*''And it is the only opposition political agenda on the table at the present. So who is driving the opposition political agenda?*'' - Rene Rene, which table are you talking about? As far as facts are concern, UDP is the only party sitting at the table with a proposal and PDOIS is so far refusing to meet them there for talks despite repeated invites. Sidia was once given authority to give the audience but Halifa clawed back that authority for some unexplained reasons and thereby frustrating talks. Anyway, since they are now saying they want a written invite, something they have not hitherto said, the UDP will extend to them an invitation letter and let's see what their subterfuge will be next. The PDOIS spinning machine is in the process being grind to a halt. That is what you should be concern about. Regards Daffeh On 13 August 2011 14:25, <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Haruna, what sentiments do you share with Bamba Mass about what I wrote? > Do you also disagree that it is PDOIS that drives the opposition political > agenda? > > Well, there is a basis for my acknowledgment that it is PDOIS that is > driving the opposition political agenda. What is the opposition political > agenda anyway? > > There is an agenda for the individual opposition political parties, and > there is an agenda for all the opposition political parties that they wish > to share in common. > > The agenda for all the political parties is that they wish to form a > coalition, a united front, against the ruling government to bring about a > change of leadership and government. This agenda first started when the > opposition political parties decided to come together to form NADD. > > PDOIS has been instrumental in the development of the concept, > objective and purpose of this agenda, to the extend that some people surmise > that the NADD agenda was a PDOIS agenda. This is the first point to note. > > After the collapse of NADD, for reasons too familiar with most of us, > and having realized that it is almost impossible for the opposition > political parties to singularly make an impact against the incumbent > government, the idea of an opposition political agenda resurfaced. > > And it is the same idea, getting all the opposition political parties > together to form a coalition, a united front, against the ruling government > to bring about a change of leadership and government. > > But this time around a new concept was introduced. A party-led > coalition. This concept was not developed or fully explained; its objective > and purpose was not thoroughly harnessed, and as a consequence lost its > traction. Nobody knows what are the objectives of this agenda, and > therefore, nobody takes it very seriously. > > Then comes Agenda 2011. Characteristic of PDOIS, the concept was > fully developed, it has an objective and a purpose. > > And it is the only opposition political agenda on the table at the > present. So who is driving the opposition political agenda? > > Rene > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> > To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Fri, Aug 12, 2011 7:21 pm > Subject: Re: [G_L] [>-<] Mathew K on Coalition and the Point Newspaper > > Uncle Mass, I share your sentiments on Rene the no.1 PDOISard. I just want > to caution you that he's your brother not sister. I made the same mistake > when I was first introduced to Badjan. I must admit the name Rene is not > usually for males in Gambia. Perhaps he could start spelling his name right. > > Haruna. Thanx Mass for sharing. I haven't even read all of what Badjan > wrote in that note but I know I'm safe with your reaction knowing the > history of Badjan, the diehard PDOISard. He could see a redhot iron and grab > it to find out if its really hot. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Bamba sering Manka Mass <[log in to unmask]> > To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]**ORG<[log in to unmask]> > > > Sent: Thu, Aug 11, 2011 12:54 pm > Subject: Re: [G_L] [>-<] Mathew K on Coalition and the Point > Newspaper > > It looks like my dear bajan is day dreaming when she suggests that PDOIS > drives the opposition political agenda. That is what most of you think and > thats why most of you think you can take us all for a ride? Well madam you > are in for the surprise of your life if you and your prophets think Gambians > still live in the 18th century. > Just continue day dreaming I only pray you don't knock anything that might > hurt you for despite political differences you still a Gambian and my > sister. I must tell you with your comming out for the first time exposing > your thoughts out to all readership, is good but maybe others didn't know as > for Us in the UDP we knew already that PDOIS thinks they drives the > opposition agandas and we laugh at those thoughts. Because if that is the > general feeling, then how comes you cannot drive politics in the Gambia. You > know thats a detard illussion of the 16th centuries come up and mature up > please those days of cat and mouse are gone Gambians are far mature than > those childish thoughts of yours. > Gambia has a bigger problem that affects us all and together we can tackle > it. Stop your those thoughts at the doors of your party headquaters please > and confront the Gambia problem thats what you set your party up for not > playing cat and mouse with the lives of Gambians. > As for whether UDP would stay well as you are not a member of the party, > you cannot know our policies and there so ignorant you would be about us. > But not to waiste time, only time will tell you if we are here to stay. > Thanks and stay dreaming. > > > > > king > > > > Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:43:25 -0400 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [>-<] Mathew K on Coalition and the Point Newspaper > > To: [log in to unmask] > > > It looks like Mathews take on PDOIS is not govern by any sense of > rational inquiry, but by a desire to malign and castigate as is always the > case when he writes about PDOIS. > > It also looks like Mathew does not have a through grasp of the dynamics > that surrounds the political reality in Gambia, if so, he would not have > been making statements that runs contrary to