible side in order to get the true picture of what really happened. Believe me, the President wants to know the full story, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do not see any thing wrong for the President to visit the wounded at RVH. He went there alone (not Secretary of State or security chief) to talk to the students in private and to wish them well. He went to visit them because he cares. The coroner's inquest has started and as far as I can recall, this is the first time such an inquest has been set up to find the truth. It is open to the public and no body will be prosecuted or intimidated because of evidence they gave in this inquest. The coroner is expected to submit his report by May 15th 2000. As the Attorney General stated on many occasions, it is the judiciary system which is on trial here and things should not only be done in a transparent manner, but Gambians should see it being done in a transparent manner. The commission of enquiry is already set and will be announced next week. Membership to such a commission should be made of people with good reputation, independent mind and people who are not pro or anti Jammeh, but people who would look for nothing but the truth. I know the members and I would have liked to reveal the names here but since it has not yet been announced by the Attorney General, I would wait for him to announce it to the public. You will definitely agree with the team that would make this commission. The President has said in his speech that he will not leave any stone un-turned in the search for the truth, and those who are responsible for this tragic day, will be dealt with accordingly. I do not think we should rush into taking decisions and making judgement before all the facts are laid in front of us. The justice we are all looking for will be done. We need peace and justice and that we will have in The Gambia. PEACE Tombong ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------