Sidibeh, I totally concur and another five years of this beast is 
unacceptable because it will be worse of the same.  This is yet another 
reminder for the Opposition to get their act together and do right by the 
people.  Gambians look to them to lead and they must fulfill that 
responsibility.  The way they conduct business with Jammeh needs to change 
for they cannot continue to react to his craziness with appeals and urgings. 
  Thanks again for putting perspective to the managed chaos that is 
terrorizing our population.

Chi Jaama

Joe


>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: 5 COUP PLOTTERS ESCAPE
>Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 01:21:39 +0200
>
>Brothers Joe and Moe,
>
>I am sure you both know you speak for most of us. I do not know whether or
>not there was a coup attempt. But indeed, the fact of it is almost
>irrelevant to the barrage of abuse the population is still being subjected
>to by the powers that be. Unfortunately even the opposition politicians 
>seem
>to acquiesce in the farrago of nonsense spewing from those corrupting
>newsies. And there is nothing as saddening!
>
>Condemning coups, real or imagined, is fashionable these days all over
>Africa. From the African Union boss to the last Alkali in town, everyone
>must reject and condemn coups, even if only to ward off ghosts of suspicion
>of possible complicity that may eventually haunt you. The AU sanction
>against coups is indeed an important milestone in African politics. But it
>must also be recognised that the outright rejection of coups - which we
>should all applaud - nevertheless, provides a field day for tyrants and
>frenzied dictators.  Since they theoretically fear no coups d'etat, they
>quickly start constructing personal republics of fear that they rule and
>rule until they die. The AU's checking mechanism provides no counterweight
>to the sinister designs of said tyrants and dictators. It ought also to 
>have
>insisted that African Constitutions include limits to presidential terms in
>office: probably the best insurance policy against useless military coups;
>coups that have ravaged societies all over West Africa.
>
>So while we understand the quick condemnation of the purported coup from 
>our
>politicians, and while offering no excuses for the alleged plotters; they
>could have insisted that term limits to the presidency make for a wiser
>national securtiy policy than the president's blood-curdling threats of
>setting unforgettable examples! Again!
>
>Liberation and democracy do not come by special delivery, either from god 
>or
>Yaya. It comes through struggle for basic rights, such as the right to
>protest against injustice. But even this fundamental right of all human
>communities on earth, our politicians have conceded to Yaya. Not even 
>Halifa
>wants to defend that right! And so the unfailing logic of the evolution of
>the Gambian struggle for democracy follows a path as predictable as
>clockwork.
>A government minister is killed, soldiers disappear, school children are
>then massacred, numbers of civilans are killed by soldiers, a lawyer
>survives an assasination attempt while a prominent journalist is murdered.
>Except for other journalists, no one protests phyiscally in the country.
>Violent deaths and disappearances and bloody threats become the regimes
>staple diet. Its terror police, euphemistically called the NIA, employs
>refined methods of harassment and torture: they pick up people in the cover
>of darkness, and dump them into unknown detention centres. When the police
>claim no knowledge of these detainees, fear creeps into the psyche of 
>family
>members and friends. A litany of unanswered or answereable question flood
>the mind: where is my husband, did they kill him? Is he sleeping well? Is 
>he
>being fed? Rumour mills mushroom as NIA spies and informers multiply.
>Suddenly no one knows who is a spy or who is no spy. First it was no
>protest. Now it is no anti-Jammeh talk. The circulation of bad news assumes
>internet speed. Any tiny sound of gunfire or something send mothers and
>sisters nervously running for their kids at schools.
>
>This is nothing short of a campaign of terror; and terrorism when
>orchestrated by a state on a tired and tried population has only one
>purpose: to create fear. But why is the state bent on creating a climate of
>fear? To cause paralysis. So no one does a thing. And in their fear, people
>would wish for peace, a peace that they think possible if they vote for
>Jammeh or pray to god; and so we summon another five years of darkness, and
>uncertainty and death and sorrow. Another five years of pain for our 
>beloved
>journalists at the Independent.
>
>Cheers,
>sidibeh
>
>いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
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