Dr. Katim Touray wrote:

"Hi folks,

"First, I would like to apologize for my long period of silence in the
aftermath of the senseless killing of 14 people, and the wounding of tens of
others, by our very own Gambian security forces.  The events of this past
April 10 and 11 are a shame that will haunt us forever.  I join the many
people on and off this list, and the world over in condemning these
killings, and expressing my condolences to the bereaved families.

"As we've all seen over the past couple of days, there has been an
outpouring
of rage never before seen in The Gambia.  It is indeed the least many can
do, at least for now, while we gather our strengths again, and prepare for
the battles ahead.  I'd like to contribute one or two ideas to already
bulging collection of brilliant efforts underway.  But before that, I'd like
to take the opportunity to touch on a few house-keeping issues, as regards
the list.

"Earlier in the week, Ambassador Sey in France sent in his perspective on
the
killings, and we all are aware of the wrath that brought him.  In response,
he requested that I take him off the list, not knowing that I do not spend
my whole day in front of my computer waiting for just such requests.
Unfortunately for him, it was much later that day that I saw his appeals.
Needless to say, I did not make any efforts to unsubscribe Ambassador Sey.
This was for no reason other than the fact that every posting sent out on
Gambia-L includes instructions on how to unsubscribe from the list and view
archives of postings.  I saw no reason why Ambassador Sey should have failed
to see those instructions, and had problems following them, if he did see
them.

"The second house-keeping issue I'd like to touch on is the request received
from Tombong Saidy regarding insults hurled at him by Madiba Saidy.  I will
have to agree with Mr. Saidy on this one.  This will then be the second time
(the first was in 1996) that I'm standing up for Mr. Saidy when insulted on
the list.  But the issue is not Tombong Saidy, who I've never met in my
life.  Rather, it's the principle that EVERYONE on the list deserves to be
treated with dignity, even if the person in question has been shown or known
to be probably undeserving of the dignity.  I will say this, and it might
sound counter-intuitive, or even crazy, but folks, if there ever was a good
time to treat President Jammeh and his officials with respect, this is it.

"I'll explain shortly, but please assume for a moment that the above
assertion is true.  In that case, it would follow that what is expected of
all of us is that we exercise restraint in the words we hurl at President
Jammeh and his officials.  While it is entirely up to each of us to decide
what words to trade in private, I would advice that we be as forceful as is
possible, without being insulting or vulgar, in our public dialogs with the
Jammeh government.  Besides, I'm of the opinion that if you have to insult
people to make your point, you really have nothing to say..."
-


Katim,

I sincerely hope that you will take the time to read this, for you might
learn a thing or two about political struggle.

After the brutal massacre of April 10th 2000, the political evolution of the
Gambia took a new and interesting turn. The Gambia as we used to know it,
ceased to exist when the security forces opened fire on unarmed school
children.

In response to something brother Yus wrote, I tried to draw parallels with
the 1976 massacre in Soweto in which Hector Petterson was the first victim.
The ANC used the poster depicting that dramatic event in its long and hard
campaign against the brutal white regime. The anti-apartheid movement used
the power of appeal conveyed by that picture to show the world how brutal
the apartheid regime was. I used to have a copy.

When now and then, you find time to stand, relaxed, in front of one of
such pictures, and observe them closely, they seem to have a way of
conveying a message. They seem to have a way of directly posing questions to
you, the admirer. Asking YOU, talking to YOU! Questioning your conscience!
They have a way of reducing all variables to only two: Good and Evil and
seem to be asking you to take a side; to choose! They seem to be asking you:
"Tell me, where do you stand?" (Find attached the picture of the monument
raised by the ANC, unveiled by the man who himself had decades earlier
declared: "The struggle is my life!" Madiba Mandela himself.
A man who has "suffered for the people" with pleasure, a man of God.).

With all the force and brutality that the apartheid security forces employed
against the people, some Africans still  played the role of running dogs to
the white regime.

They spied for them, selling out those brave students and young political
activists in the political youth movement against apartheid. When the good
guys caught up with such dogs, they used to put a car tire around their
necks, pour petrol on them, then set them on fire. They used to call it
necklace. The use of the necklace was quite controversial, with the most
radical wing of the anti-apartheid movement supporting it. Winne Mandela is
on record as having advised the ANC youth "to use the necklace" on the
traitors of the cause for freedom.

They argued that these hyenas in sheep skin, who spied in on their
activities and  then reported them back to Boers' machinery of
repression, deserved the same fate as the victims of their spying
activities. It was a "game" of life and death! The battle lines had been
drawn. It was good against evil. I PRAY to God, the Almighty, that the
situation at home does not deteriorate to the level. More on prayer later.

