NEWS
"Massive Poverty, Mismanagement, Abuse & Intransigence Put Gambia in
Precarious Direction"-- Says Professor Abdoulaye Saine
By Ebrima G. Sankareh



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

September 18, 2005
Urges AU to Cancel 2006 Banjul Summit & EU, UK, Japan, US to Pressure APRC

Gary, Indiana--Professor Abdoulaye Saine of the Miami University in Oxford
Ohio and US co-ordinator of the National Alliance for Democracy &
Development (NADD), has characterized The Gambia as a state "trapped in a
vicious cycle of growing authoritarianism and harrowing poverty making it a
potential candidate among 60 nations on the brink of collapse". The erudite
Gambian born-US professor of Political Science & International Relations
made this scathing remark as guest panelist at the annual conference of
Gambians in the Mid-West.

The 2006 Presidential Election

In what could be described as a highly scholastic speech captioned: "The
National Security Crisis in The Gambia & the Impending 2006 Presidential
Elections", Dr. Saine paints a picture of doom and gloom and predicts
further hardships unless NADD sweeps the polls come 2006. He insists that
the forthcoming presidential election is a defining moment in the nation's
history…one of the single most significant political events since
independence in 1965 and the most important election since the 1994 coup
that propelled Jammeh to power. In Saine's view, the election was pivotal
for two reasons. On the one hand, it is a battle between a democratically
poised NADD and a regime that has woefully failed Gambians and on the other,
a race between deepening poverty and gross human rights abuses or a more
peaceful and democratic future under NADD.

Professor Saine in a passionate mood forcefully postulates thus; "eleven
years after the 1994 coup…the state has for all intent and purposes failed
and unable to deliver basic social services, justice and/ or security
protections for citizens". He cited the authoritative research conducted by
the Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy, which in its maiden report on
potential failed states, ranked Ivory Coast number one trailed by a number
of rogue nations among them, DRC, Guinea, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Somalia, Chad and The Gambia at sixtieth position. Thus "a 'national-
Security State', leadership paranoia and intransigence" argues Saine, "have
intensified the current security-deficit of growing militarisation and gun
culture in our homeland". He went on to argue that, the vestiges of
draconian military decrees with their concomitant limitation to civilian
participation in government has compromised what little democratic
pretensions and human rights promises Jammeh and his government(s) made to
Gambians in 1994.

On The Security Apparatus

Shifting through the intricate details of The Gambia's worrisome security
situation, Dr. Saine takes on the "Civil Management and Control of the
Security Apparatus" in what could only be described as compelling. "The lack
of democratic accountability, transparency and civilian control", he noted,
"are the key futures of the post-coup apparatus in The Gambia". Thus "the
continuing and growing presence of retired military personnel as heads of
the Interior Department, Police and the NIA" he reasons, "leaves decision
making exclusively in the hands of the President". This combined with
Jammeh's constant circulation and/ or terminations of key personnel in the
security sector rob these establishments of policy coherence and continuity,
he said.

On the Economy & 'Operation No Compromise'

Dr. Saine told his countrymen that Operation No Compromise was the
willy-nilly result of sustained pressure from the IMF & World Bank. In a
fitting fashion familiar to academics, professor Saine gives a riveting
testimony thus; "at its best, 'Operation No Compromise' is a lack-luster
effort to salvage an already decaying economy and a tainted image of the
powers that be". "At worse" he went on, "it is a cruel hoax that, in the
end, does not deliver but scapegoats the most vulnerable- the poor, retail
traders and the regime's political enemies". According to Saine, "Poor
economic performance coupled with a combination of related factors that
include low productivity, mismanagement, over-borrowing and spending, a weak
currency, rampant inflation, a rising external debt, and endemic corruption
are largely to blame" for what he calls "Gambia's crisis of unprecedented
proportions".

The Gambia at A Crossroads

It is Saine's contention that Gambians are at a critical turning point in
their chequered history with two options. Either vote the APRC in office and
continue to suffer both politically and economically or elect a NADD
leadership that will go back to the drawing board to create a new political
culture based on relative economic prosperity, security and political
stability. A post- Jammeh era and a NADD government's first priority
recommends Saine, "must be to reestablish fundamental freedoms, protect
human rights and personal security" all of which nose-dived since the coup.

The AU, the Commonwealth, Britain, Japan & the US

In concluding his acerbic expose` tailored in semantic precision, the
highbrow academic challenged the African Union leadership to rescind its
planned summit in The Gambia in 2006. Otherwise, argues Abdoulaye Saine,
holding a summit shortly before the 2006 election, would be sending the
wrong signals and constitutes tacit approval of the regime's abysmal human
rights record. Accordingly he went on, "intense international pressure from
the Commonwealth, Britain, The EU, Japan and the United States must be
forced on the African Union to cancel its planned summit. He urges these
development partners in concert with Senegal and Nigeria to insist on free
and fair elections in 2006; one devoid of violence and intimidation. Saine's
final appeal, a juxtaposition with major setbacks like the continuous
presence of extremely punitive media laws, the pervasiveness of the "Green
Boys", the removal of four National Assembly officials and the mystery over
slain editor Deyda Hydara, of The Point newspaper, will no doubt, constitute
political hot potatoes come 2006.



Go To Top

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

Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. All Rights Reserved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar - get it now!
http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
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 Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