Nyang
Sidia's statement is quite extraordinary in its evasiveness and needless inbuilt propaganda.
When did the meeting with Ousainou happened?
His Central Committee knew he was meeting Ousainou. Did he report back, or was he "invited to a meeting by the PDOIS Executive Committee to brief them on whether the UDP leader had spoken to me about any Alliance that they wanted PDOIS to join which aims to discuss the future of the country and the modalities of creating a united front without any conditionality"
What "speculations" is Sidia talking about? It was no secret that Sidia and Ousainou met, and this statement from Sidia may therefore be seen as nothing other than a replay of the NADD disaster in 2006. Even when it was absolutely clear we would not get a united front against Doctor Jammeh (as he then was), we were bombarded with ceaseless propaganda from Halifa regarding his willingness to adhere to the wishes of the people.
About Ousainou selling his "his candidature to the Gambian voters", this is indeed feet dragging par excellence by Sidia and his organisation. The spirit enunciated in Agenda 2011 is embodied in the general principles of opposition to the government of the APRC. Merely committing them to paper does not make them unique principles of PDOIS. It is the "primary" question that stands in the way of a united front in the sense that its architecture appears to rig the outcome in favour of Halifa.
For example, Sidia contends that he is "not sure which political leader in the opposition could take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote. Hence I subscribe to the idea of holding a primary for the people to select the candidate of their choice in line with Agenda 2011. I told him that this is why I endorse Agenda 2011".
If the ultimate objective is to is to "take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote" in sufficient numbers to defeat the APRC, then the answer is none of the opposition leaders individually. That will only come about under a united front, and unquestionably, the UDP has a far larger support base than any opposition party in the country. PDOIS should drop the unnecessary conditionality of a 'primary' and consider the alternative of UDP leading a united front under an ironclad agreement constraining its ability to misbehave once in government.
I am not the least impressed by Sidia's assertion thus: "He assured me that he would hold an extraordinary meeting with his committee and come back to me. Since then I have been waiting to know what their stand is on Agenda 2011 or selling his candidature to the Gambian voters. These are the ways forward that are before the UDP leader and they need to take a stand and move on instead of giving the impression that Sidia is dragging his feet on the issue of a united front".
Again, when did the meeting with Ousainou occurred, and did they agree on when Ousainou would "come back" to Sidia? As to the insinuation that Ousainou is holding matters, when was the issue of a meeting first mooted, and how long did it take for it to materialise? Why is Sidia so eager to preempt the issue of "feet dragging"? The trick is to appreciate the pertinent streams of thought when dealing with a media savvy organisation like PDOIS.
And finally to a point that is ever present in expressed views of the PDOIS leadership. Sidia states that "those who want to support the opposition should take their sides and promote dialogue while not undermining each other’s positions. This is the way forward". Halifa stated this in his interview with Maafanta.com, and Sidia now repeats it. Why can they not accept that Gambians can be neutral, and that people like myself, Joe Sambou, and countless others, are in no way wedded to any particular party, and that this is quite legitimate and plausible on public questions of great significance. If this is intended to stop difficult dialogue, it is unlikely to succeed.
As of now, I am in no doubt that PDOIS is a major stumbling block in the creation of a united front in so far as the non-negotiable bottleneck of an unnecessary Agenda 2011 'primary' is concerned
I assure Sidia that contrary to his view, we are well aware of the "concrete realities on the ground". Again, this dismissive statement will not deter elements within the Diaspora community from having its say on issues affecting the direction of our country.
More pertinently, some of us are not primed to be swayed by mere propaganda!
LJDarbo
--- On Mon, 6/12/10, Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, 6 December, 2010, 17:57
SIDIA JATTA /OUSAINOU DARBOE MEETING
The National Assembly Member for Wuli West, Hon, Sidia Jatta, issued the following statement relating to his meeting with Mr. Ousainou Darboe, Secretary General and Leader of the United Democratic Party.
