This Commission of Inquiry is a joke. What can they do? What are their powers? If they cannot convict and punish criminals, then it is just a big waste of time. It also shows a lack of sensitivity to the plight of the people who lost their children on April 10 and 11. These poor families will be paraded before the Commission to repeat what they already told the Coroner and countless neighbors, journalists, politicians, law enforcement authorities, Yaya etc. And saddest of all, what these families have to say has very little relevance when deciding the crux of the matter i.e. who ordered the murderous acts and who acted on those orders? The fact that these parents love their children and their children were peace loving and law abiding citizens may have some relevance in a civil suit. The relevance here is minimal and has to be counter balanced with the pain and anguish people suffer if they have to repeat these stories over and over again to rubber stamp Commissions. What extra facts can the Commission unearth different from those given to Ousman Jammeh? Cut the chase and bring the common criminals before the regular criminal courts of The Gambia where they belong or form a court-martial that can punish the soldier criminals. What happened to the promise of the attorney general to appoint an independent prosecutor to prosecute this case? Or was that another typical Yaya promise …..like I'll step down and become a farmer? And for the lawyers participating in this fraud (that foreign chief justice and Joseph Joof), they ought to be ashamed of themselves. They know that this has nothing to do with justice; this is just a scheme to prolong Yaya's impending demise. The Gambia Bar Association should call upon Joseph Joof to resign his post as president. His participation in this Commission would add some semblance of credibility to the findings of the Commission. So the Bar Association should not let its name be tainted by this unprincipled man. Although we know that a lot of the respectable lawyers in The Gambia pay very little attention to the activities of the Bar Association and have very little respect for the leaders of that Association, nevertheless, the outside world does not understand the politics of that Association. All they would see, is that the president of the Association is involved. They would not stop to ask whether the president represents the whole Association or not. We call upon the lawyers to stand up and denounce Joseph Joof's participation in this Commission and also distance the Bar Association from this fraud. As for the other members of the Commission (especially the priest and the two Alhajis) we would just remind you that God is watching your every move and so are we. The day of reckoning is fast approaching; gone are the days when people will do evil until their last day on earth and then would have to wait for Day of Judgment. Nowadays, evil doers confront their sins here on earth. What happened to Foday Sankoh should be at the forefront of your minds. No one is immune except those who do good deeds. The families who lost their loved ones deserve nothing but a swift dispensation of justice. We should throw the book at the perpetrators of the heinous acts on April 10 and 11. So if you cannot do the job, please don't put the families through another ordeal. >From: TOMBONG SAIDY <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Commission of Inquiry >Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 01:39:00 PDT > >Below are the members of the Commission of Inquiry, > >Peace > >Tombong > >PRESS RELEASE > > >APPOINTMENT AND SWEARING IN OF CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION OF >INQUIRY INTO THE PUBLIC DISTURBANCE OF 10TH AND 11TH APRIL 2000 > > >His Excellency The President of the Republic of The Gambia acting under the >powers conferred on him by Section 200 of the Constitution of the Republic >of The Gambia 1997 has appointed the following as Chairman and Member of >the >Commission of Inquiry into the Public Disturbances of 10th and 11th April, >2000. > > >HON. JUSTICE FELIX M. LATERY (Chief Justice)- CHAIRMAN >MR. JOSEPH H. JOOF (President of Bar Association)- MEMBER >ALHAJI OUSMAN JAH (Supreme Islamic Council) - MEMBER >REVEREND TITUS PRATT (Methodist Mission) - MEMBER >MR. BAI NDONGO FAAL (President Chamber of Commerce) MEMBER >MR. JAMES M. B. ABRAHAM (Writer) - MEMBER >MR. KEBBA SARR - MEMBER >ALHAJI MOMODOU OUSMAN NJIE - MEMBER > >The Chairman and members of the Commission were sworn in before His >Excellency The President on Friday 12th 2000. > > > Solicitor General & Legal Secretary > Department of State for Justice > Banjul > > >________________________________________________________________________ >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 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------