BY PA NDERRY M'BAI July 22ND 1994, is now becoming part and parcel of Gambia's national calender. It's a day, in which the despotic regime of dictator Yahya Jammeh, toppled the democratically elected government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. military take overs are illegal in all it forms. But in The Gambia, it's being celebrated yearly. GAMBIA'S IRON HAND DICTATOR JAMMEH WHAT HAPPEN TO HIS SO CALLED REVOLUTION? Now the questions that comes to mind is: Is there any cause for celebrations? What is the point of celebrating an illegal event? What message is Jammeh sending to the young officers of The Gambia National Army? This question was raised by prominent politician Omar Amadou Jallow alias OJ in one of my interviews with him and i will raise it again. Who is to benefit from such an undemocratic occasion? Does our current sick economy permit for such an illegality? More questions than answers from Jammeh's drowning regime. As the Ruling APRC observed this undemocratic day, i want to join other pro democracy activists in condemning such an illegality. My tribute to those who died under the repressive regime of Yahya Jammeh. We should remember the deaths, as the regime marked this dishonourable act.. We should also use the occasion to assess the underdevelopment and economic mayhem perpetrated by Yahya and his murderous regime. We will also continue to ask questions regarding the murder of our sons, daughters, brothers and journalist Omar Barrow by Jammeh's trigger happy soldiers on April 10, 2000. The regime also owe an explanation to The Gambian populace as to who murdered veteran journalist Deyda Hydara. Instead of coming up with reasonable leads as to who killed the journalist, Jammeh and his widely feared NIA'S embarked on what i will describe as a "vilification" campaign against the unshakable reputation of Deyda Hydara. Who with his right mind will buy the cover up story advanced by this desperate and confused regime? Is this yet another blackmail against the deaths by Jammeh? It's unGambian and unIslamic for one to castigate the deaths. The reasons advanced for Deyda's possible murder, in my mind is only a smear campaign against a defenceless and innocent journalist who spent all his life in defending freedom and liberty. The Ruling APRC is still being hunted by Deyda's death and must do its home work better to convince Gambians and the international community. There is no iota of truth in their "empty and baseless" confidential report on Deyda's death. There is still more questions than answers in Hydara's murder. We will not rest, until we see the perpetrators of this cowardly and dastardly act brought to book. It's very unlikely under Yahya's regime for the killer(s) of Deyda to face justice, in view of their apparent unwillingness to allow international investigators to take part in the investigations. Why closing your doors to foreign investigators, if you feel that your hands are clean? It's reported that the sacked army chief of staff Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Jatta is in the United States. Perhaps Colonel Jatta will spill the beans and expose this murderous regime. Vincent was said to have protested the killing of Deyda, which led to his immediate sacking. Vincent go ahead and tell the world what happen on the eve of Deyda's murder. Gambians are eagerly waiting to hear from you. You stand to be accused of conspiracy, if you failed to speak out against a regime you served and had been linked to all kinds of atrocities. Jatta, do justice to yourself and speak out. My fellow Gambians, join me in asking Yahya Jammeh to explain the circumstances that led to the mysterious death of former finance minister Ousman Koro Ceesay. We are also demanding a comprehensive explanation into the "mass killings" and burial of alleged November 11 coupists. Why the extra judicial killings? Under the Gambian law any body accused of crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent law court. Why summarily executing these young soldiers of our army without observing the dictates of our National constitution?. Some soldiers are still missing. Families have raised questions about the whereabouts of their loves ones over and over. The regime had not yet come up with any convincing explanation about the whereabouts of the missing soldiers. We are welcomed testimonies given by one of the escapees Benneh Minteh, who gave a comprehensive explanation about the events leading to the November 11 alleged abortive coup. Facts are now gradually emerging regarding the said incident, which left many GNA soldiers dead and missing. Bereaved families are still demanding justice in this high profile crime perpetrated by a regime calling itself to be democratic. We want Jammeh to come with more convincing explanation about the circumstances that led to the killing of lieutenant Dot Faal, Sey, Barrow and a host of others. The press release read on Gambia Radio and Television Service on the day in question by exiled former APRC number two man Sanna Sabally was nothing but a deception and mere lies. It's typical of military dictators to betray their co conspirators, since their action in toppling regimes are not justifiable at all. We have seen similar betrayals taking place in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria. The active participation of the military into politics had hindered development on the African continent. A classical case is The Gambia, where the former junta had embezzled millions of dalasis since it came to power. Millions of dollars were secretly transferred to a Swiss account in the early days of the coup, which later landed into the hands of former APRC spokesman Ebou Jallow. A war of words ensued between Ebou Jalow and the shameless APRC regime following this scandalous revelations, as both parties tried to deceive Gambians with their dubious monetary transfer schemes. Crude oil funds from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, amounting to millions