Ebrima,
You are sending powerful and truthful messages to all Gambians,and I hope people

are digesting them.These criminals should have been standing for trials for the
evil
they have done to our people,but instead,they are mocking us.We warn our
brothers and sisters working with Butcher Jammeh,to know that God is watching at
them. They should fear God,not to defend this brutal criminal.Let them know that
their crowned King is a real murderer.Kindly ask him to allow those corpses
rotting behind the Yundum Barrack toilets,to get proper burials.We will never
accept him!He does not belong us!
Angels MUNKAR and NAKIR are waiting for the these criminals,for real questioning
about all these evils.
                                                Elhadj

Ebrima Ceesay wrote:

> Note: I am asking Gambians in the Gambia with access to the Internet to make
> many copies of this message and distribute them as widely as possible. Also,
> take note that more messages relating to The Gambian situation will be
> coming from me: watch out for them and take note of them.
> ********************************************************************
>
> My fellow Gambians:
>
> Next Saturday, the APRC is planning a lavish celebration to mark six years
> in public office, but the question to be asked by all Gambians is this: "Do
> they (the APRC) have any reason to celebrate their forthcoming 6-year
> anniversary of seizing power in The Gambia?". I say a very definite NO. Why?
> You may ask.
>
> Well, when Yaya Jammeh seized power on 22 July 1994, he made a whole series
> of grandiose promises to the Gambian people: he promised the people "a new
> era of progress, of transparency, of ethical politics, of accountability and
> probity." He claimed to be "a soldier with a difference": a mere mortal not
> wishing to stay in power for a moment longer than necessary "to put the
> country back on the right course."  His brief, he announced to the Gambian
> and international media, was to rectify what he called "the wrongs of the
> Jawara years". In short, he said he had come "to put an end to the rampant
> corruption and nepotism that had characterised thirty years of Gambian
> life."
>
> Jammeh made high-sounding promises to organise the shortest possible
> transitional period following which, he went on, a new democratically
> elected government would assume the reins of the country. He proclaimed that
> he personally had no interest in political power; he was the broom that
> would sweep the path clean for the new breed of politician of the Gambian
> future. He said he would never aspire to the Presidency himself: that would
> be for a person other than himself. Politics, he stressed on many occasions,
> "was for the thieves, rogues, drunkards." His role was the cleansing one -
> away with nepotism, with corruption, with mismanagement. His goal he told us
> was this: that in the wake of the "old", a new Gambia would emerge which
> would be fit for its place on the world-scene of the second millennium…and
> it would all be thanks to him, Yayha A.J.J.Jammeh.
>
> When he eventually announced the four-year transitional timetable in October
> 1994, the international as well as the Gambian community - at home and
> abroad - condemned him in the strongest terms, and he was forced to reduce
> the time by half through the National Consultative Committee (NCC). He
> expressed anger at Sana Sabally and the late Captain Sadibou Hydara for
> wanting him to continue to rule the country indefinitely. Later on, in
> January 1995, he accused his two former colleagues of attempting to kill
> him, because he, Jammeh, had accepted the reduction of the timetable from 4
> years to 2 years, whereas Captains Sabally and Hydara were insisting that he
> held onto power for as long as possible.  Lieutenant "Squeaky Clean" Jammeh
> kept reiterating his promises to hand over power to a civilian government:
> his plan, he announced, was to retire quietly to a life of pastoral calm.
>
> So, Gambians, where is Yaya Jammeh now? No longer a Lieutenant in retirement
> on his farm in Kanilai, but a retired "Colonel", an Honorary Doctor, a
> PRESIDENT!! Therefore, one thing is clear as a noon day: over the span of
> the last six years, this villain has reneged on everything he had promised
> the Gambian people. His grasp on power and his control of every facet of
> Gambian life is tightening every day; he rules the country as though it were
> his personal playground, his bank vault, his own territory and his
> possession.
>
> My fellow Gambians, we now face a situation where every sector of national
> life is in despair and disarray. Our country is being increasingly strangled
> into a state of total collapse, thanks to Jammeh. The public services are
> crippled; economic life is paralysed; our nation's infrastructure is
> grinding to a complete halt. Indeed, six years of Jammeh's brand of
> political leadership have brought us to the very brink of disaster. So who
> IS celebrating?
>
> Certainly, it is not the Gambian people. As for the Civil Service, all the
> best brains in the Service, most of whom were very dedicated and who worked
> to the very best of their abilities have been summarily and arbitrarily
> dismissed. Many civil servants have left of their own accord, not wishing to
> compromise their principles. Of course, whenever professionals of the
> highest calibre detect increasing symptoms of tyranny on the national
> horizon, they are normally the first to distance themselves from it: they
> take their families and go, often to greener pastures overseas where their
> skills and talents will be properly utilised since they have marketable
> skills.
