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Freedom Newspaper, 10.04.2017

Hundreds gathered on Monday for a march in the streets of Serrekunda to remember 14 students gunned down by Yahya Jammeh regime while protesting against the suspicious death in custody of a student. The two-day event, which plunged the...

Hundreds gathered on Monday for a march in the streets of Serrekunda to remember 14 students gunned down by Yahya Jammeh regime while protesting against the suspicious death in custody of a student. The two-day event, which plunged the country into deep shock, remain as one of the saddest days in Gambian history.

“I am saddened by the fact that this massacre took place in Gambia,” Youth and Sport Minister  Henry Gomez told this reporter.

He said that justice will be done under President Adama Barrow’s transition government. “I pray to God that Yahya Jammeh will be punished for his crimes.”

Information Minister Demba Ali Jawo agreed, and gave assurance that the new regime will address the rising demands for justice.

The events that unfolded on those fateful days (April 10-11, 2000) have never been remembered under Gambia’s long time ruler. The massacre that left 14 dead, and many seriously wounded, has shaken up the country with a devastating reality about Yahya Jammeh’s dictatorial regime. Victims’ families were even denied the right to hold ceremony remembering their loved ones. For over two decades, former President turned a deaf ear to their persistent calls for justice.

Yusupha Mbye said his life has been a nightmare since the sad events. He has been confined to a wheelchair. He called on the authorities to make sure that the Indemnity Act that was endorsed by Parliament is repealed. “We’ve already launched a campaign against what appears to be a subterfuge used by the Jammeh regime to absolve security forces from any wrongdoing.”

Campaigner Saul Mbenga, who is one of the initiators of the march, vowed to put an end to this situation. “Anyone linked with the massacre will be dealt with accordingly,” he warned.

European Head of Delegation Attila LAJOS, who spoke to this reporter, said the issue of transitional justice is going to be a long-lasting process. “It is not going to finish in a year,” he said.

Ambassador Lajos outlined the important role civil society groups have to play in the current political dispensation. “This is not something only the government can do. This is something that needs the entire nation to get together, and work it out. This is a very difficult process.”

He okayed Gambia government stance to follow the path taken by South Africa to deal with the issue of transitional justice.

The tiny West African nation is confronted with trying times as the quest for justice continues to resonate louder. The coming days will help to see how authorities will be able to deal with the dilemma of delivering justice and promoting reconciliation.

Written by Abdoulie JOHN

The Standard, 12.04.2017

By Omar Bah

Abdoulie Bojang, father of Lamin Bojang, one the students killed on April 10-11, 2000 has urged President Adama Barrow to listen to widespread calls for a proper investigation into the circumstances behind his son’s death ad those of a dozen other at the hands of the Gambian security forces.

Lamin Bojang was among 14 people killed by security forces in a massacre on April 10-11, while protesting the alleged murder of their colleague, Ebrima Barry, in the hands of firemen in Brikama.
“All I want from the new government is justice, because justice should prevail no matter what happens. Before any reconciliation, we need justice for our children,” he told The Standard yesterday.

Mr Bojang said the families of the victims have been pushing for justice to be served on the killing of their children, but the Yahya Jammeh regime never listened to their demands.
“Now that we have a new government I believe we shall have justice,” he said, Bojang recalled with grief that his son was aspiring to be a pilot only for some cruel people to tragically end his dream.

He said his son was a very bright student, “I knew that if he was still with us today, he would have been the breadwinner of the family, as he would have been 35 years-old.”

Lamin Bojang was killed along with 14 others, Reginald Carrol, Karamo Barrow, Ousman Sabally, Sainey Nyabally, Ousman Sembene, Bakary Njie, Claesco Pierra, Momodou Lamin Njie, Wuyea Foday Mansareh, Bamba Jobarteh, Momodou Lamin Chune, Abdoulie Sanyang, Babucarr Badjie and Omar Barrow.    The regime of Jammeh allowed the killers to go scot-free and calamitously blamed the students for starting the firing.

Foroyaa Newspaper, 12.04.2017

By Kebba Jeffang

Seventeen years after brutal killing of scores of Gambian students with live bullets by the security forces during the rule of former president Yahya Jammeh, the victims were remembered at a symposium jointly organized by April 10/11 Memorial Foundation, DUGA and SENDGO held at a local hotel in Kanifing on Tuesday, April 11.

The event brought together the survivors, students and youth activists as well as prominent political leaders. The incident was commemorated with march-past that energized activists to express their call for justice. The slogan for the event is ‘Never Again.’

Addressing the gathering, Professor Pierre Gomez, Dean of Faculty of Social Science at the University of the Gambia on the topic ‘human rights, constitutional safeguards against impunity and access to justice within the context of the April 10/11 victims and their families, said there are several protection mechanisms laid down in the Constitution of the Gambia that could have been considered by the perpetrators to avert the horrible incident.

He said section 17 states that the fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in Chapter 4 of the constitution shall be respected and upheld by all organs of the Executive and its agencies, the legislature and where applicable to them by all natural and legal persons in The Gambia and shall be enforceable by the courts in accordance with the Constitution.

