Dampha,

Ex-president Jawara's security in The Gambia will only become an issue if
and when he is allowed to return home. His recent pronouncement that he is
willing to come back home to lead the opposition, if they so desire, knowing
full well that he is not elligible to stand for election, in order to help
us get rid of "this dictatorship", will certainly not help his case to
return home. To me, it would have made more sense if he instead engaged the
government constructively, in order for him to come and spend the rest of
his days in peaceful retirement. If that were the case, the onus would have
been on the government to provide with all the security and protocol
befitting a former head of state. If he expects to be given a red carpet
welcome and inspect a guard of honour, then he is dreaming. Any right
thinking man would realise that no amount of pressure or threats will
prevail on this government to allow him to come back home unconditionally
while the APRC is still in power.

As for the impact of his association with the opposition, particluarly the
UDP, my instincts tell me that it will be counter productive. His mis-rule,
refusal to willingly relinquish power when he had the chance, coupled with
the rampant corruption that he presided upon whilst in power is only too
fresh in the minds of many Gambians. It will also give credense to the claim
by some that the UDP is a party of disgruntled elements whose main agenda is
for the restoration of the PPP olygarchy. This view can be further supported
by the recent appointment to the PPP interim committee of Shyngle Nyassi
while still retaining his leadership of the UDP Youthwing.

These are my views on the "comeback kid".

Have a good day, Gassa.


