Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Gambia ask to honor April 10 students killing

Gambia stub
Gambia stub (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Abdoukarim Jammeh who is physically challenged owing to bullet injuries he sustained during a popular student demonstration in The Gambia on April 10-11, 2000 – has renewed calls for the government to set the dates as school holidays.

14 people (12 students) were killed and many sustained life threatening injuries when Gambian security officers fired live ammunitions on demonstrators.
The demonstrations followed the death of a student who was reportedly maltreated by the Fire Service and the reported rape of a young school girl by a Paramilitary Officer.

On Tuesday, April 09, 2013, Jammeh who walked into the office of The Voice newspaper said: “I am renewing my call to The Gambia government to consider making April 10 and 11 school holidays to allow students to commemorate their fallen colleagues”.

Flag of The Gambia
Flag of The Gambia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jammeh said 13 years has gone since the killing of the students and nothing of a memorial has ever been observed. “These are people who should not be forgotten,” he said.

“I am not born disable but it was on this day (April 10) that I lost one of my legs. Now am working with a stick and I have lost my education, while some of my colleagues have died and others suffered life-threatening injuries,” Jammeh laments.

For this reason, he said “this day should serve as a day of remembering the students who died and those who were injured”.   Jammeh also said he and others who are now physically challenged still need support for medical treatment and education. Source: The Voice


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