Dear Brother Joe:

     What else can I say? You have said it all. This is our case, indeed! It
is quite reassuring that people like yourself, Aunty Jabou, Dr Saine and a
host of other sincere people are keeping their eyes on the price we are
bound to pay for affording another 5 years of Jammeh. 

     I'm still wondering what Gambians were thinking about when they went
back to the polls to give this dude another shot at the helm. I just can't
get it! Frankly, the most frightening of all, in my opinion, is the looming
economic calamity. I hope it doesn't get as spooky as history has proven
about dependent nations like our small Gambia in such dire circumstances.

      Politically and socially, the status quo is not very promising. I hope
Jammeh sees things this way and realize what lies ahead if his gov't doesn't
change its course. Again, thanks a lot for this brilliant piece. Keep them
coming.

Ous Ngum
Columbus, OH


On Tue, 23 Oct 2001 18:55:46 +0000, The Gambia and related-issues mailing
list wrote:

>  Like many in the opposition camp I have been pondering the last couple of
>  days about the outcome of the recent presidential elections and what it
>  means for the Gambia.  Over the years most members of this list have
fought
>  vehemently against the misrule of Yaya and the APRC.  Most of the
>  allegations we leveled against Yahya are factual and the record is there
for
>  anyone to see.  Where there extra judiciary and summary assassinations
and
>  arrests during his seven year tenure?  Yes indeed!  Did he order the
mowing
>  down of the students and Mr. Barrow?  In broad daylight!  Is he looting
our
>  treasury (what's left of it)?  You do not have to go far, just back track
to
>  a day before the 1994 Coup and take a snap shot of his finances and see
the
>  kleptocrat he has metamorphosed into.  Has he threatened his fellow
citizens
>  with death?  The tapes are available for those interested in verifying
(on
>  radio, television, and live and direct).  Have our poor farmers got cash
for
>  their crops for three years and running?  The papers reported extensively
on
>  this slow strangulation of the hardest working of our lot.  Has poverty
>  increased among our lot and is unemployment of our people increasing at a
>  rocket pace?  Just stroll about the streets in the urban centers.  Is
>  inflation suffocating our hue?  Just look at our Dalasi, as I write, its
>  hovering around D17 to $1 and climbing.  How is our health?  His family
does
>  not even trust "his medical system" to cure their headache.  How are we
>  doing with Tourism?  Well just ask those that rely on tourism the last
time
>  they were in business. Is there freedom of the press?  Well, ask the
>  independent press about the harassment, arson, and thugry that they
>  underwent with this regime.  This list can stretch the entire length of
our
>  river and then some.
>  
>  In sum, was Yaya’s seven year terror a raw deal for Gambians? 
Absolutely!
>  How come then, some may ask, did the majority of the very people who
>  suffered under his wrath vote him in for another five-year term?  That is
a
>  question that can only be answered by the 52% of the voters that voted
for
>  him.  As a citizen who did not cast my vote and a believer of an
>  individual's unconditional right to suffrage, I would not attempt to
>  question the sanity of the majority who voted for him, even with their
>  acknowledgement of the above listed catalogue of criminal activity. 
Doing
>  so, means going against the very principles that we on the L upheld and
>  fought for so long.  We cannot on the one hand request for the Gambian
>  people to be given the right to be heard and when we did not like what we
>  heard, we turn around to question the sanity of their decision.  I doubt
if
>  any of us in the opposition would have questioned the voters if victory
were
>  on our side.  As much as I disagree with the majority decision, I will
also
>  not venture to wish them bad luck and lay in wait for that day to tell
them
>  “I told you so”.  Doing so would mean that my ego got the best of me and
the
>  welfare of the nation is secondary to mine.  For now, I'll just nurse my
>  bruises with the hope that "those whose flesh meet the sward know
firsthand
>  how sharp and painful the entry – better than the observers, you and me".
>    I hope the majority is right and that this is what they want and is
best
>  for the country.
>  
>  This victory for Yahya did not change the facts mentioned above and as
long
>  as those wrongs are not corrected my resolve to follow his every move
like a
>  Bloodhound stays the same.  We are in this fight for the long haul.  Let
us
>  not let our emotions get the best of us.  This criminal enterprise can
only
>  be brought down by persistence and more persistence.  We should use all
>  options available to us.  I know there are those among us that, based on
our
>  past experience with Jammeh, want to reject outright, any “peace
offerings”
>  from his end.  Our struggle does not require that we either fight or
>  negotiate at the table, but not both.  On the contrary, We can both fight
>  and negotiate at the same time.  The South Africans, the Senegalese, and
>  countless other countries did it and others still do.  In the case of the
>  South Africans, they would retaliate for Afrikaner murders of their
>  colleagues and sit at the table with DeKlerk, the same evening.  If we
>  believe that our struggle is for Gambians, then we should do everything
that
>  would enhance their lives, even negotiating with Jammeh.  Just as we
fight
>  with him daily, even when we loose, we should also be ready to negotiate
>  when there is a need/chance for it, even if we failed in the last ten
tries.
>    Fighting is an extension of diplomacy and diplomacy is in turn an
>  extension of fighting.  If we are just in this struggle for individual
>  pursuits, then we can afford to be one-dimensional.  However, if our
>  struggle is in the name of the Gambian people, then we cannot afford to
be
>  one-dimensional.  For, to do so, means that we are shortchanging the very
>  people whose welfare we sought to enhance.
>  
>  We in the opposition should revisit “honestly” where we went wrong in
this
>  last election and work on rectifying our mistakes and translate it into
>  victory in the parliamentary elections in February 2002.  The parties
that
>  have a working agenda should review their strategy for positive results
in
>  February.  We on the outside should engage the opposition parties and the
>  parties cannot ignore or avoid our probing.  We also cannot just theorize
>  and theorize again.  The opposition needs our financial support and I do
not
>  mean in the last minute, but NOW, if we want to increase our numbers in
>  parliament.  February is not far, so please let’s make hay while the sun
>  shines.  Folks, our situation requires maturity.  We may have a lot of
>  choices, but we better choose wisely.
>  
>  Chi Jaama
>  
>  Joe Sambou
>  
>  
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