Through the actions of Pap Cheyassin Secka in rejecting the Commission of Inquiry report, Yaya has renewed his declaration of war to the Gambian people. Gambians should take him on. Even someone as despicable as Secka knows that he cannot defend the declarations he made to the press the other day. Reports indicate that he ran out of the room after giving a prepared speech. The truth is, Secka and Yaya cannot look decent Gambians in the eye and tell them that no one is going to be punished for the massacre of our children on April 10 and 11. This is simply unacceptable. I understand Yaya went to parliament and told his cohorts that he is going to consult with his cabinet before releasing the report. Well, we all know that Yaya is surrounded by rubber-stamps. People that when Yaya say 'jump', the only thing they would say is 'how high'. This is already a done deal. If I get the time-line right, Yaya spoke to parliament on Thursday and Secka gave his press release on Friday. So the cabinet were able to study this report in less than a day and endorse Yaya's decision to reject the findings of the commission that implicate his security forces. Cabinet members that sign on to this despicable decision will be held accountable for it when we get rid of Yaya. Opposition members of parliament should be prepared to tackle Secka if and when he comes to parliament to talk about Yaya's decision not to prosecute a single person for the heinous massacre of our children. They should not allow Secka to run away from them like the coward ran away from the press. We should fight these vermin in every arena. But the major fight should be in the streets of Banjul. If children were brave enough to put their lives on the line because of the unsolved murder of one of them and the rape of another, opposition leaders back home should be prepared to mobilize their bases and get rid of Yaya forthwith. The leaders that ask us to give this callous government the benefit of the doubt, and wait for the commission's report, should now come out and answer to Yaya's declaration of war. The reasons forwarded by Secka for rejecting the commission's report are illogical. I am sure that when we see the report, we will also realize that we have our own reasons to reject it as well. I am sure the report tried very hard not to implicate Yaya and his cohorts. What the report could not do (and what angered Yaya and Secka) is, the report could not blame anyone else for pulling a trigger. That is Yaya's major problem. They tried selling us the ridiculous notion that criminals from the Serrekunda Police station somehow stole guns from the station and instead of shooting the police that locked them up, went and shot the children that freed them. When they realize that that story would not fly (thanks to Ebou Colly), they talked about rubber bullets and shooters coming from the sky. There is no escape here. The bottom line is, the children were massacred with life ammunition from Yaya's security forces. No one can escape from that truth. Yaya and Secka can fire all the judges in the country if they want. They can never erase what happened on April 10 and 11. Secka also clarified for me something else that was puzzling me the past few months. That is, the way his chambers was handling the Ebrima Barry case. Just last week I lamented about the incompetent way the prosecutor was handling the case by calling witnesses that ended up sabotaging his case. Now I understand why. Did people realize how Secka was trying to justify the torture and murder of Ebrima Barry and the way the AG chambers handled that case? Secka is doing that for political reasons. Yaya and Secka want the Ebrima Barry case to collapse. That way, they can convince gullible Gambians that the student demonstration was unjustified. This is despicable. I sensed that something stunk in the handling of the Ebrima Barry case. That is why I tried very hard to show people that the case is a winnable for AG chambers. I even went out of character to give them good points that will help them win the case. I still believe that the judge can deliver victory to the prosecution and vindicate Ebrima Barry's family and the students that lost their lives fighting for Barry. But if the prosecution fails in the Barry case, people will now understand why the AG wants the case to collapse. There is no doubt in the minds of decent Gambians that the students felt genuinely aggrieved by the handling of the Ebrima Barry case and the rape of a school girl. That is the reason why there was a demonstration. How does Yaya and Secka expect the commission to ascribe to the students political motives when there was no credible evidence to suggest that the students were motivated by politics? Secka's insinuation that the students were not interested in dialog was also a blatant lie. The students did all they could to talk to government officials and have a legally sanctioned demonstration. It is the government that was not interested in dialog. When Sarjo Jallow stopped to speak to the students, was he attacked? NO. Other government ministers also spoke to the students and not a single piece of stone was thrown at them. Not a single casualty is reported on the side of the government forces. Hell broke lose when Yaya's security forces unleashed brute force on the children. Secka is complaining about the commission not investigating the students to determine what motivated them. But the commission did investigate that. Secka himself investigated that and ordered the arrest and trial of some students. The truth of the matter is, Secka cannot defend the silly notion that the students were the 'cause' of the massacre. His officials cannot even the convince a bogus commission of inquiry of this ridiculous story. Secka tried convincing the courts when he arrested the students. The courts would not buy it either. It is only people like Yaya and Secka, that can convince themselves with such nonsense. Besides, even if the commission did not report about the students' motives, does that erase the fact that Yaya's security forces massacred the students? It is absurd to reject the recommendation to charge police officers because there were no findings regarding the motives of the students. It does not add up. The students did not threaten the lives of any Gambians. How can a three year old be a threat to the lives of Yaya's armed forces or Gamtel installations? It is despicable to hear Secka whine about damage to property when the man would not even have the decency to acknowledge the families that lost their children and the families still watching their children suffering on hospital beds from gun shot wounds. While Secka was also advocating for the commission to look into what motivated the students, I wonder why he did not advocate for the commission to look into what motivated the police. This is why I said that when we see the full report, we will also reject it. The report will not tell us what is self-evident to all Gambians; i.e. the report will not say that Yaya ordered the massacre. That finding, is the bottom line for us. They cannot run away from that. So, we now know that all the promises from Secka about the appointment of an independent prosecutor are all lies. These people are not interested in solving this heinous crime. This is the ultimate crime. They murder our children and then refuse to bring the murderers to justice. Prominent diplomats and opposition leaders in the country that went on record and stated their confidence in Yaya and his handling of the massacre investigation, should now come out and register their opinions again. People that jump to mind are the British High Commissioner and Halifa Sallah. The press should challenge these leaders to register their assessment of the despicable report Secka gave to the press on Friday. So long as this crime remains unsolved, Yaya forfeits his right to live in peace. We should not sit by while the murderers of our children roam the streets of Banjul scot-free. KB >From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: GOVERNMENT REJECTS COMMISSION'S AND CORONER'S REPORT >Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 17:00:15 -0500 > >This is one of the darkest days in Gambian history. I just perused Secka's >despicable comments and would be responding to him more appropriately over >the weekend. > >I cannot believe that the government has decided not to charge a single >person for the murder of our children in broad daylight. To add insult to >injury, Secka was whining about property destruction. This is >incomprehensible. > >So now we know why Chief Justice Lartey and Coroner Ousman Jammeh were >fired. Secka is leading Yaya to the gallows, as I said before. Watch this >space as I debunk the mumbo jumbo Secka was engaged in. You cannot get a >more perverse legal reasoning. > >Yaya and his cohorts have just crossed another line. They will live to >regret it. >KB > > > >>From: Pasamba Jow <[log in to unmask]> >>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list >><[log in to unmask]> >>To: [log in to unmask] >>Subject: GOVERNMENT REJECTS COMMISSION'S AND CORONER'S REPORT >>Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 21:22:40 -0000 >> > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.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 >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.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 You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------