Adama,
   The likes of Hamjatta,KB,Ebou Colley et al are against anything that has
to do with PDOIS or Foroyaa, they will throw in any crap/garbage just to
misrepresent the facts about PDOIS or Foroyaa. These people are not the
least honest or sincere  in the struggle to remove the APRC regime; they
have personal agendas and will attack anyone that disagrees with them.
   I am also very surprised that they have reduce the likes of Mboge to
praise singers who they have earlier on labeled as a PDOIS programmed
fanatic. They are not worth responding to and I am sure many people on this
L can easily separate the wheat from the chaff. I am glad that I set up a
rule in my e-mail that will send any crap from these "Mr, We Know all" to my
trash bin.

Let them keep on dreaming that these pettiness and silly personal agendas
will unseat the APRC regime.

For a better Gambia

Bass Ndow


>From: Adama Bah <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: BURNING ISSUES FOROYAA Publication
>Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 21:12:55 -0700
>
>Hamjatta,
>Have you investigated what is going on in the camp of the opposition. Don't
>you think that Foroyaa knows very
>clearly what is happening? Is it not better for you to engage Foroyaa
>directly by raising questions rather
>than jumping to conclusions.
>You are thousands of miles away and you pretend to know everything that is
>happening more than even the
>participants.
>Are you aware that the UDP had made an announcement endorsing Darboe as its
>presidential candidate and are to
>launch their campaign on the 18th. of August? Are you aware that only the
>PPP endorsed Darboe's candidature
>at a meeting which was suppose to be an all opposition party meeting
>without any invitation to PDOIS or NRP?
>Darboe also confirmed before the journalist that his party did not receive
>any invitation letter. How did
>they get there Hamjatta? Are you aware that Sheriff Dibba and his
>delegation matched out in protest against
>the endorsement of Darboe by the PPP delegation? Are you aware that the
>registered opposition parties in The
>Gambia are the UDP, NRP, GDP and PDOIS ? Are you aware that only UDP was
>present at the meeting along with
>the PPP, NCP and PDP which were not registered up to that time? Only PPP
>had started the process of
>registration. Are you aware that when PDOIS contacted the organisers on the
>phone it was suggested for the
>meeting to be adjourned for invitation letters to be dispatched immediately
>to convene a more representative
>and proper meeting? Are you aware that the chairperson, Assan Musa Camara
>agreed to consider the suggestion
>but that the rest of the delegates felt that time was against them and that
>they must come to a decision? How
>do you read this picture? Can you decipher it for us? It appears that
>Foroyaa's fear is more than a mere
>phobia. It has become a reality.
>What could have been better than to convene a proper meeting agree for any
>presidential candidate to stand
>and then tell the Gambian nation that the opposition will form a coalition
>during the second round of voting.
>How is the opposition strengthened by what happened at YMCA today?
>What is of concern to me is your statement that Foroyaa is spreading APRC
>rumours. You are good at
>criticising the former Soviet Union however, you seem to be developing the
>type of notion that everything
>said is meant just to confirm fears of what does not exist. Is this not a
>dangerous trend? shouldn't bad
>practice in the camp of the opposition be criticised in good time to
>prevent it from leading into a state of
>decay.
>I hope sincere Gambians in the L will tell Hamjatta the truth. He should
>stop confusing arrogance for
>intelligence.
>
>The struggle to uplift human dignity continues.
>
>Adama
>
>Hamjatta Kanteh wrote:
>
> > For a paper that has more than a decade's experience in reporting and
> > commenting on topical issues, Foroyaa seriously goofed here by allowing
>its
> > columns to be reduced to being a mere recycling factory of APRC rumours
>and
> > conspiratorial innuendoes. Instead of Foroyaa getting first hand
>information
> > from the individual parties and personalities it reported about, it
>relied
> > primarily on second hand accounts of events and inferring from them
>grossly
> > erroneous stuff on the intent, manouevres and actions of some Opposition
> > heavy weights. Foroyaa certainly doesn't help the collective spirit when
>it
> > tendentiously make conspiratorial what is at best a genuine effort in
>the
> > preliminary engagements of ironing out wrinkles that have the potential
>of
> > hindering coalition progress. That is to say that it is perfectly normal
>that
> > before formal negotiations take public form, backroom horse tradings -
>that
> > are invariably raucous and having the negative impact of throwing poor
>light
> > on the collective spirit if conducted in the public eye - have to run
>their
> > course before the shape and form that the collective spirit will take is
> > announced to the public. Foroyaa's whining or lamenting at this backroom
> > horsetrading denotes and betrays its innocence in political
>negotiations.
> >
> > Insidiously, and with great literary adroitness, Foroyaa tried to paint
>a
> > patrimonial picture of Hassan Musa Camara's informal appointment as the
> > 'political fixer' to work on narrowing down the differences between the
> > different Opposition parties. Camara's appointment as a political go
>between
> > to finesse a common platform of action for the Opposition signally
>represents
