May their souls rest in peace, but

... humanity owe them justice!

Exactly 2 years ago; 23/07/2005, 44 Ghanaians and about 9 other nationals mainly from West Africa were killed by Gambian security operatives.
It is no longer a secret that the Gambian Government has full answers to this and has refused to co-operate with the Ghanaian Government. Whereas I would not like to blame the Ghana Government for in action it is time for the international community to begin watching closely the activities of the Gambia Government more so it human rights records.
For some of us who investigated these killings, this day shall remain disturbing until all facts surrounding the issue is made public and those involved brought to justice.
The list of human rights abuses by the Government of the Gambia is tall they take the form of unlawful detention, torture, disappearance of journalist and allege coup suspects. There is a total culture of fear in the country.
The courts in The Gambia can not do much, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) tested the international waters in ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja where it filed a suit on behalf of Chief Ebrima Manneh(a missing Gambia journalist alleged to have been picked by security operatives) in order to secure his liberty and to compensated by the Gambia Government for his detention for over a year. The Gambian Government refused to show up at the court.
Currently a number of civilians and military men are being tried for an alleged coup attempt in March 2006, all of the suspects said they have been tortured and that they were forced to make statements. Four other suspects have never appeared in court because the courts and the nation have accepted without question an explanation from the Government that they escaped while being transferred from one prison to another when the vehicle that was being used was involved in an accident. It is an open secret that they have been killed after being tortured.
It is time to address these issues, The Government of the Gambia should be told that times have changed and that they need to change too. The international community should follow events in the Gambia with keen interest.

Salam Mahama

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