Omar
>
> You are spot on! I for one always had the belief
> that
> Waa is not against a United Coalition. However he
> wants to see that the democratic is in place before
> we
> can envisage having a United Coalition.
>
> One must not forget that there were so many
> irregularities conducted by the IEC and the APRC
> before the elections were held in October 2001. I
> believe Waa's points of concern about forming a
> United
> Coalition before addressing the issue of democracy
> is
> a prudent one. People in the diaspora should realise
> that the Gambia Government and the IEC have made no
> progress in allowing Gambians abroad to vote in
> forthcoming elections.
>
> If we Gambians hastily advocate for a United
> Coalition
> without addressing the issue of Free and Fair
> Election, then sorry we are bound to see Yahya
> Jammeh
> re-elected due to our complacency.
>
> Lets all  NOW work for Free and Fair Elections in
> 2006
>
> Sanusi
>
>
> --- omar joof <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Mr
> Sidibe,
> > There seems to be a misunderstanding in the
> diaspora
> > about the thrust of
> > Waa's arguement as was reported in a story
> published
> > by the Independent
> > newspaper a month or two ago.
> > I am very positive that Mr Juwara did not intend
> to
> > convey any message of
> > opposition to the  coalition, and in fact I would
> > not hesitate to say that
> > as far as I know, he is very supportive of all
> > efforts geared towards
> > creating a viable alternative to the Jammeh
> regime.
> > In the story you made
> > mention of, which I have also alluded to herein,
> Mr
> > Juwara expressed strong
> > opinion about two issues. These were: (1)- A
> proper
> > reconstitution of the
> > Independent Electoral Commission(IEC) with a view
> to
> > ensuring a free and
> > fair electoral process; and (2), the seeming hope
> > that all the alternative
> > parties need is funding to flush out the APRC
> regime
> > at the Polls.
> > Pertaining to the first issue,  most of us will
> > agree that since the
> > controversial removal of bishop Telewa-Johnson
> from
> > the chair of the IEC,
> > the latter has suffered a dented credibity. There
> > have always been claims of
> > electoral fraud in the Gambia in the aftermath of
> > elections, but that of
> > 2001 is unprecedented in terms of both scope and
> > nature. It has been
> > alledged that foreign elements were used to swing
> > the vote infavour of
> > incumbent Yaya Jammeh. In a nutshell, some
> observers
> > have concluded that the
> > Presidential election of 2001 was rigged before
> > Gambians went to the Polls.
> > The ability of the IEC to justly institute,
> organise
> > and monitor the
> > electoral process, is crucial to averting such
> > negative conclusions, and
> > ensuring credible results at the Polls. I need
> only
> > mention here that Mr
> > Juwara infact suggested a solution to the IEC
> > problem in the story from
> > which it seems some of us have made erroneous
> > deductions.
> > In connection with the second issue, a lot of
> > commendable effort is
> > presently being geared towards the establishment
> of
> > a Save the Gambia Fund.
> > We are all aware that the fund is already there,
> and
> > now its just a matter
> > of collecting the contributions. This is a
> fantastic
> > move! However, it takes
> > more than funds to win elections. There are
> > organisational and personnel
> > issues to deal with even before we move into the
> > realms of logistics and
> > strategy amongst others. I wish to ensure you MR
> > sidibe, and indeed all
> > concerned persons, that this was basically what Mr
> > Juwara intended to
> > convey. His criticism, I am positive, was done
> with
> > the best of intentions,
> > and should be used as a wake up call for all of us
> > involved in efforts to
> > bring about a change of the political leadership
> in
> > the Gambia.
> > In conclusion, it is my personal opinion that many
> > of us are focusing too
> > much on the removal of Yaya Jammeh from office and
> > not giving attention to
> > what to do with the corrupt and brutal system he
> has
> > managed to put in place
> > over the years. I have no doubt that this system,
> by
> > all indications, poses
> > a big threat to the long term development of
> > democracy in the Gambia.
> > Omar Joof.
> >
> >
> > >From: Momodou S Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing
> > list
> > ><[log in to unmask]>
> > >To: [log in to unmask]
> > >Subject: Re: Why the silence UDP and NRP
> > >Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 00:40:54 +0200
> > >
> > >Conteh Julla,
> > >
> > >A very apt and timely question, especially after
> > receiving the wonderful
> > >news from Sister Soffie Ceesay on Waa's release.
> > >A week or so ago, I mentioned in passing that Waa
> > Juwara is key to a
> > >coalition of the opposition. Now more than ever,
> > the opinion he gave in an
> > >interview with the Independent clearly needs
> > clarification. Even if he
> > >opposed the idea of a coalition on matters of
> > principle, he needs perhaps
> > >to be persuaded that a coalition may be necessary
> > as a matter of strategy
> > >to wrest power from the incontinent hands of the
> > APRC. The dificulties
> > >toward the coalition effort stretch as far back
> as
> > the last elections, at
> > >least. It is time that we placed these
> difficulties
> > on the table.
> > >
> > >Momodou S Sidibeh
> > >
> > >----- Original Message -----
> > >From: "burang conteh" <[log in to unmask]>
> > >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 11:59 PM
> > >Subject: Why the silence UDP and NRP
> > >
> > >
> > > > Folks, I came a crossed with lots of
> > condemnation from our other
> > >oppositions
> > > > leaders in the Gambia, mostly all, except
> Lawyer
> > Ousainu Daroe and Amat
> > >bah
> > > > for the illigal detention of Lamin waa Juwara.
> > Why are they silence,
> > > > especially Juwara's former party UDP. Is it
> > because he felt out with
> > >them
> > > > and formed his own party? I do remember Juwara
> > condemning Lawyer
> > >Darboe's
> > > > detention some months ago.
> > > >
> > > > Why the silence our great political leaders?
> > Have you all been scared
> > > > already to get in to jail for demonstrating
> your
>
=== message truncated ===

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