Brothers Abdoulie Saine, Joe Sambou, and others

I must congratulate you for taking this important initiative in advancing the foramtion of this Save The Gambia Fund/Association. Not only is it in line with what many of us belief - the need to come together on the basis of mutual interests and concerns - it also highlights the very important role played by dialog amongst Gambian and friends of the Gambia on mailing lists. Freelancers like myself, jumping all over the place for an opportunity to support whatever project promises to do good to the Gambian polity, should find this initiative to be urgently important. 

From reading the Guidelines, however, it seems to me that there are a number of questions/suggestions that should be asked or advanced. However, while I continue studying the document, allow me to just post this one question at this time:

It seems quite obvious that the democratic question relating to "taxation without representation" begs the subsequents members for a committment(s)  beyond the  explicit goal of  raising "... financial resources devoted exclusively to the support of a coalition opposition political party to effectively contest and possibly win
the 2006 presidential election". 
It seems only natural that if one is to make a financial contribution, then one should also be able to exercise a right to speak on how that coalition opposition political party should at least look like? It goes without saying (from the Preamble) that the goal is to bring down the Jammeh-led APRC regime by peaceful democratic means. When the present regime is to be replaced, it is important to at least know what to replace it with.

Should members of the fund have a right to demand that this oppsoition coalition, in the event that it wins the elections and forms a government, carry out certain concrete reforms immediately it assumes office?
Few concrete demands: 

1. The coalition must agree to ammend the Constitution placing term limitations on the Presidency: a maximum of two five-year terms. [As a way of clipping clip the expansinve wings of potential tin-pot dictators]!

2. The coalition agrees to reverse current legislation and wrest from the hands of the president the appointment of chiefs and alkalolu and instead place it in those of the local populations.

3. The coalition agrees to immediately scrap the despised and notorious Media Bill.

4. The coalition moves to disband the NIA and instead strengthen the hands of the CID. (Gambia does not need and should not want a political police).

5. The coalition to immediately release all political prisoners/detainees who remain incacerated inspite of gross absence of evidence for felonies they have been charged with.

6. The coalition to re-open the coroner's report on the April 2000 massacre; reinvestigates the circumstances surrounding the death of Koro Ceesay and others victims of suspected extra-juducial killings; publicise the reports and findings on these matters and that of allegations of corruption of first republic politicians; encourage extensive and intensive public debates on these findings and take appropriate action consummate with the spirit of national reconcialtion.

It seems to me that these are demands that every democratic oriented political party wishing to join a coalition in bringing down the APRC ought to find very reasonable. Perhaps others may come with additional suggestions and/or counter-suggestions. 
At this point these are my humble questions and suggestion. And once again, thank you all for the effort to bring us together on the basis of some concrete action.

Momodou S Sidibeh

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