Buharry, thanks for your reply to Hamjatta's piece. Please excuse me for
also butting in. I will refrain from commenting on certain things on your
piece for now because I believe Hamjatta is highly capable of defending
himself and am confident that he will do a superb job of straightening out
certain misconceptions. Something eye-catching in your piece was your
attempt to paint a dismal picture about the removal of Yaya by violent
means. For example, although you conceded that the transition can go
smoothly, you lamented about the fact that we might want to kill Yaya and
everyone associated with him (out of revenge). Nothing wrong with that fear
on your side, but I do not think it is fair for you to predict such a gloomy
future for us when you deliberately refrained from discussing with us what
our plans for the future after Yaya entailed. We tried to set the parameters
and debate about our plans during the transition. You decided not to partake
in that exercise for reasons best known to you. I believe it would then be
very irresponsible for you now to speculate about what we are going to do;
especially if your speculation is aimed at scaring off ordinary Gambians and
portraying us as villains.
Secondly, Buharry, can you please read the below quoted statements and tell
me how this is different from what I have been saying here since April:

" We also do recognise that the governments of the day may pose obstacles to
the exercise of rights and freedoms prior to change. We have seen it as our
duty to put pressure on such governments in whatever way necessary to get
them to respect those fundamental rights and freedoms.
We have also maintained that where a government obstructs all avenues for
the exercise of the right of the people to change their manner of government
and do everything in its power to impose tyranny over the people, we reserve
the right to be one with the people to do whatever is necessary to abolish
such tyranny."
Halifa Sallah 7/27/00


Have we not reached the threshold of tyranny necessary to 'advocate' the
unconstitutional  removal of Yaya? Bear in mine the dismemberment of the
judiciary and general lawlessness, the abductions, the cancellation of
elections, the impotence of the parliament and the IEC, the devastating
economic situation, the rampant corruption, the deportations and the
stifling of the press in general, the hostility of the government towards
dissenting political discourse, the death threats, the dismissal of civil
servants willy-nilly etc. List goes on. I do not think anyone can be blind
to the fact that Yaya has virtually obliterated all our chances of getting
rid of him under the present legal regime. Don't you think it is time to try
and get rid of him through other means outside the purview of the present
laws? If you agree with me, don't you also think we should engage the people
that are going to effect the change in a constructive manner? Rather than
castigating them and questioning their motives, don't you think we should be
setting benchmarks for them that would ensure a smooth, swift and orderly
transition to a democratic Gambia? Yaya's removal can only deemed
unconstitutional if we are applying the laws as they are right now. That is
why the first thing coup leaders do is to suspend the existing laws and
legitimize their actions. So all these talks about the constitutionality of
the removal is mere semantics. Minutes after the coup juntas pass decrees
that in effect ratify their actions. Buharry, like Hamjatta, Saul Khan and
many more, you have a lot to contribute to our society. A brotherly advise
from me to you is to try and see some positives in opponents and work with
them sincerely to eradicate their negatives. This is the same advise I would
give to myself. I try very hard not to support any political party openly on
the List. By the same token, I also try very hard not to disparage the party
leaders back home that are trying very hard to eradicate the tyranny we all
face. Having said that, I think it is incumbent on all of us to rectify each
other politely when our actions evince potential harm to our struggle. I
fervently believe that the struggle to remove Yaya and tyranny in our
society is far greater than our individual or party interests. In my humble
opinion, the time to show real party loyalty would be after Yaya is gone.
Currently, our foremost loyalty should be to the ordinary and hopeless
Gambian citizenry. I think all politicians and aspiring politicians should
subscribe to the Jassey-Conteh school. Since am neither a politician nor and
aspiring one, I will wait until Yaya is removed to exercise my inalienable
right to vote for the candidate of my choice. You will be surprised to learn
who that is as things stand now.
KB



