EDITORIAL: Why Jammeh Must Go.
EDITORIAL
The Gambia we are living under today, can be best understood if we look at our society at two levels. The first is at the people's level. Milton Meyer in his book, They thought They Were Free, documents the lives of ten law-abiding German citizens during the time the Nazis were growing in strength and influence. The gradual and insidious way in which German society was transformed, and the way the people were inadvertently caught up in this process, has distinctive conceptual parallels to what we are experiencing in Gambia today. Since 1994, we have witnessed a gradual habituation of our people to be "governed little by little by surprise,” as Meyer puts it.
JAMMEH GOT TO
GO COME WHAT MAY
In The Gambian context, each incidence of murder, torture or arrest has created decibels loud enough that the government can hear, but not enough that we as a society can force a change. One of the dilemmas facing us is not different from that faced by the Germans under Nazi rule. Fear is a paralyzing factor, and it is causing our people to look the other way when our values as a society are being infringed on by our government. Today, this fear has become so pervasive that it has become the face of terror, and the consequences of opposing our government in any strident way could result to torture and even worst; death.
The turning point for us came in April 2000, when school children were gunned down in cold blood. Jammeh made his point loud and clear, that he was prepared to use brutal Macheavillian force to repress our people. The culture of fear that he planted, which
grew out of the massacre of those school children rules our lives to this day. Every life taken by this government, is a good reason to reject, oppose, and work to seek its demise. Good decent people, community leaders, religious leaders and elders all must in the African tradition, condemn the government in the bantabas, mosques, and anywhere they can, for the continuing torture and murder of our people. Part of our culture revolves around the concept of forgiveness and reconciliation, and this is what we must continue to practice and emphasise; not the alien western concept of punishment by torture and murder.
But, we continue to be dumb-founded by the total inertia of our judicial and the Assembly branches of our government. Who is protecting the Constitution and the rights of our people? This is clearly a dark period for our country when the government without restrain can arrest, torture, murder, detain people without cause, and make people disappear without a whimper from our judicial system. This is beyond the pale, and it is unbelievable that this is happening to us as a country. Yahya has become that much a "god" before our eyes, and ours is now a country without laws.
The second level has to do with the regime itself. Dr. Lawrence Britt examined several past well known despotic regimes and discovered many characteristics common to each. Jammeh's regime today manifests characteristics disturbingly similar to these regimes.
First, the military is given a disproportionate amount of power, and the regime answers any domestic disturbance with unequal force. But, more importantly, the military is nurtured and seen as the answer to all domestic problems no matter how innocuous these are.
Second, is the identification of enemies/scapegoats as a means to create a theme around which to rally. Often this includes the use of tribal identity, interest groups or other factors that the regime uses to bring people around it.
Third, the disdain for human-rights is often linked to the need for security. In actuality, it has more to do with the regimes sensitivity to its activities being exposed to the public. Often, this involves murders, incarcerations, summary executions and tortures.
Fourth, is the factor of corruption and cronyism which involves the appointment of circles of friends and associates to positions of power and authority. This includes the apportionment of the national resources to the few privileged at the exclusion of the rest of society.
Fifth, is the fraudulent manner in which elections are conducted. From the beginning, the odds are against the opposition. The regimes utilize state resources exclusively to advance their agenda, and use state employees to enable it secure the results it desires.
Sixth, is the suppression of the media in order to try and prevent information from freely flowing to the people to enable them make informed decisions. Despotic regimes attempt to keep the people uneducated and uninformed, because this ensures and prolongs their hold on power.
We are at this stage now, and it is our duty and responsibility to stand up and make a difference. We call on the military to not stand in our way. Government is only legitimate if the governed consent. We want change now. We need change now.
Authored by Associate Editor Mathew K Jallow.
Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 (Archive on Tuesday, May 30, 2006)
Posted by PANDERRYMBAI Contributed by PANDERRYMBAI
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Current Rating: 5.00 Rating: 5 Mathew rocks, as usual. yeh,rah Rating: 5 Rating: 5 Baldeh bolong, muhsidow, kalamah nah fehwih.konokah nrp Rating: 5 Rating: 5 Great job Mathew. We are proud of you and the Freedom crew...
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