One didn't even have to be part of the movement, just a whisper from a spy
was enough for one to either "go missing" or declared to have "committed
suicide" whiles under police custody. Fear, suspicion, lies was the order of
the day.. They had deliberately chosen the side of evil for, nobody, even a
blind man, could be blind to the atrocities of apartheid.

 You wrote barely a day later:


"Hi folks,

Thanks for all your e-mail messages.  And please keep them coming.

I have a number issues I want to touch on.  First, Sheikh Tijan Nyang
informed us that Muslims all over The Gambia offered prayers yesterday
(Fri., April 14) for the dead and wounded, and also prayed for "peace and
tranquility" back home.  The Christians, Mr. Nyang said, will be praying
tomorrow (Sunday, April 16).  And I say it's well and good that people pray
for the dead and wounded.  But at the same time, I fear that we are going
back to our old ways of being hypocritical, and bringing God into something
He has nothing to do with.  The killings that happened in The Gambia were
perpetrated by human beings against not only other human beings, but against
their very own fellow citizens.  It is thus a crying shame that we are
hiding behind our faiths as week seek solutions to the problem we face, and
answers to the questions we are asking".

"..And I say it's well and good that people pray for the dead and
wounded.  But at the same time, I fear that we are going
back to our old ways of being hypocritical, and bringing God into something
He has nothing to do with".

This is the ultimate display of a total lack political maturity. Katim, when
the government forces of repression massacred those defenceless kids, it
became a question of good against evil! It was a battle for the truth
against damned lies! Those students were demonstrating for the truth.
The truth about the murder of a fellow student, and the truth about the rape
of a fellow student. Justice for their fellow students.

People are tired of Jammeh's lies and if they whispered before, they shouted
at the top of their voices of April 10th. You have read from the same
sources as me the slogans the student had written on their banners and those
they shouted before, and as the events unfolded. Even as the events
unfolded the battle cries changed, as those zombies seemed to become more
blood thirsty.

So when religious leaders call for a day of prayers you say to them they are
missing the point? What's the point according to you? What are you really up
to?
Bother, it's you that don't seem to be able to figure it out!

Remember this is a battle between good and evil. And who is a better judge
of what is good and what is evil than the Almighty God Himself? Are you
really serious when you say that God has nothing to do with it? Listen, and
I'll tell you what God has to do with it:

At the funeral of the fallen hero, the late Omar Barrow, journalist and Red
Cross volunteer, when the Imam of Latrikunda (my own Imam for many years)
spoke to those present, he elevated the brother onto a pedestal and called
him a "Sahib", a martyr in the service of MANKIND.

Next time you hear about such atrocities committed or being committed
against a God fearing people and they call for prayers in mosques and in
churches, remember that for the faithful, the ultimate custodian of truth is
precisely their object of warship, their God their faith. Gambians have
faith in God. So when they gather to morn their dead and to "PRAY", what
they are actually doing is carrying out some form of mobilisation of the
soul and the spirit of their existence and their believes. When they pray
from
the Book of their faiths and ask God to protect them against evil, they
already know who represents that evil.

In any field of political struggle, when everybody else is silenced, the
true religious leaders assume the role of spokesmen for the oppressed. It is
in the Houses of God, after prayers, that religious leaders choose a very
apt and relevant theme to their struggle, and speak on behalf of good, of
truth. Desmond Tutu, Rev. Alan Busak are two known examples from the
anti-apartheid struggle. Arch Bishop  Huddleston is another.

Dr. Martin Luther King is actually Rev. King, a man of the church who spread
his message as a simple choice between good and evil. Living in the US, I
thought you would know about "Negro spiritual" and their significance in the
Black Churches' religious/political mobilisation against evil.

The church also played a leading role in toppling Ferdinand Marcus by
preaching good against evil, by marching, demonstrating with the oppressed,
they clearly showed on whose side God was. Just recently in East Timor the
church played the role of custodian of the truth and helped liberate its
people.

When religious leaders begin to speak, all the faithful begin to listen,
Katim.
When I say religious leaders I do not mean the likes of Imam Fatty
either. On Friday, I went to the mosque here in Oslo to pray and morn with
the rest of the people. Afterward, when I showed round our petition and
asked for signatures, people obliged. I collected forty signatures. To those
who can't read, I made it a short simple message, stressing good against
evil!

