COMPATRIOTS AND FRIENDS OF THE GAMBIA:
The brutal dictatorship in The Gambia has just completed the first chapter
in its illegal war on the official opposition in the country. The arrests of
  Hamat Bah, Omar Jallow(OJ) and Halifa Sallah can only be part of a
strategy to emasculate The National Alliance for Democracy and
Development(NADD), before the 2006 Presidential and National Assembly
Elections. Generally, the arrests of the Politicians who have only been
known to be doing their normal legitimate activities is outrageous, but even
more so is the arrest of Halifa Sallah, a sitting member of the National
Assembly with total disregard for previliges conferred upon him by his
membership of that august body. The A(F)PRC  political leadership has once
again manifested in very clear terms, that its existence presents a handicap
to the development of Multi-party Democracy in The Gambia. By arresting
leaders  who represent the wishes and aspirations of a large number of
Gambians both at home and abroad, the Govenment of The Gambia headed by Yaya
Jammeh has shown its lack of the necessary political willl for the
development of Democratic values in the country.
The A(F)PRC regime is confronted with a reality in which its total lack of
credibility is being exemplified on daily basis. Yaya and his surrogates are
fighting a war they can never win. They are up against the wishes and
aspirations of the people. Their disregard for the obvious need for change
in the country, and the brutal and criminal manner in which they have been
trying to silence the voices of the people, shows the devil at the heart of
the regime.
There may still be peace in The Gambia, but what obtains in that regard is
evil-peace. That is peace generated by fear and enforced by forces of
terror. This is characterized by the absence of freedom and justice and
political conspiracies are the order of the day. Presently, the political
situation in the country is very tense. The government through lack of
credibility, has also loss the political initiative and can only implement
its (infamous) agenda by force. The more force it uses, the more unpopular
it becomes. In very simple terms, The A(F)PRC regime has engendered the
recipe for its ejection from power.
Historically, we are at the point at which other African countries were
catapulted into violent conflict.There is an ominous impasse between the
ruling cabal in Banjul and Kandinlai and The Gambian people.
Furthermore,there is no guarantee that The Gambia will not degenerate into a
violent conflagration, because that is the kind of situation which actions
like the ones that The Jammeh regime has been taking as of late, lead to. I
do not like the idea of A Revolutionary Armed Struggle in The Gambia, but I
also find the notion that Gambians cannot rise up to the challenges of A
Revolutionary Armed Struggle disgustingly naive. I am positive that
Gambians, just like Senegalese, Malians and South Africans,  understand and
do not like the pain of being subjected to indignities in their own country.
It has previously been argued that softly-softly politics will not effect
meaningful change in The Gambia. NADD and the generality of the opposition
should embrace the idea of developing a militant vanguard. The progress that
the opposition makes daily on the ground needs to be protected and enhanced.
This cannot be done if The Jammeh regime (which we are trying to eject from
power) can take our leaders away with the flimsiest and most ridiculous of
excuses at anytime. There has to be obvious risks involved in such actions
if the administration in The Gambia is to desist from taking them. The
A(F)PRC is a dictatorship, and while dealing with such a system, the task of
protecting their leaders falls on the shoulders of the people.
The fact that the three politicians have had charges proffered against them
in justice Paul's court in a way gives credence to the arguement that he
indeed is a mercenary judge. This is a judge who has been favoured in taking
cases in the outcomes of which Yaya Jammeh has a vested interest. He sent
Lamin Waa Juwara to jail for six months on bogous charges and has given the
unpopular Jara politician  Baba Jobe , a long term jail sentence. This was
the man behind the infamous Paul Commission which came about and went away
atop the whims and caprices of dictator Yaya Jammeh. A FAIR AND SPEEDY TRIAL
IS OUT OF THE EQUATION HERE. One of two things will be done: Either the
three politicians are kept going and coming between Central Prisons and the
courthouse for the next year and then have the bogous charges against them
dropped; or against all legal and conventional wisdom, justice paul will
send them to jail for terms that will pre-empt their participation in the
2006 Presidential and National Assembly elections. It should be made obvious
that Yaya Jammeh's ultimate objective is to undermind the momentum for
change.
As to why Lamin Waa Juwara and Lawyer Ousainou Daoboe have not also been
arrested, I totally disagree with most of the spinning going around. This
regime is like a mad dog let loose in a crowd. There is no strategy behind
the choice of victims. If anything, its a matter of convenience and the
level of the venom that is causing its madness. The immediate cause of OJ
and Halifa's arrests is to be found in their devastating responses to Yaya
Jammeh's Koriteh allegations. There is no doubt that both Waa and Ousainou
would have been arrested if they had made similar pronouncements in the
context in question.
The way forward is not an easy one, but one thing is obvious, a dictatorship
of the type of the A(F)PRC has never been ejected from power without some
form of mass resistance. Make no mistake about it, if they can shoot to kill
peacefully demonstrating students, they would do worse things to adults.
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!
Omar Joof.

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