Dear Gambians:

I hope persons who are jouneying to Faraba Banta to
read my postings to my mother and their total
disapproval of my independent thought, can fully
reconsider the danger they are creating.  I do not
and will not fall into tribal politics.  I therefore,
condemn their behavior in creating confusion and spreading
the opposite of the truth to my mother. I advocate
inclusion.  I denounce tribalism.

I again will reiterate that all I have been advocating is
a true alliance.  I exhibit no hatred to those who support
the PPP alliance.  While these persons have the right to                     support the PPP, I also have the fundamental right to exhibit                independent thought.  I ask, how come you did not read other                 attacks I have made on yahya?  This is double standard.                     It is a total shame. All I can say is, it tribal from its face               value.

Whether or not yahya hates Mandinkas, it is a dangerous
trend for some to advocate that the struggle to unseat
him should turn to tribal politics.  The Gambia cannot
and should not be for the birds.  The Gambia belongs to
all of us.  It is shame that some will stoop that low
in the name of seeking the truth.  As the electorate is
on the verge of voting, I am appealing to Gambians to set
aside tribal politics and vote for a candidate who can
formulate politics of inclusion.  Tribal politics is a
cancer that must be exterminated.

July 22, 1994 marked the day our country was transformed
into a nation of captives by the military, led by yahya
jammeh.  Within the last seven years, The Gambia went
through a system that no Gambian should be proud of.  A
police state in The Gambian has set the clock back for our
country's integration in global economics and other essentials
of political development.  A military dictatorship politicized
its ignorance and lack of respect with unsound and unprudent
economic decisions. Jammeh has indeed preyed on the selfish
who abandoned their principles and seeked opportunistic tendencies
in their thirsts for power.

Some Gambians during the early stages of the coup embraced this
new revolution without quantifying the relative danger that a
military would exhibit on its citizens.  In these periods of
ignorance and lack of understanding with the realities of political
judgment, many became amazed with the new leader's apparent
policies of developments without fully understanding the value
of quality over quantity.  Some even became fanatical in believing
that jammeh had embarked on democratic principles for the overall
benefit of The Gambian society.  What some failed to understand was that
poliical intimidation and manipulative dictatorial style of the
APRC government circumvented some regrettable incidents in our
country's history.

In evaluating the process of democracy and the full understanding
of fair-dealing, equity and fairness, we in the opposition must
clearly define our intended purpose in a profound objective sentiment.
We must understand that the cries of Halifah, Sidia and Hamat are
vital in our struggle.  We must understand that those who have spoken
loud and clear cannot and should not be left behind because of minor
political differences.  PDOIS, whether or not subscribes to socialism,
is so minor a principle that its intellectual advocacy should be given
consideration.

Politics in reality should be interpreted on a notion of educating
the electorate as to principles and ideas promulgated by a political
party.  Though this sound judgment may be opposed by some, we must
understand that at this critical moment of our struggle, our priority
is to flush out yahya jammeh and the APRC.  It was really frightening
that PDOIS was not invited to the coalition meeting.  It is also
disturbing after hearing from Hon. Hamat Bah, we must reconvene to map
out strategies in our struggle to defeat the APRC.

PDOIS' position in nominating a woman caretaker for a short period of
time should be studied at face value.  As long as we have NCP, NRP and
PDOIS away from the coalition, we will fail to achieve our main purpose
of setting The Gambia back on the democratic trend.  It is of no value
to blame each other for our failure in uniting the whole opposition.  We
must swallow our pride and take a rich Gambian culture in extending
an olive branch to each other.  We cannot let our emotions guide us at
this critical moment of our struggle.

I say to those that I disagree in principle, we have engaged in
intellectual talk and no action.  A house without a foundation will
never stand.  Will we invest in a bank while going in, some are taking
their money out?  Will we run in front of a fast moving car?  Will we
wait till the eleventh hour to study for a major examination?  "Rome
was not built in a day, but it was destroyed in a single day."  Yahya
jammeh has indeed destroyed The Gambia in a single day.

My position is based on ethical values that serve as preambles in my
consideration of life's substance. It is disburbing to read about the
commencement of president campaigns individually by the NCP, NRP,
PDOIS and UDP/PPP/Assan Musa coalition.  I ask, why rock the boat?  In
a more realistic review of the strength of the opposition parties, I
am afraid to pinpoint that we will not win come October as long as we
have a divided opposition.  The reality of this charaterization is
that the entire opposition is helping yahya jammeh and the APRC government.
It is uncompromising for one alliance to indicate that its doors are
open to the rest of the opposition.  This is not the rule of the game.
A leader must have the wisdom and desire to evaluate political decisions
base on fact and logic, especially at a time when the opposition cannot
afford to divide votes.

A revolution is reactionary in nature.  Since the coup yahya jammeh has
fallen out with most of his former comrades.  It will be frightening to
allow yahya jammeh to run The Gambia for another five years.  Why then
should we allow such a frightening thing happen?  If this evaluation is
indeed true, why then are we dividing our ultimate desire of freeing
The Gambia?

As children of God, we must seek the truth for a return to civility
and understanding in The Gambia.  A day will come when we the citizens
of The Gambia, together with our desire to seek the interest of our
country, will be saying in loud and clearer voices: "thank God we are
free at last."   We can only do this through equity, fair-dealing and
truth.  We must be sincere in our undertakings.  We must evaluate our
policies on objective interpretations that will provide us reasonable
assurance in our desire for a free Gambia.  This I believe, will be left
with the new generation of Gambian politicians whose advocacy will be
a reminder of true reconciliation.  After our defeat, some of us will
be researching collectively of the need to take this journey in freeing
The Gambia.  We cannot and should not be miles away and enable yahya
jammeh to continue on with his style of leadership.

For a successful continuation of democracy, history, politics and
economics should be treated inseparably.  Interestingly, these three
disciplines are social sciences.  If democracy is curtailed, there will
be imbalances in all the sectors with an infrastructure.  Our goal
therefore, must be a symbol of our rich culture in defining a brighter
moment for The Gambia.

As I appeal to you to revisit and reconsider a true reconciliation. I am
force to pay tribute to those innocent school kids who were killed by
the military.  I must pause for a moment and remember Mr. Koro Ceesay.
I must ask why are Dumo, Lalo Jaiteh and other innocent Gambians still in
jail?  I must ask again and again why then should we not have a party of
total unification?  Why were so many Gambians killed?  I then want to know why
should we take different routes to flush out yahya jammeh?

I also want to reiterate that I will not endorse non of the
opposition presidential candidates if we do not have an
alliance that does not include PDOIS, NCP and NRP.  This will
entail a boycott on my part as a Gambian citizen who will not
be part of a divided opposition.

In conclusion, I want to thank you for your noble efforts in setting a
path to democracy.  I know that our differences should not negate our
desire for a democratic Gambia.

May the prayers of our leaders germinate?  May the cries of those innocent
Gambians killed, intimidated, harassed and tortured be testament for
the rest of us?

Long live democracy and down with the APRC government.

Naphiyo,

Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh
Greensboro, NC/Kombo East Constituency



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