Ebrima,
We thank you very much for your clarifications. I agree with you that since
the A(F)PRC regime came to power in The Gambia, there has been a steady and
consistent decline in terms of Democratic practice in governance.
Furthermore, I share your expressed view that this has a lot to do with the
personal incompetence and ineptitude of Yaya Jammeh.
However, I wish to further argue that president Jammeh is not a democrat;
that he infact by evidence never believed in democracy; and that in very
simple terms, he is merely masqurading as a democratic leader. By his own
pronouncements ( kuntung-kuntung et al), he is a brutal despot; and in terms
of the events his regime has presided over( April 10th/11th; murder of
Ousman Koro Ceesay), his hands cannot be deemed to be clean.
Notwithstanding the above, there is no reason for anyone to use lies and
forgeries in the struggle to bring down his brutal regime. We have
consistently argued that we do not hate Yaya Jammeh personally, instead it
is the manner and style in which he conducts our national affairs that we
abhor.
Ours is a struggle for Truth and Justice, and that struggle shall not end
with the removal from power of the abnoxious A(F)PRC regime. Infact with the
removal of The Jammeh dictatorship, some Truth and Justice would be
attained, and the need to maintained and enhanced them would decome all the
more imperative.
The person or individuals responsible for these forgeries have seriously
erred, and in so doing have put our leaders in harms way. They owe our
peoples sincere apologies. It would not be difficult for them to be forgiven
since their enthusiasm to get rid of Yaya Jammeh can be understood.
On the other hand, The continued detention of Hamat Bah, Omar Jallow (OJ)
and Halifa Sallah should be seen as another indication that Yaya Jammeh
cannot embrace Truth and Justice. At this point, he should find it easy to
explain the reason for our leaders' arrest in the first place, and
appropriately place the blame for the error. He should honestly apologise to
them and their families and then suggest that all charges against them be
dropped unconditionally. This would reasonably reduce the tention that has
been generated. But this is sound political judgement and Yaya Jammeh simply
lacks the capacity for that!
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES.
Omar Joof.
>From: "Ebrima Ceesay" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [>-<] New Light Shed on Halifa, OJ and Hamat Bah's Arrest
>Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:42:36 +0000
>
>[ This e-mail is posted to Gambia|Post e-Gathering by "Ebrima Ceesay" ]
>
>
>
>
>My Fellow Gambians and friends of The Gambia,
>
>I join others in condemning the arrest and detention of Halifa Sallah,
>O.J.Jallow and Hamat Bah. These men are decent, law-abiding citizens and
>each has his own unique qualities. Combined, they form a very considerable
>force for democracy in The Gambia. I know each of these men personally, and
>have had the pleasure of working with them on many occasions. It is clear
>to me, and to all those who know them, that each of them has the best
>interests of The Gambia and Gambian people at heart and in mind.
>
>Yahya Jammeh has yet again shown himself to Gambians and to the whole world
>to be a corrupt and cowardly dictator. Arrest and detention are Jammeh’s
>habitual responses to oppositional challenge: any hint of criticism of the
>regime leads to imprisonment and often to murder. Jammeh’s notion of
>himself as a democratic leader of a fully functioning democracy reveals his
>increasing mental instability: The Gambia is no longer the haven of human
>rights and democratic principles: indeed, it has not been since July 22nd
>1994. It is now characterised by irresponsible and
>inept leadership, misappropriation of public monies, cronyism, illegal
>detention, brutality and assassination.
>
>Despite a very heavy professional and personal schedule at the moment, I
>have been urged to make public comment about recent events in my homeland,
>and to pass on information which sheds new light on the arrest of Mr
>Sallah, Mr Jallow and Mr Bah.
>
>Unimpeachable sources close to the Senegalese government have told me that
>recently, the Senegalese government received several documents, purportedly
>from the NADD leadership in The Gambia and also an Intelligence Report on
>Senegal signed, apparently, by Samba Bah, former Director General of the
>NIA. The documents supposedly from NADD, urged Senegal to intervene in The
>Gambia, because Jammeh was supporting Casamance rebels. The document
>purportedly from Samba Bah told the Senegalese government that Jammeh is
>currently arming the Casamance rebels in order for them to attack Senegal.
