Hamjatta,

Welcome to the Halifa Fatigue Club! Your farewell speaks for me totally. As
a matter of fact, the Latin phrase "consensus ad idem" - a meeting of the
minds (if I recall anything from my Biz Law class in the Sixth Form) is an
apt description of our perception of what Mr. Sallah's role has been
vis-a-vis Yaya Jammeh. But, why beat on a dead horse? It's painfully obvious
that Koto Halifa will never own up to his misdeeds. So, what's the point in
continuing this debate?

I would give anything to have Halifa explain to me why he thought in 1996
that "there's nothing wrong with Lt. Jammeh turning the AFPRC into a
political party and running for office." And he cannot say he wasn't warned.
Like Baffour Ankomah did for Jawara, I raised the red flag for Halifa, and
the guy all but told me to go to hell. "I you were democratic" he told me,
"you'd understand why you cannot tell any one not to run for president."
What I feared then, and stated clearly in my article, is what we're facing
today. And it a devil's alternative any way you look at it. Why? Because
when all is said and done, Yaya Jammeh will not go quietly - if you know
what I mean. I feel numb just thinking about it. I have a terrible feeling
that the carnage going on these days, is just the beginning. This man is set
to do so much damage to our country that only Allah can save us. The economy
is collapsing, corruption and nepotism are sky-high, employment
opportunities are zero, etc, etc. Having seen Yaya Jammeh in action for two
years, I cannot believe that any sincere educated Gambian could egg him on
to be a presidential candidate in '96. Like I pointed out in my article, not
just Yaya, but "no one in the AFPRC Council has the education, experience,
or foresight to run a country." Apparently, Halifa had a big problem with
that statement.

Under different circumstances, I'd be saying "I told you so." But
considering the tragedy going on in Gambia, because of Yaya Jammeh, that
would be very inappropriate. I spoke to a friend of my dad's on Koriteh day.
He is a Quranic teacher for the Education dept. This man has two wives, and
eight children, not to talk about extended responsibilities. Of his D900
monthly salary, he told me that D140 was with held just the week before
Koriteh. When he complained to his Head Master, the man took him aside, and
said "you should be thankful that they've only taken D140 from your pay.
They've taken D400 from mine." So, Oustace said, "who do we complain to?"
The Head Master told him in no uncertain terms that if he complains, he'll
do so at his own peril. "This has been going on for a while. You should be
glad that this is your first experience."

Think about this man's situation. Now imagine him being better off than most
Gambians, because as dire as his situation may seem, he's in fact in better
shape than most of our people. This is the social cost of Yaya Jammeh's
misrule.

Your comments on their last posting is very accurate. I just hope Foroyaa
will keep up the pressure on this murderous regime by raising questions that
all sincere Gambians are asking albeit silently, or outside Gambia. Thanks
again.

Saul.

PS. I can't open your attachment. It looks like a WordPerfect doc, but I
don't know. Can you just incorporate it in the text of a posting?

Saul.



>From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The Absmal State Of The Gambia: The PDOIS Connection
>Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 06:38:30 EST
>
>Foroyaa wrote:
>     "in our view, if a person's term in office can only be sustained by
>uncovering coup plots after coup plot leading to killings after killings,
>then it is best for a person to call it a day than to leave such a
>historical
>
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