Jobou and Absjorn, thanks for bringing this issue to the fore. On the issue of their decrees, let them create all kinds of protections from future prosecutions. Those days are gone when you can trample the people and then go unscathed. Pinochet is the latest to know that how ever long you stay up, you will have to come down to answer to the people, and we have the laws of physics to back us. So, I am not worried or surprised to see them manufacture their latest spin. Like you said, desperate folks would do desperate and strange things.
Continuing, on the issue of creating an exist strategy for these coons, nothing you can say to them will make them believe anything. To a liar, anything and everything is a lie. You see, as much as they are afraid of their personal safety, they are more so dominated by their greed. Most if not all around him cannot survive on their own and the mere thought that they could loose their ill gotten gains will blind them to other possibilities. The cure to this dilemma is simple, let the people trounce them in the ballot box. This will be our announcement to the world that Gambians have taken back from the thieves. We do this by vigilance. No ballot rigging; no vote selling; credible election monitors; everyday people rising up and making sure that the winner is the winner. However, if we allow them to steal this election, we would just prolong our agony many many fold. The world would not listen to us after the fact. This brings us back to the importance of focusing on the issues that will help us attain this victory. Folks, let us get our act together. If nothing else, let us remember that a group of fire fighters facing a house on fire have no business/time arguing. ACTION is what will save that fire and not words.
Chi Jaama
Joe Sambou
>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Indemnity Act/let us confer
>Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 11:20:34 EDT
>
>In a message dated 4/19/2001 8:56:55 AM Central Daylight Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
><< Iīm very surprised if itīs so, that The Gambia can put a law in action,
> which works retrograde.
> Itīs a principle in all law-making, that a law is not in action until itīs
> been published. And itīs a principle that a law can not cover, meet the
> demands of action taken place, before the law is put into action by
> publishing it. That means that a law can not cover situations back in time,
> before the law was made. Itīs simple because every person has the right to
> know if his doings, actions are under a law, is law-abiding or law-breaking.
> Else you can establish a law under which people can be brought to court for
> actions, which when they did so was not against any law. If you can put laws
> into action which works backward or retrograde , you can not as a citizen
> protect yourself from what could come up in the future >>
>***************************************
>I am no lawyer, but I do not think that there is any way that laws can be
>passed to apply retoractively, except if you are Yaya Jammeh's government and
>his collaborators.
>
>You do ask some very pertinent questions Absjorn, but I'm afraid that trying
>to make sense out of what the APRC government does is like trying to go up
>the down staircase.
>The mere fact that this present government, along with the help of those who
>are entrusted with upholding the laws of our land has come up with such a
>"decree" that they call a law ( and I agree with Dampha, it is indeed a
>decree) makes it abundantly clear that these people know that they have
>broken innumerable laws, and committed crimes too numerous to name against
>the Gambian people, otherwise, why would they feel a need to come up with
>such a so called law?
>
>A while back, some of the Jammeh emmissaries were dispatched to the L to feel
>out the atmosphere for "forgiveness and reconciliation" as they called it,
>reminding us that South Africa was able to have a truth and reconcialition
>committee. This was a mission to feel the pulse of those most likely to push
>for justice once these people are out of office. This talk of "forgive and
>forget" was not well received here. Therefore, the next plan of action was to
>try to inact laws that will protect these people and indemnify them against
>any criminal prosecution in the future for all crimes committed in the past,
>present and future. What a shame that sons and daughters of Gambia should
>take part in the formulation of such laws.
>
>I had a long conversation with a friend last night which was quite an
>education for me, and I will relay their observations later because I think
>they are amazingly relevant and need to be heard by all Gambians. One of the
>things this friend said, and something that I think is so very true and
>obvious, is that the Jammeh government has backed themselves into a tight
>corner that they do not know how to get out of. These people know that they
>face prosecution if they ever leave office so they see themselves as having
>one of two choices.
>
>They either put into motion all that it takes to stay in power because they
>are safe from prossecution as long as that is the case, or they step down and
>face prosecution. Even if these guys were assured by Gambians that they will
>not be prosecuted in return for stepping down, they will have a hard time
>believing this.
>This creates a huge dillemma for us as well as this regime. They are in a
>tight corner, and their reactions these days is that of a person struggling
>for survival, as well as in a state of panic. This is compounded by the fact
>that it is certain that there is a great deal of mistrust amongst the Jammeh
>regime itself, and no one can be surprised by that.
> It is this friend's opinion as well as mine that there is no doubt that the
>thing that most pre-occupies Yaya Jammeh is his personal safety these days,
>and given the atmosphere these guys have created, this is inevitable.
>Needles to say, desperate people do desperate things as evidenced by the
>bizarre decisions that this government makes.
>
>Therefore, we have a big dillemma infront of us. How do we diffuse such a
>volatile situation? Let us debate this people, because we have to find a
>solution to this potentially volatile sotuation. It is time to put our heads
>together on this issue, and I will be very happy to hear the opinions on how
>to defray this tense situation from all of you, especially Ebrima Ceesay, Dr
>Saine, and all of you brilliant Gambians.
>
>Jabou Joh
>
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