>This particular document alleged to have been sent by Samba Bah also asks
>Senegal to help Gambians to topple Yahya Jammeh, and names people like Lie
>Conteh as amongst those seeking Senegalese help in "de-throning" Jam!
>meh.
>
>Now, believing these documents to be genuine and above-board, Senegal
>confronted Jammeh first at ambassadorial level and subsequently face to
>face when Jammeh visited Senegal last month. Jammeh was shown the
>documents themselves and the arrest of Mr Sallah, Mr Jallow and Mr Hamat
>Bah followed.
>
>Senegal continued to investigate the provenance of the documents and has
>since found them all to be forgeries emanating not from The Gambia, but
>from the USA (I am awaiting further source information before revealing the
>name of the forger).
>
>Senegal immediately informed Jammeh that the documents were in fact
>forgeries, and that the information contained within them was spurious. It
>was too late for our NADD leaders and Samba Bah however: the NIA had
>already picked them up and charges of sedition had been laid against
>Sallah, Jallow and Hamat Bah by the regime. But Jammeh’s preferred treason
>charge was shattered when the Senegalese informed him that the documents
>had been proven to be forgeries.
>
>Jammeh’s evidence base of NADD’s supposed incitement of Senegal against The
>Gambia collapsed, and the original charges he had in mind (ie.treason) had
>to be dropped. However, Jammeh is reluctant to talk publicly about the
>reasons for this (he and his regime would be made to look both gullible and
>foolish), and Mr Sallah and Mr Jallow are being charged with unfairly
>criticising the regime (Halifa in an open letter to the Gambian people, and
>OJ in an interview given to Gambian journalists). Hamat Bah is now being
>held because of his failure to surrender government documents following his
>defeat in the by-election (i.e. his Gambian diplomatic passport). My
>sources tell me that Mr Bah has no intention of surrendering his Gambian
>diplomatic passport until his appeal against the conduct of the by-election
>and its result has been heard.
>
>We can trace the arrest and detention of our Opposition leaders directly to
>the forged documents sent from America, and I personally urge the forger to
>refrain from sending any more of these unhelpful documents to the
>Senegalese, or any other, government. The documents serve to put our
>opposition party at serious risk, and to add to the fuel of discontent
>between Senegal and The Gambia.
>
>I am no friend of Samba Bah or Lie Conteh, but I am a believer in the
>truth. The situation in Casamance is already grave enough, without adding
>unnecessarily to it.
>
>We none of us have to resort to forging documents to expose the butchery
>and ineptitude of Yahya Jammeh and his cronies: they do this well enough
>themselves and without our help. Jammeh can be exposed without implicating
>others and putting them at risk.
>
>In international politics, there is little regard for the damage which may
>be done to innocent people when forgery is perpetrated and incorrect
>documents passed on. Senegal did not give thought to the implications for
>Halifa Sallah, OJ Jallow and Hamat Bah when it showed the forged documents
>to the Gambian regime: the Senegalese government’s concern was on a
>different level. However, it was these forged documents that directly
>brought about the arrest of our opposition leaders. Let us all be aware of
>the dangers and miscarriages of justice that can occur as a result of
>forged documentation. Let us think of those people on the ground who are
>already at grave risk in their struggles for honesty and decency in
>government, before we expose them to further risk.
>
>Let us now pray that Yahya Jammeh will now drop all charges against Halifa,
>OJ and Hamat. We know now why our friends were arrested and detained, and
>that the reasons underpinning the original charges were false.
>
>Yahya: I challenge you publicly to release our NADD leadership and to put
>the record straight. The eyes of Gambians and the world are on you.
>
>May God Bless The Gambia and help her in her struggle back to democracy and
>decency.
>
>Ebrima Ceesay
>
>Birmingham, UK
>
>
>
>
>
>
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