>From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Jawara --- Come-back Kid?
>Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 12:25:07 -0400
>
>Well Gassama, I can understand why Salieu himself will NOT post his
>irrational rattling to G_L by himself. Instead, he had you to front for him
>by sending us this garbage from some mental midget that CANNOT distinguish
>between ‘where’ and ‘were’. Neither Salieu nor you can rewrite history.
>
>For starters, Jawara was NOT on a self-imposed exile per se. The man ran
>the
>risk of being butchered by AFPRC/APRC thugs in broad daylight in Gambia. To
>this day, this is a valid fear of persecution. Is it not few days ago that
>Yankuba Touray was threatening Jawara to take him to the ‘Commissions’
>(kangaroo courts)? Is Yaya going to guarantee the President’s safety? Would
>November 22 thugs NOT be unleashed on him? This is NOT a self-imposed
>exile.
>I respectfully urge the Opposition (including PPP) NOT to let their guard
>down. Thugs that will massacre defenseless children as young as three will
>not hesitate to unleash brute force on the President. Any vermin that wants
>to ambush Jawara should pay like the vermin paid in Basse when they
>ambushed
>Ousainou Darboe. Enough is enough. Of course Gambia is NOT a free country
>where people can engage in politics willy-nilly. Intimidation and thuggery
>is the order of the day. Remember, Baabaa Jobe (the world renown criminal)
>is Yaya’s best friend.
>
>As for Salieu’s other ‘points’, reading them made me wonder whether Salieu
>is sending this message from the confines of Campama or not. Is Salieu
>well?
>In any case, this is the kind of incoherent garbage from Yaya and his
>cohorts that should encourage the PPP people to come out in full force and
>defend their great record (in light of Yaya’s despicable record).
>
>The Gambia Jawara will be returning to, is a Gambia that is poorer today
>than when Jawara left it. People are lucky to eat two square meals a day.
>Farmers wait for more than two months to see fifty dalasis. The hardest
>working people in our country CANNOT earn a decent living. Meanwhile, High
>School drop outs are using thuggery to engage in broad daylight robbery of
>our national coffers. Yaya now drives a more flamboyant vehicle that Jawara
>ever drove. Yaya now travels far more than Jawara used to. Yaya’s wife now
>spends far more than Jawara’s wife used to. And did the low-life (Yaya)
>help
>the country gain independence from the British? Did the low-life’s
>government educate him like the Jawara government educated him? Has the
>low-life ever put in an honest day’s work?
>
>Jawara is returning to a country in turmoil. A country where citizens are
>‘deported’ for reporting Yaya’s criminal activities. A country where
>security forces will slaughter defenseless children in broad daylight and
>get away with it. A country where elections officials announce bogus
>elections results because Yaya is holding a gun to their heads. A country
>whose civil service is populated by under-achievers because Yaya has
>dismembered the service.
>
>Jawara is coming back to a country where corruption is the order of the
>day.
>A country whose debt burden has sky-rocketed while Yaya’s Swiss Bank
>account
>is getting fatter by the day. Yes, Jawara will see some cosmetic
>development. But development at what cost? Do we need development with
>unprecedented corruption and callousness? Would any of us (decent people I
>mean) trade the lives of our children with some goofy looking and
>impassable
>arch?
>
>Reading Salieu further convinced me that the mental midget was probably
>living in a cage during the Jawara days, was let loose right after the
>‘coup’ and later incarcerated again in Campama. Do I need to remind the
>moron that Jawara (a top government official) sent his children to the same
>school Yaya (nonentity from Kanilai) went to? What’s all this nonsense
>about
>the Jawara government bastardizing the public school system because their
>children went to private schools? Is Salieu all right?
>
>Here we go again about the class warfare we were talking about yesterday.
>AFPRC/APRC is populated by jealous, uncouth and lazy nonentities that make
>up all these silly stories to portray a Gambia where a few people were
>exploiting ‘poor’ folks like Yaya. Of course this is a big lie. The moron
>led a ‘privileged’ life. Went to the same schools the president’s children
>went to. Had he not dropped out from school and opted for the easy way out
>(joining the armed forces to steal power), he could have gone to the same
>universities as the president’s children. Gambia did NOT leave Yaya out.
>The
>Jawara regime did NOT leave Yaya and his likes out. The opportunities were
>out there for everyone to grab. Some of the most successful Gambians today
>are NOT from what you would call ‘privileged’ Gambian families. Matter of
>fact, I used to say that the late Momodou Musa Njie’s was the only
>‘privileged family in the country; and we all know how modestly they lived
>and how all of his successful children worked hard for their success. So,
>let us treat this nonsense from these jealous and lazy bums with the
>contempt it deserves. Decent Gambians should NOT tolerate this class
>warfare
>in our midst.
>
>Salieu’s nonsense about the doctors and the electricity also does NOT
>deserve much attention. Within seven years, their government has borrowed
>far more than the Jawara government in any comparable period in our
>history.
>If Jawara was there, he would have put that money into better use than
>opening Swiss bank accounts and sending his wives to America to do their
>nails. These morons could have electrified the whole country since 1995,
>instead of opening Swiss bank accounts with more than $20 million in those
>accounts. More to the point, all our current Opposition leaders can do a
>far
>superior job than Yaya can ever dream of. Our current leaders will NOT
>steal
>from the people and slaughter our children.
>
>Gassama, if I find time, I will again show you how meaningless the garbage
>you sent us about Yaya's contributions is. In the past, we have used your
>own figures to show you how Gambians have grown poorer under Yaya's watch.
>If you have ever tried 'flushing' a cockroach in a modern latrine, you will
>understand to what extent I am prepared to go with you.
>KB
>
>
>
>>From: Jungle Sunrise <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Jawara --- Come-back Kid?
>>Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 14:47:37 +0000
>>
>>Posted by Salieu Gaye on August 01, 2001 at 05:12:57:
>>
>>A BIG WELCOME TO Sir DK JAWARA.
>>
>>On last evening's BBC Focus on Africa programme former President Sir Dawda
>>Jawara announced that I will be ending his self-imposed exile and return
>>to
>>the Gambia. I want to take this opportunity to welcome Sir Dawda home as
>>an
>>elder statesman whose wisdom and experience is needed by the Gambia.
>>However, President Jawara should be warned that the Gambia which he fled
>>seven years ago and the Gambia he will return to are quite different.
>>
>>He's was a Gambia were children carried their own chairs and table to
>>school
