Ginny,
As someone who has supported this government on numerous occasions, I did
not want to offer any answers for fear of being seen to be blindly
supporting the government again. However I have decided to give you my own
perspective of the whole issue as I see it.
I will first repeat this reaction of mine from an earlier post.
"We Gambians have every reason to be proud of this day. Today we witnessed,
for the first time in our history, an election fought more on issues than
cheating, intimidation or the exploitation of the ignorance of the
electorate. The APRC government has not only allowed an open discussion of
the issues that affect us all, but has actively encouraged it. The public
media was accessible to all political parties for regular broadcasts and
also covered their campaigns. The opening of the jammeh forum is another
indication of the APRC government's commitment to the free exchange of
information. All those who've visited the website will agree that people
from all works of life posted anything they so desired freely. You don't
have to be subscribed, you don't have to disclose your identity and nobody
is censored".
There is no honest Gambian who will deny that the average Gambian voter was
better informed about the issues affecting them during this election than
ever before. One of the main problems with regards to people contributing on
the L especially when it comes to matters concerning the government had been
lack of tolerance. This can partly be explained by the outcome of the
1994-96 transition programme and the 1996 elections tha followed it. Some
who were vehemently opposed to the AFPRC contesting the 1996 elections
contrary to their earlier pronouncements not to contest it, were absolutely
determined not to accept their legitimacy even after winning those
elections.
The refusal of the main oppostion UDP party to recognise the 1996 elections
or its legitimacy, mainly because the APRC refused them access to the public
media, and the APRC's determination to show them that they had every right
to rule did not help either. This resulted in the creation of two types of
supporters on both sides, the moderates and the militants. Whereas the
moderates on both sides do concede some grounds when they discuss issues,
the militants would rather be dead than accept any view from the other side
regardless of its merit. You only have to go through the archives to verify
this for yourself. In so doing, middle of the road supporters on both sides
were forced to either choose to be on this side or the other side. This was
enforced by insults, name calling etc, etc. As a result, self-censoreship
took centre stage and sensible, meaningful debates virtually died. I hope
this has helped a bit.
Have a good day, Gassa.
>From: Ginny Quick <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Some questions please?
>Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 14:53:01 EDT
>
>Hello, everyone. I have some questions about this election process and
>other
>related things. Could someone please help me answer them?
> First of all, since it seems that President Jammeh has won the
>elections, why does it seem that people would vote for him if everyone here
>seems to be saying how incompetent he is? And how he has no regard for
>human
>rights? And everything else that some have said about him?
> I guess I am asking, barring any fraud or anything like that, if the
>people in The Gambia voted Jammeh in a second time, what is their
>perspective
>on things versus the people on this list?
> I am just asking because for the past few months, people have been
>coming on this list saying how Gambians are tired of Jammeh and they are
>going to vote him out. Well, it seems that maybe they are not as tired of
>him as some thought. Also, it seems to me that based on the numbers so
>far,
>if the opposition had been able t united behind a candidate, they may have
>been able to win or at least cause a runoff. So the guy who had kept
>talking
>about the opposition uniting, it seems he may have been right after all...
>I
>am sorry that I don't remember his name...
> I just don't understand how a lot of people on this list are talking
>about the people wanting change, and how they are going to vote Jammeh out,
>and it seems the opposite thing happens. So what happened?
> I am not sure if I am making any sense. If not, just write me and
>I'll
>try to clarify what I am trying to ask...
> I am just a little nervous asking these questions because the last
>time
>I commented on this list, when I tried to tell everyone to stop insulting
>each other, some people jumped all over me. I am just trying to learn and
>understand things, that is all...
>Take care everyone...
>Ginny
>
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