>
> To name a few: where are the Basiru Jahumpas, Oussou Jahs, Shola Mahoneys,
> Isatou Njies (Environmentalist), Ruth Sowes? Who is now left to take over
> their key roles? It is a fact that many of our former politicians were
> incompetent, but, equally, many of our qualified Civil Servants, in my view,
> were of high repute throughout West Africa and the wider world.  Gambian
> standards of civil service were reasonably OK. Now, we lament what has been
> lost: the current Yaya Jammeh-breed of civil servant is epitomised by poor
> levels of education, by an inability to sustain any sort of intellectual
> argument; by a lack of any type of skill with language or dialogue.
>
> Also, our Ministries are today full of "Vacancies" because most of the civil
> servants have been fired. In fact, countless key positions are now left
> empty in the Service because of the dearth of skilled professionals to fill
> them. Our Ministry of External Affairs; our Ministry of Justice; our
> Ministries of Education, Agriculture, Health, Education are all being
> brought to their knees by a lack of  qualified personnel to lead them into
> the future.
>
> It should be patently clear to any clear-minded Gambian that Yaya Jammeh and
> his entourage have nothing left to offer to Gambians, if they in fact had
> anything of substance in the first place. The man and his puppets have lied,
> cheated, stolen and manipulated their way through six years of history. Our
> country is now the laughing stock of West Africa, of the African continent,
> of the world, thanks to Jammeh. Really, we should be crying for the shame of
> it all.
>
> Another important point we should not forget: when Jammeh took power, he
> raged against his predecessor: he was fiercely critical of the way in which
> former President Jawara had travelled on the international stage, taking
> with him an entourage of epic proportions. Now, let us consider the travel
> brief of Yahya Jammeh himself: the truth is that he is hardly ever at home.
> His journeys take him to every last part of the world; his travelling
> companions are as numerous as the Euro 2000 final audience! All is paid for
> by a compliant Gambian public, who have even now footed the bill for a
> private plane for Jammeh.
>
> Who in The Gambia now knows where Jammeh is, or where he has just come from,
> or where he will go next?  Just yesterday, I read an item on GRTS that our
> "illustrious President" is returning Friday from the OAU in Togo when in
> actual fact Jammeh had returned to the Gambia from Togo on Wednesday. Why
> does he need to indulge in this type of subterfuge?  Could it be that the
> man is frightened by his own people's reactions to his journeys?
>
> Also, how many times over the last years has Yayha Jammeh lambasted Gambian
> women for their skin-bleaching attempts to enhance their beauty? "Black is
> Beautiful" has been Jammeh's message. He has been forthright in his
> condemnation of the "bumsters" in particular who marry foreign spouses,
> particularly those of white ethnic origin. Gambians for Gambians has been
> his proclamation. How sad, therefore, that he felt the need to dump a
> Gambian woman in favour of a light-skinned Moroccan (even though her daddy
> is in the super-rich hoodlum bracket). Yahya Jammeh, my fellow Gambians, is
> proving to be a Big Time Liar with one set of standards for himself, and
> another inhibiting, parochial set for the people he is terrorising, robbing
> and looting.
>
> Having said that, Jammeh's history as a "Murderer" over the last years is
> extraordinary. The names of those he has sent to their graves stand as
> sentinels to the awfulness of his regime: Captain Sadibou Hydara, Lieutenant
> Saye, Lieutenant Barrow, Foday Makolo, Ndot Faal, Yayha Drammeh, Almamo
> Manneh, the young dead of April 10th/11th. Each one of these names tolls a
> bell to remind us all that Jammeh is the bringer of death to his people.
>
> Who holds the list of all those unfortunates who are languishing in Old
> Jeshwang, in Mile Two, in Jangjangbureh because of the will of dictator
> Jammeh?  How many have died in custody and yet their families have not been
> told? How many families in the Gambia still mourn the disappearance of loved
> ones?  Who will be accountable for all these lost souls?  The answer of
> course is Jammeh, Jammeh, and Jammeh.
>
> Furthermore, how many people of the highest calibre have been deported from
> our shores?  Jammeh has spoken of his Pan African spirit while at the same
> time forcing out people of the quality of Kenneth Best, Justice Fofana,
> Rodney Sieh, Ali Badara Sheriff, the great cartoonist Jose Lahai. Who is he
> fooling other than himself? Even genuine and hard working West African
> teachers, entrepreneurs in The Gambia have all been trounced by guess who??
