This is very scarry and disturbing. People being dragged out and beaten to
death in Gambia and attacks on Gambians in Senegal with soldiers joining in as
opposed attempting to stop this?
This is clearly a case of pent up hostilities that have been brewing for a
while and I think our youth also have their own frustrations that is manifasting
itself in various ways. No doubt that bad governence, bad decisions, lack of
expertise in diplomacy and  political meddling has played  big roles in this.
We can pray that this sort of thing does not lead to more hostilities between
Gambia and Senegal, but unless the incompetent leadership that does not
norture relations but does everything to ruin them is replaced, we are headed for
more trouble and how unfortunate that will be.

This should be another wake up call to the opposition parties in our country
to show Gambians that they are not motivated by a hunger for power, but by a
desire to do whatever it takes to rescue our country in her time of need and to
provide excellent leadership whatever that takes. They failed us during the
last elections, let us hope they will not fail us this time around,  but we
must realize that we also have a role to play here. We must make demands
especially when these same opposition parties are calling upon us ot help thm
finacially and otherwise.

 It is  time for these political parties to realize that in order for us to
get out of this mess, a sincere coalition where who leads is not the issue, but
how to join hands and form one solid front to get rid of the APRC menace is
the urgent issue. A sincere and solid coalition of opposition parties will
undoubtedly mean that people will have to sacrifice their egos and form a working
group comprised of dedicated people from among the leadership of the different
political parties to work towards what the main aim of a true politician
should be, to put the interest of the people and the country first.
Our country and people are dying a slow death, and we cannot afford any more
political games fashioned by those who put winning first and the interest of
the people last.
Momodou Sidibeh raised an important point concerning this fund raising plan.
We can collect money for a so-called unified opposition, but unless and until
we lay out a clear path as to what defines this coalition and what we as the
people expect from such an organization as a condition of supporting them, we
are just headed for another round of politicking and another chaotic election
campaign with time, energy and money wasted and another deviously orchestrated
win  for a brutal regime that is destroying our country and our people.If our
opposition political parties fail to cooperate with each other to save our
country this time around, then they would have demonstrated for us once and for
all that their aim is self interest and not public service because our nation
has never been in greater need of sincere and dedicated leadership as now.
Let us work to remove the APRC menace first and this will hopefully enable us
to eventually  build a country where the rule of law will prevail and where
subsequent leaders will be selected based on their competence and record and
not on anything else. The situation is urgent and critical and how can nanyone
who says they have Gambia's interest at heart focus on anything else when it is
clear that a solid front is what will save us?

Jabou Joh



In a message dated 6/9/03 9:23:03 AM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:>
>
> Gambia blame fans for defeat
>
> Exclusive by James Copnall BBC Sport in Dakar
>
> Gambia star Seyfo Soley says his team mates struggled to concentrate on
> their match against Senegal because of the incidents involving Gambian
> supporters.
>
> Dozens of Gambian fans were injured in clashes with soldiers and Senegalese
> supporters during Saturday's Nations Cup qualifier in Dakar.
>
>

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