In a message dated 1/17/2001 4:01:05 PM US Mountain Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> As training intensifies Gambian rebels
>                   in Batala Gov't official acknowledges
>                                     report
>
>

Saiks:

This report is quite disturbing.  Recently, rebels have succeeded in causing
a bit of chaos in the towns and villages on the border between Guinea and
Sierra Leone.  Liberia, a pariah nation which is known for harboring rebels
and also for her illicit involvement in trading in diamonds with the RUF, is
a perfect training ground for rebels who want to stage 'wars of liberation'
in other countries within the sub-region.  I daresay a few of the
insurgencies popping up in countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone are
being staged by these rebels trained in Liberia.

These type of activities bode dire consequences to the Liberians who are
currently paying for their country's involvement in the diamond trade used to
fund the RUF's campaign, but also to the countries in the vicinity that are
unable to provide and adequate defense against a serious insurgency such as
the one a full scale civil war would cause in The Gambia.  To illustrate my
point about our country's inability to defend herself, the insurgency in
Farafenni which had the soldiers in the barracks there in a complete state of
hysteria and utter confusions was created by a group of about 20 rebels armed
with muskets of different varieties.  If a musket could cause such serious
panic, imagine what a well armed group of a few hundred rebels could do?  I
hate to think of the consequences but it is quite certain that the army we
have there would be driven into the Atlantic ocean or into Senegal.

I must admit though, as much as the present regime is inadequate in my
opinion, relying on an outside insurgency group such as the Liberia trained
rebels to overthrow the present regime, would be akin to our country jumping
out of the frying pan and straight into a hotter inferno.  Training camps
like the one in Liberia should not be tolerated in the region.  If these type
of activities are unchecked by the regional bodies (OAU etc.) and the UN, we
risk of having these camps wreak havoc on neighboring states in the same way
the camps in Nablus and the West Bank have tormented certain countries in the
Middle East.  Or even worse, if these type of camps are allowed to flourish,
the region could be engulfed in the type of full scale civil war which has
engulfed bigger countries like Zaire and The Sudan.

The UN, with the help of economic sanctions, should force the regime of
Charles Taylor to close these camps for the common good of the sub-region.

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