> Jammeh, Jammeh, Jammeh.
>
> Frankly speaking, Jammeh's short-sightedness of political vision is becoming
> legendary, at the same time as his notoriety on the international stage is
> growing. His heavy-handedness is growing daily; he shows no regard for the
> rule of law: people are detained and held incommunicado for weeks, even
> though the new Constitution clearly states that no-one should be detained
> for more than seventy two hours without charge. What a terrible state of
> affairs is evident in our country today.  I charge Jammeh with high treason.
>
> Let us also take a look into our Foreign Missions abroad: over the last six
> years, Jammeh has been filling them with incompetent people who have sold
> their souls for a butut or two.  Deputy Director of the NIA, Abdulai Kujabi
> (a cousin of evil Jammeh) is calling all the shots on appointments to key
> positions in our diplomatic missions. Under Jammeh's leadership, nepotism is
> the name of the game, and the stakes for those willing to forgo their
> principles are high indeed. Many of our overseas representatives are as
> corrupt and cold-hearted as their boss in The Gambia.
>
> Sadly too is the fact that our beloved nation, which was once the standard
> bearer for peaceful co-existence, has now allowed tribalism to rear its ugly
> head in our country. Where is our interracial tolerance and respect heading
> to under Jammeh? Our country was feted as the model for a multiethnic,
> multi-faith world. Why is Jammeh destroying all this? He is carrying out a
> nefarious policy of "divide and rule"; he touts tribal difference; he
> upholds and propounds even greater racism within our small country. What was
> once a jewel of freedom, tolerance and fairness in the African crown is fast
> becoming, under Jammeh's tutelage, a society fraught with inter-tribal
> prejudice and racial hatred.
>
> My fellow Gambians, I am making a personal plea for the Jola people to
> understand that Jammeh is just trying to inject tribal sentiments for his
> own interests: he should not be allowed to divide the various ethnic groups
> in The Gambia because they have always coexisted in peace and harmony. Like
> all other tribes in the Gambia, the Jolas are a good  and law-abiding people
> who have a legal right to their place in West African society.  Therefore,
> we should not be attacking the Jola people for actions committed by one
> member of their group. The culprit is Jammeh himself, not other members of
> his tribe. We should take note of the fact that Jammeh is not a symbol or
> representative of the Jola people, and this should be clear in our minds. We
> should not blame the Jolas just because Jammeh is using his tribe against
> the rest of other tribes in The Gambia.
>
> As for the various Security Forces in the country, which Jammeh has
> developed, they should realise that they are being increasingly used to
> harass the Gambian people, to kill innocent citizens and to do their
> President's donkeywork. Today, people in our wonderful country have lost all
> confidence in the security forces, especially the Gambia National Army
> (GNA).  Members of the GNA should therefore understand that Jammeh's time
> will be short, but that the people's memory will be long. Jammeh is using
> his military as a personal service: in fact, it may not be too far in the
> future before he orders his army personnel to open fire on their mothers,
> their sisters, their cousins.
>
> I therefore call upon all serving men and women to resist Jammeh and his
> minions:  to refuse to carry out any of his unlawful orders and commands.
> They should know that Gambians have lost faith and trust in them. But we do
> know that there are SOME in the Army who are caring, loving, sober and
> responsible. My fellow Gambians, let us be in no doubt that  there are good
> people who are attempting to serve their country's best interests from
> within the security forces.
>
> To this end, whoever takes over power when Jammeh is finally deposed will
> have to ensure that these right-minded soldiers form the backbone of a
> restructured, downsized,  streamlined and new look army, which truly serves
> the best interests of the Gambian nation.  There will need to be high
> quality and regular military/civil interaction characterised by harmonious
> relations: these will be crucial in ensuring sustainable democratic
> governance as well as economic development. The GNA of the post-Jammeh
> future will be a professional force, which will be instilled with democratic
> values so as to ensure its neutrality in national politics.
>
> My fellow Gambians, I have been watching in despair whenever I see what is
> happening to the vast majority of high-principled and hard-working Gambian
> entrepreneurs: men like Mustapha "Taf" Njie whose efforts to encourage
> economic growth are being stymied. People like Taf are being discouraged,
> and worse still, harassed and victimised. Sad too is the fact that Jammeh
> has given valuable tourist development land away to his questionable
> business partners. Most of the land in the Kotu Tourism area has been given
> to unknown foreign investors, while genuine Gambian business people, like
> TAF, are being ignored, just because he, Taf, sent a bill to Yahya Jammeh
> after he (Taf) did some work for him at his Kanilai residence; needless to
> say, the Gambian economy is in a dire state, growing more dire by the day
> because of the result of the dubious BIVAC scheme, which seems to be lining
> only Jammeh's pockets.