>>while top Government officials sent their children to Private school.
>>
>>He's was a Gambia where children worked for endless kilometers or even
>>relocated to the urban areas to have access to schools while the luxurious
>>government cars transported the children of the rich.
>>
>>He's was a Gambia were the generator of the national hospital was usually
>>taken to State House while the hospital remained in darkest and operations
>>were canceled.
>>
>>He's was a Gambia were the odds of seeing a doctor at our hospitals was
>>almost the same as the odds of hitting the jackpot in the national
>>lottery.
>>
>>He's was a Gambia were the status-quo meant that most intellectuals were
>>in
>>a slumber and no one except a very few dared question are challenge the
>>Government.
>>
>>He's was a Gambia were information was a premium to the people, were bad
>>roads were our pride, were youths had no hope of University Education,
>>were
>>Scholarships were meant for the rich, were endemic corruption was the
>>order
>>of the day and were farmers were perpetually exploited.
>>
>>Sir Dawda might be surprised to know that the Gambia has changed a lot
>>while
>>he was away. No matter what grievances he has got with this Government, he
>>has got to be thankful that the country he is returning to has a brighter
>>future now than on that sunny morning of July 22nd 1994.
>>
>>>From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]>
>>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>>><[log in to unmask]>
>>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>>Subject: Jawara --- Come-back Kid?
>>>Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 09:41:50 -0400
>>>
>>>News from the BBC that Jawara might go to Gambia in time for the October
>>>Election, is a welcomed one. Here is a chance for the man to vindicate
>>>himself. Power was unlawfully usurped from him by a bunch of bandits
>>>seven
>>>years ago. These low-lives should NOT prevent him from going back to the
>>>country he worked for for the better part of his productive life. There
>>>are
>>>still many people in the country that love the ex-president. Those people
>>>should come together with the current Opposition and give the elder
>>>statesman a hero’s welcome.
>>>
>>>These bandits currently running our country have nothing over Jawara.
>>>According to the White Paper that was supposed to impose a ban on
>>>Jawara’s
>>>political activities, the only corruption this government is accusing
>>>Jawara
>>>of, is the transfer of Jawara’s life savings from the then Meridien Bank
>>>after the president left the country. Nothing was said about crude oil or
>>>other corrupt activities these bandits were talking about in order to
>>>justify hijacking our country.
>>>
>>>The Opposition on the ground should set up a tight security apparatus for
>>>the former president. The international community should be lobbied to
>>>hold
>>>Yaya responsible for the safety and welfare of Jawara if he decides to
>>>return to the country. If anything happens to him, Yaya should pay with
>>>his
>>>own life. I am confident that nothing will happen to Jawara, just like
>>>nothing happened to other Decree 89 politicians. The cowards now know
>>>that
>>>they will be held accountable for their actions. It has began to dawn on
>>>them that this party is over. Pretty soon, they will be hoist in courts
>>>to
>>>account for their crimes. They know that.
>>>
>>>I respectfully counsel the current Opposition leaders to engage OJ and
>>>other
>>>PPP members in the country and encourage them to convince Jawara to come
>>>back home and return to political life. The Opposition can work with the
>>>PPP
>>>militants and the diplomats in the country to ensure Jawara’s safety.
>>>Once
>>>he is in the country, the Opposition should provide him with a stellar
>>>security detail and encourage him to tour the country and campaign for
>>>the
>>>presidential candidate the current Opposition is going to field in the
>>>coming election. Who best to defend the PPP record and discredit these
>>>APRC
>>>bandits than Jawara himself? Jawara owe it to the Gambian people to
>>>explain
>>>how well his government was doing before these bandits stepped in to
>>>render
>>>the country backward and end up making the Gambian people poorer than
>>>they
>>>were seven years ago. Jawara should explain what he would have done if he
>>>was the president the last seven years with millions of dollars of debt
>>>and
>>>aid money coming into the country. In short, Jawara should tackle APRC if
>>>they want to run on the PPP record, while the current Opposition focus on
>>>their plan for the country and Yaya’s mishandling of the country the past
>>>seven years.
>>>
>>>History will treat Jawara kindly if he returns to the country and
>>>selflessly
>>>helps to get rid of Yaya. But his return should be premised on an
>>>adequate
>>>security apparatus to be put in place by an Opposition Alliance. The
>>>current
>>>Opposition should field a presidential candidate as soon as possible and
>>>ask
>>>for the support of the Decree 89 politicians. One of the promises the
>>>next
>>>president might want to give the Decree 89 politicians is that the age
>>>limit
>>>for presidential candidates will be eradicated. With the imposition of
>>>term
>>>limits, we do NOT need this upper age limit. That is one concession that
>>>might be attractive to the Decree 89 politicians that Yaya CANNOT give
>>>them.
>>>There are many more which I trust our leaders on the ground will
>>>negotiate
>>>on as soon as possible in their quest to form an Opposition Alliance
>>>between
>>>Decree 89 politicians and the current Opposition.
>>>
>>>Finally, I hope the current Opposition sees Jawara’s impending return as
>>>a
>>>positive thing for the Opposition. Let the man come and defend his record
>>>and vindicate himself. The current Opposition should give him all the
>>>support he needs in order to help the next presidential candidate defeat
>>>Yaya.
>>>KB
>>>
>>>
>>>_________________________________________________________________
>>>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at
>>>http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
>>>
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>>>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>>>You may also send subscription requests to
>>>[log in to unmask]
>>>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write
>>>your
>>>full name and e-mail address.
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>_________________________________________________________________
>>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>>You may also send subscription requests to
>>[log in to unmask]
>>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write
>>your
>>full name and e-mail address.
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>You may also send subscription requests to
>[log in to unmask]
>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your
>full name and e-mail address.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

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

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------