He said section 18(1) states that no person shall be deprived of his or her life intentionally except in the execution of a sentence of death imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offence for which the penalty is death under the laws of the Gambia as they have effect in accordance with sub-section (2) and of which he or she has been lawfully convicted.

He cited sections 19, 21 and 25 as protective mechanisms laid in the constitution to safeguard the dignity and freedom of people.

“In light of the above, it is clear that the importance of access to justice is an essential instrument for the protection of human rights in the Gambia and it is only when an individual has access to courts that his fundamental rights can be enforced,” said Prof Gomez.

Halifa Sllah, National Assembly Member for Serekunda who was recognized for his role on the fateful days of April10/11 in 2000 was tasked to give account on the incident in order to refresh the old memories.

“The organisers called us to gather here so that people wouldn’t forget the victims of April 10/11 2000, for forgetting them will be the greatest tragedy that could befall on any human. Human mind is nourished by knowledge, human heart is nourished by truth, human conscience is nourished by justice and the human willpower is nourished by resolution,” said Sallah.

He said the victims were supposed to live on this earth in dignity, liberty and prosperity.

“What happened here on April 10th/11th needs to be fully comprehended for that is what will prevent us from repeating it. We should not live in the past but we must learn from it in order to shape the future,” he said.

Sallah said “We got the message of the school boy who was taken to the fire service offices by the parent for disciplinary training. We investigated it and reported it. It is important to reconnect what actually happened.”

He said the officers thought they were bringing up a stubborn child to be discipline and subjected that child to brutality which overwhelmed the child and cost his life. According to him, the officers were silence about it but then the parents got worried, the teachers got worried and everybody got worried and the students also got worried.

He said “the students decided to intervene to ensure that justice is done but then there were others who decided against that. So many attempts were made for the state to take action but it was disregarded.”

He said he wrote letters to the then Ministries of Education and Interior to alert them to the fact that something has to be done and something must be done to tell the students that the authorities are concerned failing which they will neglect the youth. He said the Education ministry replied to the letter saying they have a common concern that something will be done but justice delayed is justice denied.

“Because justice was delayed the young people became more infuriated and eventually they sought to hold a demonstration to express their concerns.  The young people decided to demonstrate. He said this brought about the conflict that cost several lives of young Gambians on that fateful day.

He challenged the Gambian people to be the architects of the new Gambia by strengthening the strong organisations and creating awareness on civic obligations. According to Sallah, strong organisations and awareness are the two most powerful weapons in building perfect democracy.

Omar Jallow, alias OJ, Minister of Agriculture said “never again” should such scenario be accepted in The Gambia. He said there were and are still governments in Africa that enslave their people without giving them the freedom they deserved.

“I am encouraged to have seen you people coming here to remember your colleagues who lost their lives at the 10th and 11th incidents. We have a change of government but change for what? Are we going to continue as before or are we now going to accept to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people and being totally accountable to the people who put them in place?” he asked.

He said the Gambia has a big challenge beyond the change of system but how to manage the change to make sure it is beneficial to each and every Gambian and it fulfills the aspiration of every Gambian who had for the past 22 years faced all types of violations including this terrible incident.

“The present government has a responsibility not only to bring justice on those who perpetrated such crimes against the Gambian people but also to make sure that all the institutions of the government should be seen as national institutions and to be accountable and answerable to the people and to nobody else.

“The over glorification and personalization of leadership should stop once and for all. How can we elect people, they come to our homes to seek for vote, then when they are elected you allow them to play God on you?  This is unacceptable. People talk about religion that God put Kings and Presidents on positions I say no. I am a practising Muslim but I know that is a wrong notion. God has never come down physically to tell you vote for somebody. God has given you minds to think for yourself. If culture doesn’t promote freedom, respect and liberty then that culture is a bad culture. And I want us to do away with these norms as they are the things keeping Africa backward”.

OJ urged the young people to challenge his government to make sure the youth monument is dedicated to those Gambians who lost their lives marking their names on the monument. He said the media should be allowed to operate freely as it is integral in the democratization process and is the fourth arm of the government. He suggested that press freedom should be entrenched in the Constitution as part of the agenda for reform.

FOROYAA Newspaper / All Africa, 21 March 2017

By Saikou Suwareh Jabai

This April 2017 will be the 17th anniversary of the student demonstration of April 2000 which was violently suppressed by Gambian security forces, leaving more than 14 young students killed by bullets and several others injured, some maimed for the rest of their lives.

This reporter reached out to the National Youth Council (NYC) and sought out the position of the youth on this tragedy that will forever live to linger in the minds of not just the relatives of the victims but the Gambian youths at large.

The Director of the NYC, Mr. Lamin Darboe, said April 10th and 11th has been part of the days of our country's history, saying they are days we cannot just forget about. He remarked, "It's a day we need to reflect and ponder on to know what has gone wrong and what we have to do in moving forward".

He said the society that we were living in does not permit people to articulate and express their feelings as it should be and that led to the unfortunate April 10th and 11th incident.

He added, "What young people demand for was not the moon, all they demand for was justice and that justice is what we will continue to call for".

