Hi folks,

I've visited the jammeh2001.org site a few times and find it interesting an
instructive.  There's no doubt that President Jammeh and his propaganda machine is
trying to make the maximum use of the Internet to further their cause.  And who can
blame them?  To give the devil his due, the Jammeh campaign has at least demonstrated
(for once), that they consider the Internet an important battle ground in the
up-coming elections.  The other parties should take heed and launch or revamp their
own Web sites.

Like a lot of people, I find it troubling that the Jammeh Web team has chosen to
present a rather false picture of the record of Jammeh's governments.  Besides, the
President's biography is rather comical, and obviously of one who's clearly a
megalomaniac.  Finally, I found that the board posting attribute to President Jammeh
had the e-mail address [log in to unmask]  For your information, the address is
fake because the top-level domain name, ".gov" is reserved for US government
agencies.

That said, I'd like to add that I've been dissappointed by the rather harsh reaction
and anger that the jammeh2001.org site has generated.  I think this is totally
un-called for.  I think we sometimes get so carried-away that we become less
effective in fighting Jammeh.  I would rather leave the site up, and use it as one
more example of Jammeh's incompetence, and penchant for lying.

Furthermore, we should make sure that every Gambian with a Web site that's critical
of Jammeh's government actually links TO their site.  I think this would speak
volumes, and people can then decide whose side of the story to believe.  For example,
it would be very eye-opening to visit http://www.mygambia.org and then go directly to
http://www.jammeh2001.org The facts will speak for themselves.  While mygambia.org is
seeking help to provide medical care to students shot by Jammeh's forces last year,
the jammeh2001.org site is talking about the President's love of kids.

An issue was also made of Tombong Saidy's picture being on the GRTS Web site
(http://www.grts.tv)  I have no problem with that given that the guy is the GRTS
Director-General.  Like every all other media, the Internet is also a fantastic tool
for ego trips.

But I do understand the concern about the pro-APRC stance of GRTS.  This is an issue
that I think deserves special attention from opposition parties, and all those
concerned about democracy in The Gambia.  While we talk about press freedom, voter
registration and all that, there should also be efforts to institute rules and
regulations that govern the use of GRTS, as well as other government agencies and
resources (e.g. vehicles) for partisan politics.  I recall that when I was a
volunteer host of a talk-show here in Madison, we had guidelines to follow when the
elections came around.  I see no reason why we should not have such rules in The
Gambia.

Speaking of GRTS, I should mention that it was a few weeks ago that I wrote to Mr.
Saidy offering to stream GRTS talk programs on my server.  He replied to the effect
that he would be interested in the project, and I sent him technical information to
get the ball rolling.  The project is yet to get off the ground, because I haven't
heard from Mr. Saidy yet.  But I must say that it was an offer that I sent Mr. Saidy
after agonizing about it.  But at the end of the day, I thought that streaming GRTS
talk programs would benefit the Gambian diaspora at large (and The Gambia) far more
than it would help and perpetrate President Jammeh's rule.  Besides, as the saying
goes, charity begins at home, and I would be failing my duties as a Gambian if I
offer services to others without offering them to Gambians.  So, as the saying goes,
stay tuned ...

And now the GSM thing.  I read the explaination provided by Mr. Gai(?) detailing why
it's so hard to call The Gambia from overseas.  While Mr. Jow has rebutted *that*
reply, I would like to say that the whole thing points to the serious lack of public
relations skills by the APRC government in general, and Gamtel in particular.  Given
that there has been talk about the shortage of phone lines to The Gambia, why did
Gamtel not bother to put out a press release explaining exactly what happened?  A
simple one-page statement, summarizing the complaint or allegation, and providing
information about exactly what's going on, would have helped a lot.  It would have
not only shown Gamtel to be competent and responsive, but also would have assured
potential investors and business people.  But, if I recall correctly, the APRC in
typical fashion a while back formed a committee of spokespersons or something like
that.  Why not have each Department have a spokesperson to handle public relations,
the press, and other issues that are of concern to the public?

I'll sto here for now, until later.  Have a great week, and best wishes.

Katim

----- Original Message -----
From: Yusupha C Jow <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2001 2:39 PM
Subject: Jammeh2001.Com: The Propaganda Machine Creaks On


> Make no mistake about it, this Jammeh2001.com website is there for two
> purposes: get APRC's campaign agenda out there and also to give the them a
> presence in Cyberspace, where they have traditionally taken an old fashioned

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