Have you ever bothered to ask yourself why so many people of the church have
been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? The answer is simple. They have been
fighting for the truth, for justice for God's children, among the weakest of
the weak; for good against evil!

The mosque and the church are houses of meditation and reflection. The
houses of soul searching and conscience probing. When I read what you wrote,
I said: "There he goes again". You have demonstrated for all and sundry that
you are in unfamiliar terrain.

After your catastrophic and unpopular decree, banning religious postings to
the list without consulting with the list managers or starting a debate on
the subject first, you went silent until these tragic events and then you
choose to slide the door and look in to see how the kids are behaving. This
time round too, you had some "house-keeping" to do. You concluded that part
of your posting by saying that: "...Besides, I'm of the opinion that if you
have to insult people to make your point, you really have nothing to say..."

Isn't this a rather cheap way to make up for your own mess. Trying to gain
cheap popularity by putting down other people. The best thing you could have
done is apologise for your undemocratic behaviour and the unnecessary and
tense atmosphere it created and promise to be more democratic next time.

What is more of an insult to you: that made to our common intelligence by
being told outright lies that would  make even a dead man frown, or somebody
calling Tombong an ass-liker. Whose side are you on? That name calling did
not go on for long. It happened in the heat of anger at the murder of these
innocent kids. Tombong just happens to be more politically sophisticated
than you Katim, and he is making good capital out of that. Believe it or
not. I am sure in that funeral of the late Omar Barrow, if a member of the
congregation called one of Jammeh's henchmen "wulu ding!" he would not be
scolded. Instead someone may hug him and try to share or take away some of
his frustration. So what is so unGambian about that? Isn't it hypocritical
to
suggest that lies are more Gambian than expressions of rage. Where does
phrases like "hadge bu deh bi", "jaam bi nga don", etc, come from?
Switzerland? What I have vowed NEVER to do on Gambia-L is insult somebody's
parent. THAT, would be most unGambian!

Tombong has first manipulated you into taking the stance that being lied to
about the murder of those young heroes of ours is less foul than calling
those who
try to rationalise murder "ass-lickers". You see my point? Tombong has
solely one role to play for Jammeh on this list; deception. He is quite
aware of what he's up. Listen to him when he wrote in response to an
interview with Kukoi Samba Sanyang carried in 'West Africa' in 1988 and
you'll know that the guy is more politically astute that you:

"From the interview one can clearly see that not only is Kukoi politically
irresponsible, but also lacks the basic understanding of the political
reality of the sub-region". He went further:

"He also claimed 'to prepare the people for a general uprising' which indeed
is all he did. The Gambians need a genuine revolution and not a popular
uprising; Kukoi doesn't seem to know the difference. After all, whether his
officials would have been called ministers or not is immaterial to the
people. What the Gambians are concerned with is whether they are qualified
to run a nation. We all doubt Kukoi's qualifications to rule a nation not to
mention his ignorance of the political reality of the sub-region. How can a
true revolutionary plan a coup d' etat in the Gambia without taking into
consideration the possibility of Senegalese intervention. This shows that
the organisers did not do their homework right.."

So you see, Tombong has "done his homework" and as he is pulling the strings
and you are doing a great dance, my brother. As far as Tombong and all those
Jammeh apologists are concerned, my attitude towards them is summed up in
the wollof proverb: "kafi dhoma, safut jabort!"

To me your contributions towards the debate which consisted mainly, in your
own words, of "an outpouring of rage never before seen in The Gambia" told
volumes about an attitude problem that you seem to have, compounded by an
identity crisis. The saddest thing about it though, is that you don't even
seem to be aware of it. So consider my revelation of this weakness in you
character a favour from me.

Your lack of political sophistication is so apparent Tombong and his gang
must be having a field day. You seem to want to start a car from the fourth
gear. You want to engage in a political struggle without first studying the
terrain. There were "revolutionaries" in the field before Katim decided to
declare battle on Jammeh. Tombong was one of them but has now decided to
mortgage his soul, in the pay book of the devil, of evil!!! I will never
share the company of such, lest I catch what they are carrying.

Some of them have perfected their act over the course of time. Tombong
belongs to the core of "intellectuals" of the APRC syndicate and I can
identify most of them because I've worked with them. I can tell you what
they stand for and how they intend to achieve it. About the whole history of
the July 22nd "movement" and how it is modelled and why. Do not ever buy the
lie that the July 22nd "movement" has been dissolved. I can tell you where
Jammeh got his half-baked political theories. Keep this mail, just for
keeping.

