Mr. Sillah, thanks for the update. You are darn right that Dibba is isolated
in this. Do I read you clearly when you say that the UDP MPs like Dembo
Bojang that formerly belonged to NCP are staying put? If so, it just goes to
prove my point that UDP is a broad-based Party that Dibba CANNOT just
single-handedly dismantle.

I took the liberty to change the heading of your post because I believe it
is a misnomer. We do NOT have a split here. Get your facts straight. Try and
interview Hamt Bah too or his top aides. Then you would NOT buy what Dibba
is saying about this being a UDP/PPP thing. Where also does Assan Musa
Camara and his Party feature in this? He is NOT a UDP/PPP member. What we
have here is an Alliance of ALL the Parties EXCEPT PDOIS and NCP. This is
NOT even about looking at the glass half full as opposed to half empty. The
majority of the Parties are in the Coalition. I hope by the end of the week,
Dibba will see sense and join the Coalition and put PPP animosity aside.
Gambians are looking FORWARD. Now it is about Ousainou Darboe who is his own
man and who is going to implement programs that will lift our people up.
KB



>From: Ebrima Sillah <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Breaking News:A Split In The Opposition?(Latest Development)
>Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 17:19:07 +0100
>
>Hi,
>
>Buharry, i think this is more than a strategy. Am just
>from interviewing Dibba for the BBC and he confirmed
>to the BBC that he was infact in the process of
>registering his party to contest the October polls. He
>even said there is very little chances to strike a
>compromise here. According to Dibba the coalition is
>more of a PPP/UDP thing than for the whole of the
>opposition parties. However what is even more
>darmmatic about this case is that already Dibba's
>former allies like Hon Dembo Bojang of Bakau, and the
>rest of the NCP MPs then are still saying that their
>loyality to the UDP is unchangeable. This is a rather
>interesting political development. My interview with
>Dibba was also very revealing...too much info than
>expected about the split and the dengerous underhand
>political tactics. Not too good a situation for the
>opposition.
>NB...I think it will be important to send this Dibba
>interview to the gambiansonline. Is it possible to
>send you the interview electronically? Am using cool
>editpro/ftp for my BBC jobs and i think one can send
>the interview through ftp to your site. Am not sure
>but if anybody knows please send me a mail.
>
>E Sillah.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  --- Momodou Buharry Gassama <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Hi!
> >     While this walkout by S.M. Dibba might look
> > disastrous on the surface, I don't think we should
> > panic. I believe that this is more of a tactical
> > move than a desire to split the opposition. Mr.
> > Dibba knows by all indications that his chances of
> > winning the elections are rather slim. This is due
> > to numerous facts. Among them are:
> > 1. He has been out of politics for numerous years.
> > 2. He has kept absolutely quiet during the years he
> > was banned whilst people like O.J., Halifa Sallah,
> > Ousainou Darboe, Hamat Bah etc. challenged Jammeh on
> > numerous occasions thus gaining them the image of
> > being fighters for the rights of Gambians. He will
> > therefore have an uphill task of gaining the trust
> > of Gambians.
> > 3.Time is not on his side. He does not have
> > sufficient time to put in place an effective
> > machinery to enable him to outplay the APRC, UDP
> > etc. I do not know if he has the resources, but it
> > will take a lot to create a campaign machinery as
> > effective as that of the APRC or UDP within such a
> > short period.
> > 4. Ousainou Darboe's presence on the political scene
> > for the past years and his numerous battles against
> > the government on human rights and other issues have
> > gained him a lot of support. A lot of this support
> > comes from former NCP supporters. Even though Dibba
> > might be able to take some NCP supporters from
> > Darboe, it would be an illusion to expect to get
> > back all NCP supporters in light of the fact that he
> > has been quiet and inactive for so long. I believe
> > that O.J. would have a better chance of being
> > elected than Dibba because he was widely known
> > during the Jawara era. Add to this is the fact that
> > he was the most vocal and challenging of all of the
> > Decree 89 politicians. The realities on the ground
> > however made the PPP declare its support for Darboe.
> >
> >     The above and other factors make it an uphill
> > task for Dibba to expect to win the elections. While
> > the NCP might have been the major opposition party
> > during the Jawara era, the UDP has taken its place
> > during the Jammeh era. Dibba therefore knows fairly
> > well that Ousainou Darboe as a presidential
> > candidate has more chances of winning than he does.
> > One has to however use all the chips in one's block
> > during negotiations. If Dibba had accepted Darboe's
> > nomination on the spot, a calculation may be that he
> > might not have been able to gain major concessions
> > in a future government of national unity for his
> > party. By walking out and knowing that he might be
> > able to split the opposition vote, Dibba is hoisting
> > himself in a position from which he can negotiate
> > more favourable conditions. Dibba knows that his
> > party is important in a coalition and that his
> > walkout will not be the end of attempts to get him
> > to join a coalition. He is probably waiting with
> > conditions on a piece of paper for the delegation or
> > phone call encouring him to join. This is about
> > politics, negotiation and the art of gaining
> > concessions. We should therefore not be surprised if
> > we hear very soon that Dibba has accepted Darboe's
> > nomination. Have a good day.
> >
> >
> >                       Buharry.
> >
> >
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