>From: MOMODOU BUHARRY GASSAMA <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Taking Stock
>Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 04:17:54 +0200
>
>Hi Hamjatta!
>                   When you wrote "over to you gentlemen", I assumed as one
>of those who has recently praised Halifa and co. that your invitation
>included me. Before going to the issues you raised, I don't think there is
>anything wrong with expressing one's appreciation of the personalities
>behind PDOIS and the personal sacrifices they have made for our country.
>That is a prerogative we are within our rights to enjoy. I for one am truly
>impressed by Halifa and co. and I take pride in making it known. In fact,
>you impress me and I have made it known on a number of occasions on this
>list and the first time I made it known was during your first debate with
>none other than Halifa. I had and still have the prerogative to declare
>that Halifa, you and anyone else impress me. Declaring such is in my
>opinion a better alternative to what we have seen lately on the L.
>
>             That aside, you wrote: "Indeed, writer after writer merely
>stresses the point the Geat Leader, Halifa himself, makes in his missives
>to the Jammeh since the April murders. They claim there is no credible
>alternative to the Great Leader sitting in his Churchill's Town HQs penning
>letters which implore the dictator to have a rethink on his strangle hold
>on the Gambian people and advocating that elections [even if as their
>deliverance are being muddled by throw-away threats by the gov't which cast
>question marks over them ever taking place] and the political process are
>t! he only viable options existing to the Gambian people to deal with
>Jammeh."
>
>      Maybe other writers claimed that there is no other option to Halifa
>penning letters. I can therefore not comment on that because I don't agree
>with the statement. As to whether the political process is the only viable
>option, I feel that the political process coupled with continuous internal
>and external pressure is a much better alternative than the repeated calls
>for violent means of bringing about change. Whereas change that is brought
>about politically can offer tested leaders who have had a chance to explain
>their policies and programs to the people, change that is brought about by
>violent and sudden means offers a Russian roulette alternative. It is
>granted that there is a possibility that such a change of government can be
>effectively and efficiently executed without loss of life and destruction
>of property and that such a change can produce a leader who has the
>interests of the nation at heart. However, the dangers associated with that
>method are plenty and cannot be ignored. Something can always go wrong even
>with the most carefully planned operation and the result can be devastating
>for our country. Another risk, given that the people executing such
>operations can be any Tom, Dick or Harry, is that we might have someone who
>is worse than Yaya. Much, much, much worse. What do we do then? Pray that
>someone else violently removes him? Isn't that akin to creating a coup
>industry whereby anyone with guts and the blessings of a marabout can
>attempt to overthrow a government? What are the implications of such an
>industry on the stability and security of our country? Another risk is that
>people propagating for a violent change of government might be doing so out
>of a wish to revenge personal wrongs meted out by the government or by
>Yaya. Instead of "praying" Yaya to "Tan" (just joking) and getting on with
>it, they might use the Gambian people as pawns in an endeavour that could
>go wrong with horrendous consequences. What would happen if such people
>succeed? Would they kill and imprison everyone associated with Yaya? Is
>that good for the continuity of our country as a viable entity? Even though
>the political option is not the panacea to The Gambia's ills or even a
>likely solution, the risks associated with the violent option are many. (On
>a less related note, acquire IP tracing software and trace some of the IP
>addresses of some of the people propagating violent change in The Gambia
>and claiming to be in The Gambia, "on the ground", "in the this" or "in the
>that" and you'll be really surprised when you see some writing from Russia,
>England, US etc.)
>
>             You also wrote: "If as these Alumni of PDOIS/Foroyaa are
>gloating about the success or inevitability of success of the strategy of
>their party, surely it's about time one takes them to task and ask them to
>empirically state how the aforesaid strategy has made any concrete
>difference since the gruesome murders of April 10 and 11. It is time we ask
>ourselves what is working or practically workable as we struggle with the
>dictator."
>
>      It is empirically impossible to measure whether PDOIS' strategy
>vis-à-vis the April massacre has had some effect just as it is empirically
>impossible to determine if it didn't have an effect. Why? Because even if
>one were to institute a study, the available variables would render coming
>to a conclusion practically impossible due to, among other reasons, the
>multi-pronged reaction and handling of the massacre. That aside, one can
>see that the total and universal condemnation, including but not limited to
>PDOIS' approach, has had an effect no matter how small. Yaya could have
>reacted when he came back from Cuba in his usual fashion and picked up the
>line of his officials, which so infuriated the Gambian people. He didn't. A
>commission was instituted. That also is an indication of the effect the
>pressures had. The Government's fear in releasing the Coroner's Report also
>indicates a fear of the reaction of the people assuming that the report is
>damning. I am not saying that all this is the panacea to the issue of the
>April massacre. It might even be counter-productive to the desire to get to
>the truth but at least giving in to the pressures levied by among others,
>PDOIS, is an indication of the effect that penning letters at Churchill's
>Town or strongly condemning brutal acts from Oxford can have. The letters
>of PDOIS and the actions of others made it possible for the ban on the UDP
>to hold rallies to be lifted. That also is testimony, no matter how small,
>that the PDOIS strategy is having an effect.
>
>             On the issue of the political parties staging civil
>disobedience measures, maybe all the political parties can give you an
>answer. I personally respect the decisions of the parties to either engage
>in such or not, given that they are more in tune with the realities on the
>ground than I am. I respect the fact that such a move is a strategic one
>that has to consider timing,practicability, risk not only to one's self but
>also to supporters, resources and a host of other variables and has to be
>done after the parties feel that they do not have any other option. Whilst
>I can see the benefits of such a move, I can also see risks involved which
>include giving Yaya the opportunity to declare a state of emergency,
>rounding up all the political leaders and indefinitely postponing the
>elections. It has happened in other countries.
>
>      Hamjatta, I have tried to deal with the issues you raised. I however
>have some questions for you if you don't mind, given that you wrote: "It is
>time we ask ourselves what is working or practically workable as we
>struggle with the dictator." The questions are:
>
>   1.. What has been your strategy since the April massacre as a concerned
>citizen to ensure that justice is served?
>   2.. How is it different from PDOIS'?
>   3.. How have you implemented the strategy or how do you intend to
>implement the strategy?
>   4.. Can you guarantee or at least gauge whether the results of your
>strategy will have a higher success rate than PDOIS'?
>   5.. What do you base such predictions or pronouncements on?
>   6.. What alternative approach can you proffer to deal with the current
>political impasse in The Gambia given that PDOIS' approach is not, in your
>opinion, working?
>   7.. How do you intend to institute your alternative?
>   8.. What do you expect PDOIS and the other political parties to do in
>the meantime?
>   9.. Given that you feel that the political process is not a workable
>alternative, do you believe that the only available or workable option
>would be a violent overthrow of the Government?
>   10.. When? What if that is not possible in the next one, two, five, ten
>years?
>   11.. Should the political parties stop all operations and wait for the
>alternative you propose or do you believe that they are obliged under the
>Constitution of The Gambia and their own to propagate by lawful means their
>beliefs?
>      Sorry for the long list of questions. Anyway, The Gambia is in a
>quagmire and I don't think that PDOIS or their supporters claim to have the
>universal remedy for the country's woes. What they claim is to have small
>steps which are pursued through pressure be it in the form of letters or
>otherwise. PDOIS and their supporters are however not the only people to
>have a claim to The Gambia. If the other stakeholders, in the form of
>political parties and concerned citizens, contribute in their small ways a
>cure will eventually be found when all adds up. Thank you and have a good
>evening.
>
>
>                                                         Buharry.
>
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