I am happy that the opposition parties know how some of us feel with the
help of the media. Looking forward, one day Gambians in the diaspora will be
a powerful lobbying force that governments and political parties will listen
to. Senegalese, liberians, Sierra Leonians, Eritians have highly organized
groups in the diaspora that influence their governments and opposition
parties. One day we will soon follow.

MJohnson

Read on.

The Point Newspaper

        Wednesday, October 3, 2001





Gambians Abroad Entreat The Opposition To Unite


A group of Gambian citizens resident overseas, The Concerned Gambians In The
Diaspora, has urged the opposition parties in the country to weld their
forces together “and remove the current disastrous and unbearable
administration from power in the upcoming presidential elections.
In a release signed by Mr. Malamin Johnson, the group called on the GPP,
NCP, NRP, PDOIS, PDP, PPP and UDP, to immediately schedule a formal meeting
to create a framework for their mutual understanding.
Such interaction, the release went on, would be capable of providing the
necessary political momentum towards winning the seat of governance for the
development of the Gambian nation. The group said that the current political
dispensation provided the opportune moment for all opposition parties
interested in restoring peace, justice and order in the Gambia to be on the
same bandwagon. They reminded the opposition that, “history will forever
brand us as the generation of politicians and leaders who put personal and
party interests ahead of (those of) national interest.
The release urged each of the opposition parties to be given an opportunity
to present its requirements for an alliance and examine “competing ideas”
based on their individual merits, stressing that an eventual non- adoption
of a particular party’s ideological stance should not give a ground for a
“walk out.” They counselled that non-partisan individuals such as religious
or community leaders with strong moral character, be saddled with the
responsibility of presiding over such meetings. The concerned Gambians
abroad further affirmed their “collective faith and confidence in our
political leaders to work tirelessly for a united opposition,” warning that
anything less than a united force would be ignoring the wishes of their
constituencies.




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