He said this clarion call will continue to surface until the truth and justice are established in the case of those young people who were brutalized and others seriously injured.

The director said the Council is putting in plans with its members and partners to unprecedentedly commemorate this year's anniversary of the incident.

He said the fact that they were not marking it in public during Jammeh's time doesn't mean that people were not remembering the victims of April 10 and 11.

He said, "We are asking for justice but we also want to know the truth. The incident has gone to a level that people don't want to talk about it."

This, he added, is because of the former government's crude reaction to the critics and advocacies on the matter.

He said young people expected better from the government than what they have witnessed in April 10 and 11.

The Womens Torch, 11.04.2017

The first commemoration of the student massacre of April 10 and 11 2000 held seventeen years later, yesterday and today, at the Youth Monument in Westfield, in the form of a march past, symposium and musical tributes.

The sixteen persons killed on April 10-11, 2000 including fourteen students are:

Baboucarr Badjie,  Karamo Barrow, Lamin Bojang, Ebrima Barry, Reginald Carrol, Momodou Lamin Chune, Bamba Jobarteh, Wuyea Foday Mansareh, Bakary Njie, Momodou Lamin Njie, Sainey Nyabally,  Ousman Sabally, Abdoulie Sanyang, Ousman Sembene, Claesco Prierra et Omar Barrow.

Two others, Omar Barrow, journalist and Red Cross Volunteer (hit by a bullet in the Red Cross Yard) and a three-year old child (reportedly hit by a stray bullet) were also killed.

One of the most shocking events of the twenty two (22) year regime of former President Yahya Jammeh was the brutal, day light killings of 14 students and a journalist by Gambian security forces who fired live ammunition on student protesters.

The incidents also left dozens more seriously injured, some of whom, like Yusupha Mbye (one of the outspoken victims) wheelchair bound for the rest of their lives.  It also led to the arrests, torture of hundreds of students and the rape of many female students.

Since 2000, any form of commemoration of the events had been banned by the Jammeh administration. Families of the victims have also never been compensated by the Government.

Ba Tambedou, the Attorney General and Justice Minister who marched alongside the victims and their families on Monday, April 10 said that justice should prevail for the victims and families of the student massacre.  He added that they will try by “all means to know who gave the order for the shooting and killing of those protesting students and that justice will be served.”

Former President Jammeh was accused of ordering the shooting of the students, but the government denied the allegations. A government commission of inquiry reportedly concluded that the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) officers were “largely responsible” for many of the deaths and other injuries yet those responsible have never been brought to book.

On April 10-11, 2000, The Gambia Students Union (GAMSU) had organized a large scale nationwide protest over the alleged beating to death of Ebrima Barry, a secondary school student at the hands of fire service officers in Brikama, Western Region, and the alleged rape of a thirteen-year old school girl by a Police Intervention Unit (PIU) paramilitary soldier at the Independence Stadium during a school sports competition.

Daily Observer, 11.04.2017

A procession in honour of students who were shot and killed, with others paralyzed during April 10 and 11 students’ protest in 2000 was commemorated yesterday.

Seventeen years ago, students across the country particularly the Greater Banjul area, took to the streets demanding the release of their colleague who died in custody. The protest later turned in to violence and security personnel open fire at them, fourteen of them died and scores were injured and others paralyzed.

The 1st anniversary took a form of March past from GTTI towards MDI road, in Kanifing and it ended at Westfield Youth Monument. The event was organized by April 10 and 11 Memorial Foundation, Initiative for the Promotion of Democracy and Good Governance, Senegambia Democracy and Governance and DUGA.
Their message was unequivocal; they are demanding justice for the victims of April 10th and 11th, with students carrying placards and banners, chanting slogans; “What do we need, justice, when do we need it, now.” ministers of Youths and Sports, Information, Communication and Infrastructure and Attorney and Minister of Justice were part of the procession.

Justice Minister Ababoucarr Tambadou, said April 10 and 11 were a very dark and unfortunate chapter in the history of The Gambia. “Seventeen years ago, I was here as a lawyer and one of the lawyers of the students at the time, together with Lawyer Ousman Sillah, Amie Bensouda, Emmanuel Joof, and others represented the students at the time.”

Tambadou said it’s disheartening to see that seventeen years after that day; they are able to come out carry peaceful procession. “The students’ wanted an opportunity to express themselves and their grievances as a result of brutality meted out to some of their colleagues at the time.”

He said that, what the students were asking for was to be given an opportunity to show their grievances through a peaceful demonstration, which is constitutionally guaranteed, unfortunately lives were lost. “At the time, the former government felt that any exercise of a fundamental human right by citizenry of The Gambia amounted to a challenge of their unquestionable authority and they acted resulting in the death of students.”

He said they all wanted justice and justice comes in different forms, adding that for him and for the families of the victims, they wanted to know who gave the order for the students to be shot. “We are setting up mechanisms to find out why those students were killed.”

Maila Touray, one of the organisers of the event, said on 10th and 11th April, the lives of their young children were taken and others were left in wheel chairs. “Those killed and paralyzed had the rights to demonstrate,” Touray noted.

by Omar Wally