Though I've never met Tombong, I've worked with that other group among the
core who are behind Jammeh's affair with the Arab World. They studied at
Al-Fatah University in Tripoli and speak perfect Arabic. They are spread
(posted) in different parts of the bureaucracy. The most notorious among
them
being Baba Jobe, "Adviser to the President". The July 22nd "movement is
supposed to be modelled after it's Libyan counterpart, the September 1st
movement.

It is supposed to form a core of revolutionary die-hards that supervise a
certain defence core in the army and at the same time promote and defend the
revolution at all times. They form a link between local representation and
the leadership as propounded in the Green Book. They are "Boy Narr's"
backbone.

The July 22th "movement" has failed terribly to do what is was supposed to
do, unlike its Libyan counterpart. In Burkina Faso, the same model
functioned successfully for a while under Sankara, but failed in Ghana where
Rawlins also experimented with the idea. Listen to what Tombong went on to
tell Kukoi in the same letter mentioned above:

"Let Kukoi not make the mistake of going back to the Gambia, because even
before Jawara lays hands on him, the people will deal with him squarely. In
one week Kukoi and his fellow adventurers inflicted more misery and hardship
on the Gambian people than Jawara and his clique did in their entire tenure
in office. The Gambia is presently in a military siege because of Kukoi. All
Kukoi and his NRC did was to make things more difficult for future
revolutionaries. The NRC are nothing more than an irresponsible bunch of
political fool led by a nonentity"

Do you now see the political animal in the man? Is not the Gambia, with her
peace-loving and vibrant people under siege as I write this? Is it not the
same man who wrote the above who is now running up here peddling outright
lies? He knows the whole set-up. Defending today what he was condemning
yesterday. He knows the above and more and has opted to stay put because of
the
luxurious life his Kleptomaniac clown of a leader has afforded him so that
he
can now commute between his two wives, one in Banjul and one in London.

Katim, you have a tendency of thinking so highly of yourself that you
underestimate others. Do not underestimate Tombong!!!

If that was not enough, you begin your first day in class on a subject that
you have demonstrated total unfamiliarity with,  tabling a guideline
for negotiations. You start by offering those criminals immunity from
prosecution and live-lasting pensions on top of that! - and this even before
the dead are buried! What are you out to prove? Or better still, whose side
are you on? Good or evil? The battle lines have been drawn. Why do you want
to hang out with murderers? Whose side are you on? If you are on the side of
the Gambian masses you cannot dismiss God's role in our struggle against
evil. Those who
called for prayers are more politically sophisticated than you. When they
pray for God to protect them from evil, they at the same time know that "God
is not going
to come down from the sky, take away every evil and make everybody high" For
them the house of warship is the house of mobilisation against evil. Do you
need someone to spell it out for you?

How can you speak for the families of the martyred? You looked in, decided
to come in, found people grieving and  vowing to bring the culprits to
justice and what do you do? You offer to give amnesty to the murders even as
they were busy denying they committed any crime.

People like Karamba have long since pinned their notices on the corridors of
Gambia-L, virtually telling anybody who has a beef with the criminals back
home to "PLEASE" not leave them out. They've done their "homework", they
will never offer Jammeh any carrots. They KNOW the fool wouldn't take it.

Talking of carrots; so that meant to be a "carrot"? Sounds more like
chocolate to me. What's the rush? If you have been doing your homework, you
wouldn't have failed to know that in Sierra Leon, the debate is still raging
as to whether it is morally right to forgive those animals who amputated the
limbs of innocent children. Those in favour of amnesty argue that it is a
pre-condition for lasting peace in that country.
The sceptics maintain that this would be tantamount to telling everybody,
loud and clear, that you can confiscate our freedom anytime you can amass
enough weapons and mobilise some zombies to massacre innocent people.

Don't be confused by the case of South Africa. That was different because
there is no danger of a repeat of the apartheid atrocities. So there they
can afford to forgive for the purpose of peace and national reconciliation
and self-healing. But even there, they first had to admit their crimes. The
exit ticket you are offering Yaya Jammeh is too good. He does not deserve
it. Did you see his act. Trying to woo God after ordering the massacre of
all those kids! What offends you more?

Your offering of "chocolate" to Yaya Jammeh and his gang confirms my
suspicion that you have not cared to study him  properly before making you
debut into the arena of political negotiations. If you did, you have
definitely arrived at the wrong conclusion. If you know the history of Sgt.
Samuel Doe, you will save me the trouble of having to psychoanalyse Jammeh
for you. Suffice to say that Jammeh's mentality has it that he is sitting on
the whole bar of chocolate and much more of that which you are offering him.
His answer to you will be "Come and get it".

