The 18th anniversary of the April 10 and 11 student massacre by agents of former President Jammeh was marked with a statement of solidarity for the many surviving victims and tribute to the fallen students.
The executive secretary of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Baba Galleh Jallow wrote on his Facebook page that the TRRC will stand in solidarity with the victims.
“The TRRC Secretariat stands in total solidarity with the victims, the victims’ families, the survivors and their families and the Gambian nation in commemoration of the April 10 & 11, 2000 student massacres, during which we also lost our dear brother Omar Barrow. May the souls and the memories of the departed be blessed in eternity. We will continue to stand in solidarity with all victims, survivors and their families to ensure that justice is done and healing achieved for our dear Gambia,” he wrote.
Meanwhile The Association of Non-Government Organisation has also issued a statement on the subject reminding all that the victims are still crying for justice 18 years on.
“This year yet again marks another anniversary when 14 Gambian children including a Red Cross volunteer were gunned to death by the security forces of the Republic of the Gambia. For 18 years, scores of survivors of this massacre continue to live with pain, poverty and deprivation without any support from the Gambia Government.
The April 10 and 11 Commission of Inquiry Report had clearly and directly identified public and security officers who bear the greatest responsibility for the massacre. The Report unequivocally recommended that those responsible must be either disciplined or prosecuted. None of these recommendations was carried out because the Gambia Government had indemnified their actions in 2001.
In light of the foregoing, TANGO and the April 10 and 11 Memorial Foundation hereby makes the following demands bearing in mind that in 2017 a 13-point Petition was submitted to the Minster of Justice for which there has been no response from the Government yet. In addition to that Petition we demand that:
1. The President of the Republic of the Gambia Mr. Adama Barrow to place before the National Assembly a bill to repeal the Indemnity Act 2001 by the next legislative session of the National Assembly in 2018.
2. The Gambia Government to formally adopt the April 10 and 11 Commission of Inquiry Report 2000;
3. The April 10 and 11 Commission of Inquiry Report to be fully implemented within one year from today;
4. The Gambia Government to set up a claims and compensation commission to determine the conditions of victims in order to ensure adequate compensation.”
