Dear Hamjatta,
Thanks for your constructive analysis.  Your suggestions could  definitely
help reinforce efforts geared towards forging a stronger Opposition alliance
and defeating Yaya.

warmly,
mariama


>From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: BURNING ISSUES FOROYAA Publication
>Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 20:49:52 EDT
>
>For a paper that has more than a decade's experience in reporting and
>commenting on topical issues, Foroyaa seriously goofed here by allowing its
>columns to be reduced to being a mere recycling factory of APRC rumours and
>conspiratorial innuendoes. Instead of Foroyaa getting first hand
>information
>from the individual parties and personalities it reported about, it relied
>primarily on second hand accounts of events and inferring from them grossly
>erroneous stuff on the intent, manouevres and actions of some Opposition
>heavy weights. Foroyaa certainly doesn't help the collective spirit when it
>tendentiously make conspiratorial what is at best a genuine effort in the
>preliminary engagements of ironing out wrinkles that have the potential of
>hindering coalition progress. That is to say that it is perfectly normal
>that
>before formal negotiations take public form, backroom horse tradings - that
>are invariably raucous and having the negative impact of throwing poor
>light
>on the collective spirit if conducted in the public eye - have to run their
>course before the shape and form that the collective spirit will take is
>announced to the public. Foroyaa's whining or lamenting at this backroom
>horsetrading denotes and betrays its innocence in political negotiations.
>
>Insidiously, and with great literary adroitness, Foroyaa tried to paint a
>patrimonial picture of Hassan Musa Camara's informal appointment as the
>'political fixer' to work on narrowing down the differences between the
>different Opposition parties. Camara's appointment as a political go
>between
>to finesse a common platform of action for the Opposition signally
>represents
>the recognition that such a role invariably involves negotiation skills and
>a
>lack of direct interest in who heads the Opposition Alliance. Camara, by
>virtue of decades experience as a public figure who had served all areas of
>gov't and led a mainstream political party and the fact that he is
>ineligible
>to contest the current presidential elections, was better predisposed than
>anyone else to play this role without any ill-will towards and or fearing
>or
>favouring any political grouping. This is the context of Camara's current
>role. It is not so much the 'patrimonial kingmaker' Foroyaa subtly and
>deceptively tried to implant in its readerships' minds.
>
>Moreso, if Foroyaa was irresponsible and lazy in its reportage and
>commentary
>of the Opposition Alliance issue, it was surprisingly sulking and hubristic
>in the way it expects cooperation to eventually take form and work. For
>instance, Foroyaa commented that:
>
>"UDP has held rallies and invited opposition parties to join them but this
>had not materialised. Analysts observe that unless the opposition reaches
>an agreement on a presidential candidate it is not likely to have a joint
>rally which gives the impression that a particular aspirant's candidature
>has been endorsed. What is therefore of paramount importance is discussion
>to determine whether a coalition is to be forged or not."
>
>Above all, this passage demonstrates the extent to which, say, the UDP is
>ready to sell the message of cooperation. Foroyaa's assertion that the
>UDP's
>invitation has, as of yet, not materialised is a bit disingenuous. Perhaps,
>as it applies to the PDOIS, it is true that the UDP's invitation has, as of
>yet, yielded no dividends. But it is a matter of public record that UDP
>rallies have and continue to be graced by such PPP heavyweights like OJ and
>NCP or GPP stalwarts alike. Which takes me to Foroyaa's dissembling
>argument
>on why the UDP's invitation has, as of yet, not materialised; i.e., because
>there has been no agreement on an Opposition Alliance for the presidential
>elections, such invitations will remain unreturned or never materialise.
>The
>fact that PDOIS has been invited to a UDP rally and declined it and
>wilfilly
>reports it in its political organ, Foroyaa, does it no favours.
>PDOIS/Foroyaa
>also does itself no favours if it willing to sulk rather than proactively
>engage its Opposition colleagues in what could be the beginning of a
>fruitful
>cooperation. For instance, if the UDP invites it to join it in a rally,
>PDOIS
>ought to accept the invitation and use it as a basis to explore ways in
>which
>it can stamp out misconceptions, mistrusts and misunderstanding that
>continue
>to stand between the different parties. Likewise, to see how cooperative
>the
>UDP is, PDOIS then can return the UDP's compliments by inviting the UDP to
>join it in a similar forum. That way, we are no longer talking about
>parties
>communicating through third parties; rather, we are beginning to see a
>whole
>new mechanism that would greatly help foster common understanding on the
>way
>ahead. The collective interest and or spirit is neither served by column
>inches of regurgitated APRC rumours or inferring from these rumours grossly
>erroneous stuff about Opposition players and consituents. Mistrusts and
>misunderstandings feed from such a parlous way of comminucation. And most
>definitely not the prudent way to build common bridges to cooperate.
>
>Foroyaa also lamented that to this day, an agenda or a framework has yet to
>be worked out to form the basis for an Opposition Alliance. Again, PDOIS
>should not whine or sulk but seize the initiate and proactively come up
>with
>an agenda which it can publicly propose to the other parties. That way,
>PDOIS
>would be at the forefront of Opposition thinking and would not be reduced
>to
>chipping sulkily at what others have publicly tabled for the Opposition
>Alliance. PDOIS has the intellectual muscle to come up with a programme
>that
>it feels would be the correct basis with which the minimalist programme it
>favours is workable and acceptable for all parties to publicly consider for
>endorsement as a framework for an Opposition Alliance. If PDOIS cannot do
>this, then it makes the task of cooperation no easier if all it could come
>up
>with is to sulk about what others are doing or not doing? What is PDOIS
>practically doing to move forward the Opposition Alliance? Instead of
>reducing the columns of Foroyaa into a recycling factory of APRC lies,
>disinformations and rumours, these are the intellectual arguments that
>Foroyaa ought to be busying itself with.
>
>Foroyaa was very right to point out that: "The Opposition Must Not Be
>Indecisive
>The Price Of Indecisiveness Is A Weakened Opposition" If Foroyaa believes
>in
>its own wiseacres, it was not helping matters either by engaging in
>intriguing but self-defeatist intellectual arguments or speculations about
>non-existent Opposition plots or conspiracies. If Foroyaa strongly believes
>in its own wiseacres, it would have by now published an Opposition Alliance
>framework paper which can form the basis of mutual cooperation between all
>the Opposition parties genuinely interested in the democratic health and
>future of the country.
>
>All the best,
>
>Hamjatta Kanteh
>
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