of dalasis also went into the pockets of Jammeh and his cohorts. The Central Bank financial scandal is still fresh in the minds of Gambians. Millions of dalasis are still yet to be accounted for. To add insult to injury, the government recently came up with a statement saying that there was no money missing at the Central Bank. Then why imprisoning Lang Conteh and Baba Jobe? If the government statement which was published in one of the local papers is to go by, then Lang and Baba should be freed. The much talked about Paul Commission had been trashed into the dustbin of history. The Commission's work and recommendations had been discredited by the pioneer of the enquiry, who is no other person other than Yahya Jammeh. Jammeh's promise to deal with corrupt officials was a mere joke. He reinstated Yankuba Touray, former information minister indicted for corruption by the Paul Commission few months after the findings were released to the public. Touray was ordered to pay over D2million of dalasis to the state. The sum in question was reportedly embezzled by Touray during his tenure as a minister with the Ruling APRC government. Now what's the point of setting up a commission when the president is not willing to enforce the commission's recommendations? His actions suggested that he is trying to legalise corruption in The Gambia. What's is good for the goose is good for the gander. If Yanks Touray is a scared cow, why not other inducted public officials? The bottom line here is that, it's the kettle calling the pot black. Yahya Jammeh is not more clean than Yankuba, Tombong, Edward and other public officials brought before the Paul Commission. He should have been the first person to be investigated. A day will come he will tell us where he put "The Gambian money". Let Jammeh and his co accomplices continue to live in a dream world, but justice will certainly and surely be extended to their doors sooner or later. The recent move by the supreme court to declare the positions of the four opposition MPS is also a cause for concern for our eroding fragile democracy. Our poverty stricken country is no doubt in mind heading to one party rule. The future of The Gambia is indeed gloomy. Speaker Sheriff Mustapha Dibba and the APRC rubber stamp National Assembly are doing disservice to our country. What will the Ruling government gain from such a an undemocratic move? I'm not surprised by their actions. From day one i knew that Sheirff Dibba was hired by Yahya to do dirty job for him. Sheriff, you are a disgraced to the older and the younger generation. You have compromised your integrity for shake of money and position. Your crusade against the deposed Jawara administration, was nothing but a mere attempt to enrich yourself. We must thank God for not allowing you to assume the office of the presidency. It would have been a different story, if you had succeeded in taking charge of the affairs of the impoverished state. God knows why he will not allow your types to rule The Gambia. The supreme court which should seen to be independent had allowed to be used by a regime interested in destabilising the fabric of society in The Gambia. The court's decision on this controversial case was clouded by Jammeh's statement prior to the ruling. Jammeh was on record for having branded the new opposition grouping as "The National Association of Desperate Donkey drivers". One would not hesitate to conclude that their ruling against the opposition was dictated by Jammeh's irresponsible pronouncements on the eve of the case ruling. Now the rest is history. As the APRC marked the July 22nd coup, i implore on the current leadership to step down from power and allow an interim government to run the country. The regime had demonstrated that it's not capable of steering the affairs of the country. Its recent move to sack the IEC chairman Gabriel Roberts and two other staffers of the electoral body goes to show that they are prepared to rig the 2006 polls. Jammeh should not forget tthat he days of election rigging is becoming a thing of the past. The verdict of the people is more powerful than his thugs bent on undermining our cherished peace. Having said this, it's imperative to compare the PPP deposed administration and the Ruling APRC government in terms of governance and economic performance. The reason advanced for the so called "revolution" was to tackle corruption, nepotism, and injustice in The Gambia. But today, the APRC is more corrupt than Jawara's regime. In a span of 11 years, they have embezzled billions of dalasis. The records are there to prove my assertion. Jammeh's corruption is well documented both locally and internationally. Jawara's government was far better than Jammeh's regime in terms of governance and economic prosperity. Under Jawara, The Gambia was highly valued by the international community. This was due to the old man's respect for democracy and the rule of law. It was under Jawara's watch that we have the African Centre, Human and People's right in The Gambia. Under Jammeh, is the reversed. What we have witnessed is international isolation. The Gambia is no longer considered as a democratic state. We have been ranked as a nation not meeting international democratic standards. Can Jammeh tell Gambians why The Gambia was not qualified for the G8 debt relief program? Can Jammeh tell us why The Gambia is still not qualified for the US millennium challenge account? I doubt if he will respond to my questions. As long as Yahya Jammeh is ruling the Gambia, Gambians will continue to suffer. He had reduced the presidency to be a laughing stock in the eyes of the civilised nations. The APRC is celebrating another failed so called revolution characterised by broken promises, economic and rule of law crisis. Down with such an irresponsible dictatorial regime. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How much mail storage do you get for free? Yahoo! Mail gives you 1GB! Get Yahoo! 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