>
> As the economy is squeezed, so the crime rate in our small country is at an
> all-time high:  people turn to dishonesty in order to surmount the punishing
> daily routines of life, and as they struggle to survive, they resort to
> criminal acts. The situation in The Gambia, in all honesty, is no longer
> just chronic:  it is acute. There is no dispute about the fact that Jammeh
> represents doom, despair, failure, bloodshed and lack of hope.
>
> My fellow Gambians, there is nothing for Jammeh and his entourage to
> celebrate on the 22nd  July. Instead, it is a good opportunity for him to
> admit publicly that he has failed the nation; that he is a liar; that he is
> a cheat and that he is a bloodstained murderer. Anyway, take it from me that
> his day is surely coming, and in fact, in the meantime, he should be told in
> clear language, that he must be held to account for every single one of his
> actions. He will have to repay every Dalasis and dollar that he has stolen
> and stashed away in foreign accounts.
>
> He will be taken to the highest court in the land to answer all the charges
> of murder and treason that the people will lay before him. Let Jammeh not
> forget the examples of recent history: tyrants like Idi Amin, Samuel Doe,
> Mobutu, Bokassa, Nguema.  Like these African despots, Jammeh will be
> denounced, humiliated, pilloried and totally defeated.
>
> Now knowing that Jammeh ONLY represents all that is mayhem, turmoil and
> chaos in our land, I therefore call upon Gambians - at home and abroad - to
> get their act together for the sake of the future of our country. We have to
> adopt a pragmatic, practical and common sense stance to ensure our country's
> survival and redevelopment as a leading West African nation. We HAVE to
> start to prepare now for the fast-approaching Presidential election
> scheduled for November 2001.
>
> I have personally hoped and prayed that the current Opposition parties in
> the country could get together to form a tactical alliance and campaign for
> a mutually acceptable presidential candidate. So far, my prayers have not
> been answered: neither PDOIS nor UDP support the idea of presenting a united
> opposition force to challenge Jammeh in the first round of the Presidential
> election. In any case, we all need to be mindful of the scenario which could
> develop if there were a sudden pre-election proliferation of political
> parties: we should be playing directly into the hands of Jammeh and the APRC
> if we allowed this to happen.
>
> Yaya Jammeh's political future depends on his ability and power to "divide
> and rule" the Gambian nation. Let us safeguard our futures, and be on the
> guard for this. Let him not divide us; let us rather unite in pragmatic
> compromise in order to defeat him once and for all. The electoral events in
> Senegal should give us all heart and hope: by uniting under a common
> anti-Diouf banner, the opposition in Senegal has been able to take power in
> conditions of transparency and honesty.
>
> In my view, the ballot box is the most powerful tool for change in any
> nation: it beats the gun, and it beats corruption and strife. We Gambians,
> need to do all in our power to give credence and due importance to the
> forthcoming elections. We should be educating the people about their
> paramount role in their nation's future. We have to get across the message
> that one ballot paper is worth more than a sack of diamonds: every vote from
> every voter will make a difference. We need to sensitise the electorate in
> order for it to be discriminating when it comes to casting a vote. Our
> people need to know that they should vote for the reliable, the honest, the
> competent, and the incorruptible. They should elect potential Members of
> Parliament who will have the people's genuine interests and well-being at
> heart.
>
> Just look at what happened recently when the APRC MPs in the House outvoted
> the motion to investigate the Crude Oil Saga: what a lost opportunity to
> reveal Jammeh as the biggest crook in the sub-region. We lost a golden
> opportunity to see a thorough and painstaking investigation into Jammeh's
> corrupt deals taking place in the public eye; and the fault lies fairly and
> squarely in the hands of the APRC puppet MPs.
>
> Consequently, what The Gambia needs above all else is a new politics based
> on issues and honesty, and not on personalities. Voters should be sure in
> their understanding and belief that they are the ones to call the shots: our
> MPs should be our subordinate servants: the People put them in power and
> they should be doing the job for the People.
>
> These are the hopes, dreams and prayers of so many Gambians at home and
> abroad as we move into the future. In the meantime, let's all join in a
> toast to the unseating of the Kanilai Butcher in order to celebrate his six
> years of misrule.
>
> Now, I'm going to enjoy a bit of kora music from the late Lalo Kebba
> Drammeh, and a taste of  good "attaya".
>
> Ebrima Ceesay,
> Birmingham, UK.
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
> Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------------