what is actually happening on > the ground. > > > When opposition to a political dispensation is not characterized by a > sense of principle and purpose; when such opposition is merely the desire to > change the leadership of the country, because it has fallen into the wrong > hands (into the hands of the JOLA minority), the political narrative becomes > an intensive campaign of vilification, demagoguery against the status quo, > and criticisms just about anything and anyone who stands in the way of > bringing down such a leadership. > > > PDOIS bears the brunt of these criticisms because of its principle > stand on issues of governance; and the mission and vision it has articulated > so profusely that does not favor the "lets get rid of them by any means > possible" or "lets get rid of them now, then decide the fate of the country > later," that is being propagated by our political pundits and diaspora > intellectuals who will rationalize any argument as a justification for their > position. > > > Because Mathew is so critical about anything PDOIS, he will jump at > every opportunity to make scathing statements about PDOIS or its leadership, > even if such statements are not grounded on facts or reality. > > > For how else can Mathew infer that the fate of PDOIS is inextricably > tied to the success or failure of the United Democratic Party. This is the > most lamentable statement I have ever read as a political commentary in > Gambian politics. It is neither grounded on fact or reality. The fate of > PDOIS has never been tied to the success or failure of the UDP, and never > will. > > > The simple reason for this is that, the vision, mission, principles and > policies that guide the existence and survival of PDOIS as a political party > for more than three decades, just cannot be equated with the UDP that has a > different vision and mission. And If Mathew tends to make this summation > based on electoral gains, let him be reminded that it took almost a century > for the ANC to succeed in South Africa. > > > And no matter how big a political party or its following, without a > strong foundation it will come tumbling down like Humpty dumpty. What > happens to the P.P.P.? Whats happens to the N.C.P? They were the largest > and biggest political party and opposition political party in the country > prior to 1994. > > > Who drives the opposition political agenda? Mathew may not agree, but > certainly it is PDOIS. They are the ones who are making the public > statements; writing the political blueprints and objective standpoints that > seek to guide the evolution of a process, that will help eventually to bring > about a change of government. What irks people like Mathew is that they > don't want a process; they want PDOIS to fall behind the UDP and help to > hand over the government to them. This is not going to happen. All the name > calling is not going to do the trick. > > "In my singular opinion, PDOIS owes it highest loyalty to itself, and > its storybook in The Gambia’s political > landscape has been solely a marketing strategy whose aim is to articulate > by word and actions, the brilliance of the ideal; its own > ideal, with the hope of attaining political power by whatever means through > a highly suspect and superficial political brinkmanship. > PDOIS’s trite approach to the formation of a coalition is predicated on its > nebulous, if not Ad Nauseum subliminal references to the leadership > of the United Democratic Party. But the UDP does not answer to PDOIS’s > agenda nor is it obliged to fulfill what the PDOIS leadership seems to > characterize as the precondition to a coalition formation. For a coalition > to come into fruition, PDOIS must subordinate its authority > to UDP without attempting to dictate the agenda, for only then will its > hope for an eventual elevation to national and international prominence > ever come close to becoming reality" > > Arguably the above statement is devoid of intellectual inquiry, that has > the basis to argue any of the points that enumerated. > > > > > > > > > > From: suntou toura <[log in to unmask]>To: The Gambia and > related-issues mailing list > <[log in to unmask]**org <[log in to unmask]>>; > gambiapost <[log in to unmask]**com<[log in to unmask]>> > > > Sent: Thu, Aug 11, 2011 4:57 am > Subject: [>-<] Mathew K on Coalition and the Point Newspaper > > > www,senegambianews.com > Excellently written and well argued. The UDP have to up the anti, the > base is there and the youth connection, the brave Gambian women wing is > prime and ready. Let us give peace a chance by politically standing our > grounds. Let the Leadership continue to appreciate the urgency of NOW. > We can do it. > Thanks MKJ. > Suntou > Mathew backs UDP-led coalition, lambasts PDOIS leadership, The Point > newspaper > Published 08/10/2011 - 9:27 p.m. GMT > > Rate This Article:0 > > > > > > > Credit - ousainou > Ousainou Darboe, UDP leader speaking at a political rally > Slide Show > > > Of phantom heroes and degenerate journalists > > By Mathew K Jallow > > In today’s Gambia, the Orwellian dystopia is no longer that vision of > impending doom. It is real and it is here; surreal and mind-numbing, > not just because we let it to fester, but also because a whole nation > has allowed its dignity and pride to be subservient to Yahya Jammeh’s > unforgiving Machiavellian small-mindedness. Any effort at qualifying > The Gambia’s level of despondence under Yahya Jammeh will be an > understatement. > But now, as another election season dawns on us and the political echo > chambers churn out a false sense of outrage and fake fury, the > political debate is being framed for failure, and no one is impressed. > It is painfully obvious that the Peoples Democratic Organization for > Independence and Socialism has still not learnt from simple arithmetic > that under Yahya Jammeh’s monarchy, its fate is inextricably tied to > the success or failure of the United Democratic Party; and not the > other way around. The past three election cycles saw an alliance of > political parties marketed as the panacea for the opposition’s woes; > the terminal solution, if you will, that will write the last chapter of > Yahya Jammeh’s inglorious reign and