In a message dated 3/9/2001 2:12:44 PM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> We also believe that in an increasing interdependent world, the use of
> secondary pressure from the international community to compliment the
> laudable efforts of home grown opposition parties and organisations, has
> proved in the past to be a vital weapon in the fight to defuse the
>
##################
I am busy beyond belief, but I had to comment on this one since the thought
has been on my mind since I saw the rooster of attendees to the London
meeting.

Thanks again MRDGUK for your efforts, and for the above statement.

This is precisely the reason that some of us do what we do vis a vis making
the plight of the Gambian people known in the international community. This
effort is not an indication that we are looking for salvation from outsiders
as that notion infact would be an insult to the intelligence of those
involved in the effort to educate the outside World about the ongoing
atrocities in our country.

 Gambia is not an Island in this World, and pressure in various forms from
the international community is part and parcel of any nation's effort to rid
itself of any form of human rights and other violations of political rights
especially in this day and age of global cooperation.

The international community will not hesitate to condemn any country for any
actions they deem an infringement of the people's rights on any God given
freedoms, and rightly so.  Therefore, we as Gambians also cannot hesitate to
bring our plight to their attention so that we can elicit the same response
hopefully on behalf of our people.  As such, this is not a time for anyone to
claim that involving the international community is a reflection of their
inability to fight for the rights of their people, and to solve their own
problems. That is a very short sighted position to take.

While each nation bears the main responsibility for solving their own
problems, the ever increasing joint effort by all nations to be part of a
global community where each country is answerable to the others for the
common good of humanity, is a clear indication that no one can claim that
involving the global community in the effort to find a solution to the
predicament we are now facing in The Gambia is an indication of  a political
party or any individual's failure in this department.

Infact, I would go so far as to say that  any idea  that a party, an
individual or even just the collective efforts of the Gambian people alone
can solve our  present political problems without involving our counterparts
on the international arena  indicates a sort of super hero saviour mentality
on the part of the claimant, and a gross failure to recognize that we are
very much part of an ever intertwined global entity.

These are desperate  times in the history of our country, and therefore the
situation calls for a joint effort on the part of all those who claim to love
and fight for us as a country and a people  to step forward, set aside
personal agendas and be part of the solution. It is a time that even silence
on the part of those who should join hands and be involved; is a deafening
silence that echoes of an individualistic and non-cooperative agenda as
opposed to one that is best for the country as a whole, and  the
repercussions of such a short sighted position will be heard far beyond these
times. Anyone who fails to recognize this has also grossly miscalculated our
intelligence as a people.

Jabou Joh

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