The Gambia: Yahya Jammeh must Go; Part 2

By Mathew K Jallow
It is inarguably the most traumatizing day of our history. In one brief moment when time still seem to stand still; sixteen young lives were senselessly cut short by the act of a deranged murderer. It was a day that has remained burnt into our consciousness, a day that The Gambia lost its innocence. April 11, 2000 has come to be known as the day of rage, whose aftermath has left Gambians deeply scared by the madness and the brutality with which such young and innocent lives were massacred. Today, the young blood they spilt on the streets of Kanifing has become the sacrifice they gave for the cause of freeing our beloved motherland from the grip of Yahya Jammeh’s tyranny. After sixteen long years, and three terms as a brutal and incompetent murderer, Gambians deserve a change of regime, so we can once again join the civilized world of nations. This year, the world of politics was stunned by the cascade of near simultaneous revolts across North Africa and the Middle-East; revolts that sought to topple decades of absolute dictatorships, and the successes of the people fighting for liberty and justice, is almost miraculous. As we watch progress across the Maghreb and the Middle-East, we are obliged to ask how long more must we acquiesce to the barbarity of Yahya Jammeh and his looting of our national resources. We are empowered to find solutions to the cancer that is scavenging our country and we have an obligation to do so.  No one will deny that we have been afraid for far too long and the time to be unafraid in now. The need to emulate our neighbors to the north cannot be overemphasized; but more importantly, we owe those children massacred by Yahya Jammeh, their families and our country the responsibility to bring a closure to their sad demise. This year March 26th 2011 will take on an importance as the day Gambians demand the reversal of sixteen years of arbitrary on-man rule; and a day on which the public demand their right to drive freely on the streets of our towns and cities in renegation of Yahya Jammeh’s order banning driving between 9.a.m. to 1.p.m. This order is unconstitutional and constitutes an infringement on our constitutional rights. As a result, Gambians particularly at home are urged to exercise their rights to drive during set-setal hours as a matter of civil right of every Gambian. For life does not have to stop because the streets are invaded by participants coerced into participating in the set-setal in order impress Yahya Jammeh and his cabal for the retention of their jobs. All across the globe Gambians are expressing solidarity with our countrymen and women who just demand their civil rights to drive for pleasure or to attend to personal business. A flier is being provided below for downloading, which is a proclamation of negation of Yahya Jammeh’s driving ban on the last Saturday of each month. Gambian groups across the world, who cannot be present on the ground, will issue statements of supports to our compatriots back home. We urge lawyers, journalists, politicians, doctors, civil servants and business men and women to lead this civil disobedience exercise in order to restore Gambian’s right to drive during set-setal hours 9 a.m to 1 p.m the last Saturday of each month. Below is a downloadable flier which is downloadable for distribution across the country by our friends and supporters at the military and by the youth. In addition, for the first time this year, Gambians across the globe will commemorate the April 11 2000 student massacre in memory of all the young lives lost to the insanity of a megalomaniac.

Balangbaa, March 26^th 2011

Protecting our Rights to Drive

The 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. driving ban on

the last Saturday of each month is unconstitutional and tramples upon our civil rights.

The street cleaning (set-setal) exercise on that day must be voluntary; not coercive.

We, therefore, demand our rights to drive during (set-setal) cleaning hours 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Life does not stop because of the street cleaning (set-setal) exercise. We demand our driving rights.

Gambia Campaign for Civil Disobedience

March 2011