Jammeh had been a MOJA "wannabe", listening in to conversations by members
of the movement, some of whom used to visit Salomon Tamba, then a MOJA
militant himself. Jammeh was a resident with the Tamba family. If you hear
the kind of garbage this man used to propound, you wouldn't understand how
in God's name he managed to take us for a ride this long.

The answer is simply because he has people like Tombong apologising for him
here, and elsewhere. From now on, whenever Jammeh needs to manipulate public
opinion on Gambia-L- or careate confusion, all he has to do is wink at
Tombang and say "Go get Katim" and Tombong would come running, crying,
saying "Papa Katim, You see this man is insulting me. It is unfair we must
not allow it on Gambia-L". Then Dr. Katim shal oblige and "keep-house".

If you want to study Jammeh, I am in possession of many hours of video tape
of Jammeh talking nonsense upon nonsense. Whenever I listen to the guy a
chill runs down my spine! He's a total lunatic living in his own coco-world
of some great African King, in the standing of Musa Molloh, Samuri Touray,
Mansa Musa, etc. and on top of that he is surrounded by a bunch of
ass-lickers who are constantly jockeying to be in his good books, that is if
he has any. So there goes you plan A. to the dustbin where it belongs.

Jammeh ordered the murder of these children and came "home" shedding
crocodile tears, after Tombong and others have advised him that the people
are very angry and any contrary move would be counter-productive. What does
he do?
Listen, Katim, He tried to high-jack our grief. He tried to
recruit the Almighty to his side. The people of the Gambia are more
politically sophisticated than you think. They know an evil man
when they see one.

If you want to remove Jammeh it cannot be done with "nylon boy politics"
alone. You see Katim, you seem to be behind many on the list when we enter
the realm of politics. When the battle lines are drawn, different camps go
for different strategies. Tombong has caused you to cause a rift within your
own camp. He dangled the bait and you dived for it. You see I was quite
aware of what I was doing when I literally pranced on Tombong and Mr.
"ambassador".

What do you know about 'carrot and stick'? You carry the carrot and I carry
the stick. Do I have to spell it out for you? 'Carrot and stick' is not only
used in its "diplomatic" connotation.

During the Civil Rights struggle, Brother Malcolm X  carried the stick,
whiles Rev. King carried the carrot. When Malcolm talked in the
no-compromise tone of revenge, he scared the whites so that they rallied
behind King, a man of the church, to them, a "civilised". They
joined the call for more right for Africans "so that they don't rally behind
the
extremist 'Black Muslim'". What they didn't know was that Malcolm could
never hurt
anybody. Malcolm was a Muslim, King a Christian. They were both on the side
of good,
against evil!!! Take this example and find similar examples and study them
to understand them. It's so simple I find it hard to believe that with your
high sounding title you can't seem to be able to figur it out.

For your plan B; you can look closer to home! Things are happening. The
youth just helped the opposition with the elections. We have been told that
Ande Jef has set up a website to support the students; their leader is a
member of the new government. Why not start a dialog with the youth of
Senegal so that we can learn from their democratic campaign to replace Joof.
The new government there is left of centre. Why not explore the possibility
of setting up a radio station there. The Senegalese masses are as angry when
their cousins are brutally massacred. They've already begun comparing Jammeh
to Bukassa. Why America. Why not come closer to home?

To all of you, good, God-fearing people, who recognise evil and the essence
of truth, I apologise from the bottom of my heart for any language that may
have offended you. I felt as had to say it as I see it. To you I say sorry.

 To Tombong and the rest, I say: God is not on you side. Give up evil. Join
the ranks of the downtrodden. Take a trip and stay abroad and join the
forces of good. Where is the rasterman in you? Don't you now and then, hum
unconsciously, in unison with brother Bob: "'cause we are confident, in the
victory of good over evil." Or is this just a 'rat race' for you? Come on!
We will welcome you into our fold, forgive you, before you have blood on
your hands!


Amadu Kabir Njie.

PS: To all of you, good, God-fearing people, who recognise evil and the
essence of truth, I apologise from the bottom of my heart for any language
that may have offended you. I felt as had to say it as I see it. To you I
say sorry.

 BTW, Rastafarianism too was/is a quest for the truth by brethrens caught in
captivity in Babylon, yarning to fly away home to Zion, one fine day. In
their quest for the truth they made a re-write of the Bible, professing to
be the stolen ones, waiting to return to their Promised Land. They too have
room for Jah, The Most High in their search of the truth!