DECEMBER 5, 2010
Having been waiting for Mr Ousainou Darboe to come back to me as promised after meeting his Executive Committee, I was invited to a meeting by the PDOIS Executive Committee to brief them on whether the UDP leader had spoken to me about any Alliance that they wanted PDOIS to join which aims to discuss the future of the country and the modalities of creating a united front without any conditionality. It has been brought to my notice that the GMC leader, Mr. Mai Fatty, has called on PDOIS to join an Alliance but has not sent any document to indicate that an Alliance exists which PDOIS should join. After my discussion with the PDOIS Central Committee, I have seen the need to make my discussion with the UDP leader public so that all speculations would come to an end. Gambians should bear in mind what has happened in Guinea Conakry and what is happening in Cote D’Ivoire at this very moment. Some leaders are not interested in historical legacies. They are
only interested in having their way whether for the better or for the worse. Finally, it is the ordinary people who pay for the follies of their leaders. I do not want any body to link me to any dragging of feet regarding the creation of a united front by the opposition.
My discussion with UDP leader was direct, frank, short and without any ambiguity.
We discussed four main items, that is, his concept of what constitutes the international standard of forming opposition alliances; the NADD experience, Agenda 2011 and the need for opposition collaboration to monitor the registration of voters.
Mr. Darboe told me that the international standard of establishing opposition Alliances is for the party with the majority to lead and the others to follow.
I observed that it is unfortunate that in the Gambian context there is no second round of voting which would have made it possible for the people to select the two candidates who could participate in the final round. I added that if he wants, he as UDP leader to be supported as a candidate, on the basis of the principle he mentioned, he should go ahead and start a campaign to sell his candidature to the Gambian voters.
I emphasised that on my part, I am not sure which political leader in the opposition could take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote. Hence I subscribe to the idea of holding a primary for the people to select the candidate of their choice in line with Agenda 2011. I told him that this is why I endorse Agenda 2011.
We then discussed the NADD experience. I made it very clear that even though other options were put on the table, all parties agreed to create NADD. I showed its successes and possibilities as a viable opposition Alliance. He maintained that NADD was destroyed by others.
He expressed his view that Agenda 2011 is very good on paper but that he fears that it is not workable. He said that if different opposition leaders go on a political platform to campaign to be the Candidate of the opposition, they may engage in character assassination just to win votes. I told him that his fear should be laid to rest since Agenda 2011 is calling for each party or Independent personality to promote the Agenda on one’s own platform and seek a mandate of the people across the board. I emphasised that the mere fact that all voters who support the Agenda would be called upon to vote for the single candidate makes it essential for no candidate to be subjected to character assassination, since he or she may very well become the people’s choice of candidate. At that point he said that he was reassured.
Finally, he questioned whether it was not possible for the opposition to collaborate to monitor the registration of voters. I told him that this was a necessity and every effort should be done to do so.
He assured me that he would hold an extraordinary meeting with his committee and come back to me. Since then I have been waiting to know what their stand is on Agenda 2011 or selling his candidature to the Gambian voters. These are the ways forward that are before the UDP leader and they need to take a stand and move on instead of giving the impression that Sidia is dragging his feet on the issue of a united front.
I have made it abundantly clear to the PDOIS Central Committee that there is no political vacuum for the creation of a United Front in the Gambia. The UDP leader has the option to start his campaign for the people to accept his candidature and extend invitation to others who are yet to be confident that he alone could put an end to voter apathy
Agenda 2011 calls for each party to go on its own platform and campaign for its own candidate to be the single candidate of the opposition through a primary,
NADD is still legally registered and all political parties could embrace it and then come together to select a single candidate. As far as I know PDOIS still subscribes to the NADD idea but PPP under OJ has also not pulled out of NADD.
Those who want to support the opposition should take their sides and promote dialogue while not undermining each other’s positions. This is the way forward. I am willing to meet any representative from the GMC or any other party that aims to discuss Gambia’s future. Issuing comments in cyber space without knowing the concrete realities on the ground is not enough.
The End
SIDIA JATTA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER FOR WULI WEST
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