> > the recognition that such a role invariably involves negotiation skills
>and a
> > lack of direct interest in who heads the Opposition Alliance. Camara, by
> > virtue of decades experience as a public figure who had served all areas
>of
> > gov't and led a mainstream political party and the fact that he is
>ineligible
> > to contest the current presidential elections, was better predisposed
>than
> > anyone else to play this role without any ill-will towards and or
>fearing or
> > favouring any political grouping. This is the context of Camara's
>current
> > role. It is not so much the 'patrimonial kingmaker' Foroyaa subtly and
> > deceptively tried to implant in its readerships' minds.
> >
> > Moreso, if Foroyaa was irresponsible and lazy in its reportage and
>commentary
> > of the Opposition Alliance issue, it was surprisingly sulking and
>hubristic
> > in the way it expects cooperation to eventually take form and work. For
> > instance, Foroyaa commented that:
> >
> > "UDP has held rallies and invited opposition parties to join them but
>this
> > had not materialised. Analysts observe that unless the opposition
>reaches
> > an agreement on a presidential candidate it is not likely to have a
>joint
> > rally which gives the impression that a particular aspirant's
>candidature
> > has been endorsed. What is therefore of paramount importance is
>discussion
> > to determine whether a coalition is to be forged or not."
> >
> > Above all, this passage demonstrates the extent to which, say, the UDP
>is
> > ready to sell the message of cooperation. Foroyaa's assertion that the
>UDP's
> > invitation has, as of yet, not materialised is a bit disingenuous.
>Perhaps,
> > as it applies to the PDOIS, it is true that the UDP's invitation has, as
>of
> > yet, yielded no dividends. But it is a matter of public record that UDP
> > rallies have and continue to be graced by such PPP heavyweights like OJ
>and
> > NCP or GPP stalwarts alike. Which takes me to Foroyaa's dissembling
>argument
> > on why the UDP's invitation has, as of yet, not materialised; i.e.,
>because
> > there has been no agreement on an Opposition Alliance for the
>presidential
> > elections, such invitations will remain unreturned or never materialise.
>The
> > fact that PDOIS has been invited to a UDP rally and declined it and
>wilfilly
> > reports it in its political organ, Foroyaa, does it no favours.
>PDOIS/Foroyaa
> > also does itself no favours if it willing to sulk rather than
>proactively
> > engage its Opposition colleagues in what could be the beginning of a
>fruitful
> > cooperation. For instance, if the UDP invites it to join it in a rally,
>PDOIS
> > ought to accept the invitation and use it as a basis to explore ways in
>which
> > it can stamp out misconceptions, mistrusts and misunderstanding that
>continue
> > to stand between the different parties. Likewise, to see how cooperative
>the
> > UDP is, PDOIS then can return the UDP's compliments by inviting the UDP
>to
> > join it in a similar forum. That way, we are no longer talking about
>parties
> > communicating through third parties; rather, we are beginning to see a
>whole
> > new mechanism that would greatly help foster common understanding on the
>way
> > ahead. The collective interest and or spirit is neither served by column
> > inches of regurgitated APRC rumours or inferring from these rumours
>grossly
> > erroneous stuff about Opposition players and consituents. Mistrusts and
> > misunderstandings feed from such a parlous way of comminucation. And
>most
> > definitely not the prudent way to build common bridges to cooperate.
> >
> > Foroyaa also lamented that to this day, an agenda or a framework has yet
>to
> > be worked out to form the basis for an Opposition Alliance. Again, PDOIS
> > should not whine or sulk but seize the initiate and proactively come up
>with
> > an agenda which it can publicly propose to the other parties. That way,
>PDOIS
> > would be at the forefront of Opposition thinking and would not be
>reduced to
> > chipping sulkily at what others have publicly tabled for the Opposition
> > Alliance. PDOIS has the intellectual muscle to come up with a programme
>that
> > it feels would be the correct basis with which the minimalist programme
>it
> > favours is workable and acceptable for all parties to publicly consider
>for
> > endorsement as a framework for an Opposition Alliance. If PDOIS cannot
>do
> > this, then it makes the task of cooperation no easier if all it could
>come up
> > with is to sulk about what others are doing or not doing? What is PDOIS
> > practically doing to move forward the Opposition Alliance? Instead of
> > reducing the columns of Foroyaa into a recycling factory of APRC lies,
> > disinformations and rumours, these are the intellectual arguments that
> > Foroyaa ought to be busying itself with.
> >
> > Foroyaa was very right to point out that: "The Opposition Must Not Be
> > Indecisive
> > The Price Of Indecisiveness Is A Weakened Opposition" If Foroyaa
>believes in
> > its own wiseacres, it was not helping matters either by engaging in
> > intriguing but self-defeatist intellectual arguments or speculations
>about
> > non-existent Opposition plots or conspiracies. If Foroyaa strongly
>believes
> > in its own wiseacres, it would have by now published an Opposition
>Alliance
> > framework paper which can form the basis of mutual cooperation between
>all
> > the Opposition parties genuinely interested in the democratic health and
> > future of the country.
> >
> > All the best,
> >
> > Hamjatta Kanteh
> >
> >
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