The tragic murder of Deyda Hydara has sparked off a campaign by a group of Gambians for the cancellation of the proposed performance by Youssou Ndour in The Gambia in January. The Staff Association of Gamtel and Gamcel joins all decent citizens of The Gambia in condemning this cowardly act and hope the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be brought to book in the shortest possible time. The Association deeply sympathizes with Deyda’s family and Press fraternity. The linking of Deyda’s murder and the performance of Youssou Ndour in the Gambia is totally unjustified given the noble objective of this program. Firstly, The Gamtel Staff Association is a nonpolitical and nonprofit making organization and was founded to promote staff welfare and serve community with commitment and distinction. The Association is independent of Gamtel management. Secondly, this is the second time that our Association will be organizing such an event with Youssou Ndour. Last time our Association donated over six hundred thousand dalasis to the maternity unit of the RVH. This was done solely on humanitarian grounds and to assist a place where life begins. Youssou Ndour is an artist of International repute. As an Ambassador to Unicef, he keenly identifies himself with such courses. As despicable as the murder of Deyda is, humanitarian work must go on as our people live in poverty. Our Association has the moral obligation to continue to fulfill our social obligations. Those who link this event to the cancelled tour of Youssou to the U.S. last year must realize that that was done on a matter of principle, of one sovereign nation unilaterally attacking another without the mandate of the United Nations. In as much as we condemn this attack as Gambians we cannot but hope that justice will take its natural course given the diverse condemnations from both within and outside this country. We fully respect the views of those who campaign for the cancellation of this event; however we totally reject and vehemently oppose those who have been threatening Youssou Ndour and his Management Team to prevent him from coming. These people have lowered themselves to the level of the murderers of Deyda Hydara. People who propagate violence do not have any place in our intellectual forums. The Gambia is a peace loving nation and our people shall continue to live in peace by the grace of the Almighty. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