yus,you are i are in the same camp.it is great for people to write the truth
when it comes ro yaya jammeh rather than worrying about reconciliation with
guy who has no respect for the gambia and her people.


>From: Yusupha Jow <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [Re: ECOWAS PRESIDENT OF THE CENTURY, WOW!!]
>Date: Sat, 18 Dec 1999 12:43:53 EST
>
>I think this award that has been awarded to President Jammh should be taken
>with a pinch of salt.  My feeling is that this vote was manipulated by Mr
>Jammeh himself.  Because we work in a culture of corruption where a simple
>exchange of money can buy everything, the result is very dubious.  I would
>very much like to know on what basis this award was
>made?  IMHO the major  categories should be as follows: vision, adherence
>to
>the principles of human rights,  and economic progress
>
>On vision, leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, Leopold Senghor were
>what I would call visionaries.  Kwame, as a Pan Africanist, despised
>dependence that Africa had on the West.  He predicted that this would lead
>to
>a culture of dependence that we would not be able to recover from.  This
>still holds true today, for we depend on the west for almost everything we
>consume. In fact Nkrumah had a vision and plan for the whole of Africa.
>Hophuet and Leopold believed in a more balanced relationship with the West
>whereby foreign industries should be persuaded to work with us.  Relative
>to
>other countries, this has paid of for countries like Senegal and Cote
>D'Ivoire. .  Sankara was also a throwback in the mould of the great
>Nkrumah.
>He also believed in self dependence and reliance.   The fact that Burkina
>Faso has one of the most vibrant movie industries in Africa, is testament
>to
>the fact that progress was being made towards his goal.  For this reason,
>it
>is quite unfortunate that he was overthrown and executed by Blaise
>Campaore.
>In respect to Yahya Jammeh, his Vision 2020 plan has become so muddled that
>that no one knows what it is about anymore.
>
>
>In regards, to adherence of human rights, the reports coming out of our
>country are pretty disheartening.  There have been repeated attempts to
>censor the press through decrees and sometimes outright harassment, women's
>rights have been infringed upon by religious figures who are lackeys of the
>president, the death penalty has been re-introduced, checkpoints and
>harassment of the average gambian citizen by an out of control military
>have
>been the order of the day and political detentions for no rhyme and reason
>have been frequent.  in this light, the tenure of the present regime does
>not
>meet the guidelines that have been set forth by the various human right
>organizations around the world.  On the other hand, leaders like Nkrumah
>tried to adhere to the principles of righteousness and justice.  They did
>not
>hide behind the cloak of religion to confuse their  people.  Nor was the
>abuse of human rights the norm.  These men were intellectuals who knew the
>difference between right and wrong.
>
>The subject of economic progress is a more diifcult category to assess. But
>we can make a comparison based on the figures provided us to by the IMF and
>such.  In addition, social welfare of the people is also another important
>factor to take into account.  Relative to others, we have one of the
>poorest
>standard of living.  Not that Jammeh is responsible for what happened,for
>he
>inherited a really sad situation, but when we hear and read about reports
>of
>missing loans and a considerable portions of our GNP going towards private
>projects such as state house building, it becomes obvious that the best
>interest of the people are not being considered.  The fact that even the
>provision of elctricity is not a available to half of the population and
>that
>running water is not a viable option for most is really disheartening.
>Does
>he have any concrete or future plans to remedy this situation?  I think
>not.
>On economic statistics such as growth rates and inflation rates, it is easy
>to say that there was an improvement from last year's economic figures.
>But
>a better indicator would be how the conomy has faired comparatively in
>blocks
>of five years.  Until we compare these numbers, the IMF's reports dont mean
>much to me.  The fact that we still depend on handouts and loans is a
>really
>telling factor.
>
>
>To conclude, I would like to say, that though this is a short synopsis of
>some of the factors that should be taken into effect when a vote like this
>should be made, it is a slap in the face to every sensible person when a
>nomination like this is made.  Yahya Jammeh should decline thiis offer
>simply
>on the basis that he is not worthy.  This award should rightfully go to the
>Hon Kwame Nkrumah.
>
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