Brother KB, When I first read that Jammeh had refused to accept the findings of both the Coroner and the Commission, I was reminded of the ancient aphorism that a leopard is born with spots and will die with spots - some things in life will never change. But then some of us are on the record for opposing both the Coroner and the Commission not in principle but the terms of reference and the expedient nature of their wherewithal that literally turned them into a damage limitation strategy. Time, that refuter and debunker of illusions has proven our case again. I say and write this without any slight hint of gloating but of regret that we have allowed a fat head like Jammeh hoodwink us into another scam. It tells you a lot about the state of the Gambia - morally, politically, socially and intellectually. If Gambians let Jammeh get away with the murder of our brothers and sisters, without raising hell and ungovernability by agitating through peaceful and decent means, then we might as well throw our towels in and ready ourselves for life in exile - forever! Our indifference and lack of proper response to the Jammeh Mess can only lead to the Sierra Leone type of situation. Just look at the PDOIS response - I'm still trying to comprehend the breath-taking naivety of this once-upon-a-time sophisticated, radical sincere and smart party! After all we have gone through with Jammeh, these guys still naively think Jammeh has the moral wherewithal to act sincerely and see to it that justice is not only done but also seen to have been done. And their obsessions with commissions? Especially truth and reconciliation commissions and the ahistorical analogies of South Africa's Apartheid and the Gambia's Jammeh Tyranny. Do I have to tell them that reconciliation can only come after oppressors' machinery of oppression had been laid asunder and not vice versa? The calling for a truth and reconciliation commission is not only logically absurd at this stage but more importantly it exposes a fundamental flaw in their reasoning: The idea that this immoral regime of fat heads and low- lifers are genuinely interested in the dispensation of swift and fair justice. Do these guys really believe that criminals genuinely set up stuff that will land them on the downside? Do they honestly believe that that tooth-less and muscle-less commission and coroner can effectively dispense the justice needed after the April murders? Do they honestly? Frankly, I have to come to accept their low-risk and soft criticisms of this regime but it is on the naïve bit I have some catching up to do. Well, at least they have released a statement condemning the gov't's rejection of the findings of the both the Coroner and the Commission. As you rightly queried, what about the other players - The UDP, NRP, and the rest of civil society? I have once said somewhere - can't quite remember where exactly - that the reason why we have come this far with a fathead like Jammeh is the general lack of faith in Gambians and the virtual non-existent of any civic society that under circumstances would coalesce and fight a common enemy. People think faith is just going to mosque and dispensing with nominal duties of a practising believer! In my book, faith starts off as an abstract leitmotif and remains at a rock bottom abstract. What do I mean by this? Faith is not so much about the lengths you to be seen to be doing nominal and routine believers stuff but how far you let your conscience be the guardian of your actions and the extent you let it tolerate or even accommodate injustice or evil. Going by the aforesaid paradigm, clearly the Gambia has a faith problem. But then the recent hypocritical howling for "sharia" after a mass murderer, thief and sinner moots the idea just about exposes how faithless our society really is. Brother, I still think that us that think and view Jammeh differently can practically and positively fight against the evil that has hijacked our country. Brother I saw it reported a while ago in one of the local papers one family of the victims of the April murders called for civil litigation against the gov't. We should look at this very seriously. Stuff happens that: In a society where there is what Tony Giddens calls "civic liberalism", the families of the victims would have coalesced and formed a support/pressure group that will independently fight its corner. I suggest we liase with the folks on the ground and help them form such a group; we might even call the group - Families/Victims of April 11 Support Group. Then those who are really interested in justice can contribute whatever they can lay their hands on to push forward the agenda of those who are still traumatised by the April events. I'm sure there some good lawyers out there who wouldn't representing this group on a pro bono basis and sue the gov't for its shabby, despicable, disgusting and odious handling of the welfare of the victims of the April events. Above all, I'm of the conviction that courts of law would in the very end be far more effective in unravelling the truth behind April events and establishing a premise for one to ponder an international litigation against the gov't, if need be. Brother, I thank you for your vigilance, resilience, wisdom and above all your sense of justice that from had inspired and to this day continues to inspire. Hamjatta Kanteh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------