Gambia-L: The e-mail below is a commentary from one of my sources in the heart of Government. Ebrima ___________________________________________________________________ Hello Ebrima, When I decided to join in the struggle to dislodge Yahya Jammeh's despotic regime from power, I did so out of conviction and good conscience. That conviction, Ebrima, is still there and unshakened for that matter, despite the occasional distractions (some deliberate, others not) from members of the L. I want to assure the List members that I will continue to dedicate myself to the cause with the truth. I will not, under any circumstances, provide information to the L which I do not have full confidence in. I am in the know and, because I am in a suitable position to know what is going on in the Government, I shall continue to provide you with the information without fear or favour. For me, this is a mission that I am doing not only for myself and fellow country men and women, but for posterity as well. The information I'll continue to give you would remain accurate and without malaise; and which information can always be verified. So far, I have been able to exactly do that. In cases where members have requested clarification, I have always tried to provide it under the most difficult of circumstances and of course at a great risk. But in my honest opinion, it is a risk worth taking given the physical, psychological and human destruction brought onto the Gambia by Yahya Jammeh and his brutal regime. I would have left this Government long time ago, but I am only working, in order to be in a position to know all the government secrets and then expose them to Gambians and the International Community. Ebrima, this regime has killed innocent students in broad daylight whose only crime was to peacefully demonstrate to air their "grievances" to Government. Also, military and security personnel have been arrested, kidnapped, killed and buried in unmarked graves all around this once peaceful country. Individual private citizens, who have chosen to return home from Europe, so as to set up organisations which they hope would make a difference in the lives of the ordinary Gambian, have been kidnapped and tortured in the name of State Security. School girls have been undressed in Police stations, humiliated, taunted and in some instances, raped in the name of retaining the current status quo. Our elders have been summoned to State House, including the Imams and Clergymen, and insulted by none other than Yahya Jammeh who, barely six years ago, was an army officer living in a single dormitory with only two pairs of underpants to his name. He was seen every day walking along the Atlantic Road chewing on a stick of carrot to fill his empty stomach. He was also seen in Night Clubs as far as Cassamance, Senegal, following prostitutes. Tell me, what right does Yahya have to call in our elders, our parents, only to insult them? A Yahya Jammeh who would preach the virtues of hard work, going back to the land when he, as the president, has never put in a day's work. That is the truth. I worked with him. A Yahya Jammeh who would rather sleep until afternoon before getting up to attend to the affairs of the State. A Yahya Jammeh who would steal from the Gambian people's funds: funds he signed for in the name of the Gambian people and yet he ends up putting the money in his pockets. Ebrima, Yahya Jammeh's hypocrisy, his dishonesty, his brutality, his hatred for Gambians and anything Gambian, his laziness, his lack of intelligence, his total disregard for human life and, more importantly, his determination to hold the Gambia hostage come what may, have led me to take the risk of exposing his brutality, his "inhumaneness", his corruptness, his dislike for anything Gambian. Maybe, I should have entitled this piece: "An appeal for Gambian solidarity", because I now see a trend developing on the L which must be arrested immediately if we want to defeat Yahya successfully. We must stop lambasting people or being at each other's throat simply because one has expressed a differential view (no matter how different from the views of the "majority"). Humiliating Gambia-L contributors because they hold unpopular views should be stopped. Knitting here and picking there over tangential and peripheral issues should not also continue on the L. We, Gambians, in the Gambia see the L as a very vital tool in our struggle to defeat Yahya Jammeh and, as such, we must continue to use the L very effectively and efficiently so that we can achieve our goal of defeating the Kanilai butcher. That is how we - who are on the ground - see it. Therefore, something must be done to re-focus the L on the most important task before all Gambians be they in Basse, Kuloro, Kerr Cherno or the diaspora. AND THAT TASK IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YAHYA IS VOTED OUT OF OFFICE, ARRESTED AND THEN BE TRIED BEFORE A COURT OF LAW FOR THEFT AND MURDER. THIS COMMON OBJECTIVE SHOULD BRING US ALL TOGETHER. So please I am appealing to all List members to set aside our differences and work toward this common goal. By the way, I share Buharry's view that Haddy Njie's X-rated posting was not deliberate. I want to believe that it was a case of pushing the wrong reply button. But don't get me wrong: I am not, for a minute, tolerating her behaviour. All the same, if the victim of this posting, Sigga, had replied just once and requested for an apology from Ms. Haddy Njie, then we should just live at that and move on. Let us bury the hatchet and move on. I have also observed that Ebou Colly's excellent contributions are becoming less frequent and I suspect that the ranting and raving over some insignificant issues may contribute, in part, to this. No evidence whatsoever; just a hunch. Kebba Dampha's contributions continue to be inspirational to me and those of us in the Gambia. Ebrima, you'll recall that at some point, I told you that I was considering channelling my efforts elsewhere where I think holds promise in getting the butcher of Kanilai out, because of some of the attacks that were seen on the L. You then prevailed upon me to press on with the task of exposing the Jammeh regime; anyway, I am glad that I stayed because being in the Gambia, I know the impact that the L is now having on shaping public opinion here. Besides, for me, the risks are too high, but they are worth it. However, the personal attacks must cease. By the way, I believe that the experiences of people like Ebou Colly, Ebou Jallow, KB, Jabou, "Aunty" Soffie, Kabir, Buharry, Jassey-Conteh and others will certainly help direct our cause. So please keep it up. Lastly, Ebrima, what can I say to you except to thank you for the confidentiality and discretion in treating the materials I and your other sources provide. Perhaps my identity would have been known by now, if you were not handling my postings with greater care. Ebrima, how many times I myself sent postings to you without even realising that there were certain aspects of my e-mails that could have clearly indicated to the Government who you source was? But you have always used your timely judgement to delete anything in my e-mails that could reveal my identity. My message to The Independent, Daily Observer and The Point newspapers: You guys must also demonstrate vigilance in pursuit of tips provided. When ex-Commissioner Alagie Kanteh revealed the approximate site of the remains of Foday Makalo, you people should have been the first one there as suggested by the wise Ebou Colly and reiterated by KB. You cannot just sit in your offices and expect the evidence to be brought to you. Please folks, some investigative journalism. The longer we wait, the more likely the chances are that the body of Makalo is exhumed and transferred elsewhere or dumped in the "bottom of the sea" to borrow Fatoumatta Jahumpa's phrase. FINALLY, IT IS TIME WE GOT OUR ACT TOGETHER AND MOVE FORWARD. THE GAMBIA EXPECTS A LOT FROM THE L. Thanks, Ebrima for giving me the opportunity to take this thing off my chest. HAVE A GOOD WEEK END, FOLKS ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------