Open invitation to all Gambians in the U.K.THERE WILL BE A BRIEFING ON THE PRESENT SITUATION OF OUR BELOVED COUNTRY THE GAMBIA ON 28TH FEBRUARY 2001 @ 7 PM SHARP.COMMITTEE ROOM 10, HOUSE OF COMMONS.THE BRIEFING WILL BE DIRECTED TO A NUMBER OF MPS.THIS IS VITAL TO ENLIGHTEN ON THE PRESENT SITUATION AT HOME, THEREFORE A STRONG GAMBIAN PRESENT IS NECESSARY. PLEASE SPREAD IT BY WHATEVER MEANS. THE PRESENTATION OR BRIEFING WILL BE PERFORM BY THE MOVEMENT FOR THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN THE U.K. --- Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > 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. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! 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