his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling > Council party’s post-mortem and epitaph. But I beg to differ; even > though I have oscillated from a coalition advocate, to my impersonal > but scurrilous criticisms of UDP’s leader Ousainou Darboe’s failure to > recognize, not only the existential threat UDP poses to the reign of > Yahya Jammeh’s military regime, but also to his party’s seeming > inability to leverage the obvious threat of UDP’s power and prestige to > Yahya Jammeh menace, in order to turn that political advantage into > electoral success. > > > The absence of coalition notwithstanding, Ousainou Darboe’s UDP has the > potential to grow into a formidable political war machine that can > overcome any barrier created by Yahya Jammeh’s infinite state power and > resources. But even this close to the elections, the UDP’s ground-game > appears to lack the sense of urgency Gambians attach to ending the > political tyranny and economic nightmare that have turned our country > into an Orwellian oasis in the middle of our part of Africa. > Consequently, this make or break election season has yet to assume any > broad significance to the general Gambian electorate, not necessarily > out of political apathy, but in my view, out of the opposition’s faulty > messaging and irrelevant message. This reality was encapsulated in two > recent editorials primed on the pages of both The Point and Foroyaa > newspapers. Once again, impelled by dogma and fixated on scoring cheap > political points, PDOIS set the blogosphere ablaze with its moral > grandiosity and delusional political brinkmanship; all to no effect. > But what drives PDOIS’s veneer of messianic sanctimony and its sense of > its mythical aura, also drives its inflated sense of its political > statute and clouds its sense of objective judgment. > By its imperial pontification, PDOIS has seized the opportunity to > gleefully; if not maliciously frame the debate entirely around painting > the UDP leadership as godless political straightjackets. But the > reverse is the reality. My point is this, PDOIS’s demagoguery and > holier-than-thou approach to the formation of a coalition has a > disingenuous quality to it that is textbook Darwinian. But the sooner > PDOIS recognizes that in spite of the make-believe image it tries to > project of itself for public consumption, it is UDP that drives the > opposition agenda; not PDOIS. In my singular opinion, PDOIS owes it > highest loyalty to itself, and its storybook in The Gambia’s political > landscape has been solely a marketing strategy whose aim is to > articulate by word and actions, the brilliance of the ideal; its own > ideal, with the hope of attaining political power by whatever means > through a highly suspect and superficial political brinkmanship. > PDOIS’s trite approach to the formation of a coalition is predicated on > its nebulous, if not Ad Nauseum subliminal references to the leadership > of the United Democratic Party. But the UDP does not answer to PDOIS’s > agenda nor is it obliged to fulfill what the PDOIS leadership seems to > characterize as the precondition to a coalition formation. For a > coalition to come into fruition, PDOIS must subordinate its authority > to UDP without attempting to dictate the agenda, for only then will its > hope for an eventual elevation to national and international prominence > ever come close to becoming reality. > > > In the same vein, The Point newspaper’s attempt at sanctifying Yahya > Jammeh’s image and that of his AFPRC party, whether done deliberately > or inadvertently, underscores the paper’s lost glory and its lack of > purpose and direction. > In its editorial, the paper admonished politicians to hone in on issues > relating to agriculture, education and health, but failed to make any > reference to the corruption and gross human rights violations that > include murders and extrajudicial killings, which are uppermost in the > minds of Gambians. The Point newspaper’s effort at defining the > political talking points for the opposition is not only mischievous but > appears to be self-serving, and goes beyond mere self-censorship to > currying favors with the regime. > The Point newspaper’s visionary, the late Deida > -- > www.suntoumana.blogspot.com > > > > > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interfaceat: http://listserv.icors.org/**archives/gambia-l.htmlTo<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.htmlTo>Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/**SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=**gambia-lTo<http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-lTo>contact the List Management, please send an e-mail > to:[log in to unmask]**icors.org<[log in to unmask]> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interfaceat: http://listserv.icors.org/**archives/gambia-l.htmlTo<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.htmlTo>Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: > http://listserv.icors.org/**SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=**gambia-lTo<http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-lTo>contact the List Management, please send an e-mail > to:[log in to unmask]**icors.org<[log in to unmask]> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interfaceat: http://listserv.icors.org/**archives/gambia-l.html<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html> > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/** > SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=**gambia-lTo<http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-lTo>contact the List Management, please send an e-mail > to:[log in to unmask]**icors.org<[log in to unmask]> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface > at: http://listserv.icors.org/**archives/gambia-l.html<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html> > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/** > SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=**gambia-l<http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l> > To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask]**icors.org<[log in to unmask]> > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤**¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