April 8, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AFTER reaching the halfway mark of its two-year mandate, the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in The Gambia has halted proceedings and outreach programmes because of the coronavirus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the TRRC\u2019s planned Ramadan break in April, the Commission says it is expecting public hearings to resume around the first week of June, while outreach activities will re-start when it was considered safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before this untimely break, the TRRC had been moving\nsteadily with the business of investigating alleged human rights abuses under\nthe government of former President Yahya Jammeh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Commission had completed its 12th<\/sup>\nthree-week session on March 5 and on March 18, two day after it began the 13th<\/sup>\nsession of public hearings, a halt was called to the proceedings because of\nCOVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the 12th<\/sup> session, which focused on\nthe arbitrary arrest and detention of public servants and private persons, 14\nwitnesses appeared before the TRRC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This brought the total number of witnesses since it\nbegan public hearings on January 7, 2019 to 217. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The witnesses included 54 women, 40, alleged\nperpetrators and adversely mentioned persons, as well as some expert witnesses,\nwhile 25 Gambians in the Diaspora testified via video link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 13th<\/sup> session would have heard evidence\nof unlawful attacks against road users by Jammeh\u2019s convoys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The remaining period would have started hearings on\nthe prison system and the violation of the rights of inmates and detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the premature closure of the work of the TRRC,\nthe plan was to end its public hearings during the first week of October, with\nthe rest of the year devoted to preparation of the Commission\u2019s final report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It had been a harrowing experience for Gambians as they\nlistened to witnesses detailing the human rights abuses that they suffered\nunder the Jammeh administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe evidence adduced before the Commission during the\nabove-mentioned public hearings shows gross human rights violations against the\nGambian people,\u201d noted Dr Lamin J. Sise, the Chairman of the TRRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDuring the last session, we also heard the gruesome\naccounts of the decapitation and dismemberment of the bodies of detainees to be\nfed to crocodiles at Jammeh\u2019s residence in Kanilai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese wanton acts of barbarity defied all standards\nof human decency and constituted gross violations of the rights of not just the\nvictims, their families, but also those of all Gambians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added: \u201cSince the TRRC\u2019s public hearings began, the\nconscience of the nation is being repeatedly shocked by the revelations of\nsheer brutality meted out to victims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe revelations have also sparked a serious national\nconversation and soul-searching that seeks to understand just how such acts of\nbarbarity could happen in this country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs we journey further into this second and final year\nof our mandate, this Commission remains firmly committed to the pursuit of the\ntruth without fear or favour, affection or ill will with regards to any\nindividual or group of individuals,\u201d Dr Sise added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the TRRC remained committed to \u201cthe cause of\nthe victims, to the welfare of our nation and to helping guarantee\nnon-recurrence of the senseless violations and abuses that occurred in this\ncountry\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr Sise urged \u201cvictims of human rights violations and\nall persons who have information that would be helpful to the Commission\u2019s work\nto please come forward and share their stories\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added: \u201cWhile not every witness that gives a\nstatement is guaranteed to testify in a public hearing, every statement\nreceived is a valuable addition to the historical record the Commission is mandated\nto establish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor the work that we do here at the TRRC, every voice\nmatters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Coronavirus halts Gambian Truth Commission April 8, 2020 AFTER reaching the halfway mark of its two-year mandate, the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in The Gambia has halted proceedings and outreach programmes because of the coronavirus. With the TRRC\u2019s planned Ramadan break in April, the Commission says it is expecting public hearings to resume […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,59,63,67],"tags":[91,246,247],"class_list":["post-3782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alc-news","category-audio","category-education","category-opinion","tag-alc-news","tag-opinion","tag-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n