Hi folks,

I'm sending this brief e-mail to follow-up on responses to my Open Letter to
His Excellency, President Jammeh, and Abdoulaye Saines summary of suggested
proposals and strategies for fostering national development through dialog.
It's been really nice reading through numerous postings on the issues, and I
only hope that the spirit continues to thrive in all of us.

In that same spirit, I'd like to touch on a few issues:

1. Intellectual?  I saw online version of it at "The Independent" newspapers
Website, and I cracked up!  The intro read:" A US-based Gambian intellectual,
Katim S. Touray, Ph.D ..."  I didn't write the letter as an intellectual, but
as a concerned Gambian.  And I hope that everybody realizes that you don't have
to be an intellectual (whatever that means) to get a pen and paper (or fire up
your computer), gather your thoughts, and say what's on your mind.

2.  Confrontational?  It was suggested that the letter was perhaps a bit too
confrontational, and further that this was inappropriate in light of it's
intent to enhance dialog.  I would like to say that if the letter came across
as too confrontational, it was only because I failed to adequately express my
intention, and not that I wanted to be confrontational from the start.  My aim,
simply, was to bring what I thought were important issues to the attention of
the President, and indeed the world at large, with a view toward helping start
a process that will lead to their amicable resolution.  If anyone felt that the
letter was confrontational, I would like to beg his or her pardon.

3.  Meet the President?  Who, me?  Someone also suggested that I should travel
to The Gambia and have a fact to face meeting with the President.  I agree with
another subscriber who thought the idea of a face to face meeting not
practical, and probably not useful.  In addition, I would like to add that I
have no intention in being intimately involved with whatever process, if any,
comes out of my letter or related efforts.  This sounds rather hypocritical, so
let me explain.

As far as I'm know, there are a lot of Gambians who are more educated, older,
wiser, and more experienced than me that are out there, and whose talents in my
mind, are not being used to the max.  For this reason, I would rather have such
people, as elders, lead the way in our search for the most viable way to an
atmosphere of peace, political freedom, and prosperity.  Hence, what I have in
mind is for a process to start where various people will be indentified who
will be willing to form a committee, or commission to develop a framework for
guaranteeing human rights in The Gambia thereby ensuring that everyone can live
in peace (of mind and body) and work toward achieving their potential.  I
assume that like everyone else, I will be able to send whatever suggestions or
ideas to the committee of elders whenever it's formed, and functioning.

4.  The above leads me to a number of suggestions that were summarized in
Abdoulaye Saine's posting available online at:

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9911&L=gambia-l&O=A&P=46994

a)  The idea of a committee of 10 is great, except for the fact that it's
members should not be restricted to Gambia-L subscribers.  Along the lines of
the committee or commission I refer to above, I suggest that we reach out into
the Gambian communities both at home and abroad.  I suggest we include not only
politicians (retired, and active) but also religious leaders, Gambian
academicians, and International civil servants.  Finally, the committee should
work closely with Gambian organizations both at home and abroad to ensure that
as many people as possible are engaged in the process.  This will be perhaps
the only way to ensure a rich, healthy, and in the end fruitful process.

b) Another problem I have with the idea of a Gambia-L committee of 10 is that
it sounds a little too elitist.  True, there are many people that subscribe to
Gambia-L, but I'm not sure whether it still should be seen as THE gathering of
our nation's best.  I'm sorry, but I don't think so.  And there are many people
without e-mail that have more to contribute than me, with my many e-mail
accounts.  Furthermore, some of the projects I see envisoned for the committee
will, I think, be best performed by an independent body, as in a human rights
watch dog.  In the event that enough people find it important to form a human
rights organization, I'd say more power to them.  But I think the strongest
role Gambia-L can, and should play, is to serve as a forum for exchanging ideas
and information.  What people do with those ideas is up to them.

c) I noticed that Abdboulaye's summary includes a section on social and
economic development issues.  I think we should first concentrate on enhancing
democracy and human rights, and take on the other issues later.  Nothing is
possible without peace, which is under constant threat if people are not
accorded basic human rights.  This by no means implies that others are not free
to work on those social and economic issues that are dear to their hearts.
GESO, and the book project are wonderful examples of the world of good that can
happen when people work together.

d)  I promised that this was going to be short, and so I should be keeping it
that way.  But before I sign off, I'd like to suggest a few ways we can go
about getting the dialog going:

        i) I nominate Dr. Abdoulaye Saine as the coordinator for efforts at
identifying potential members of, and forming a committee to oversee the dialog
process.  I should mention that I have talked to him on the phone and told him
that I will present this suggestion to the list, and he agreed.
        ii) I suggest that anyone who would like to nominate a candidate for the
committee first check with the person he/she wants to nominate, and then
forward the person's name, contact info, and perhaps a brief bio to Dr. Saine.
        iii) We also have to decide how committee members will be selected.  Rather
than taking votes on Gambia-L, I suggest we identify key interest groups (e.g.
the government, political parties, religious groups, etc.), and have them
endorse or nominate people who can speak on their behalf, and represent their
interests.
        iv) We should also start thinking about how to get the ball rolling.  Given
that Dr. Saine will be calling a lot of people, and writing a lot of letters, I
suggest that he prepare a small budget to pay for his phone calls, and other
expenses.  He can send it to the list, and anyone who wants to contribute can
send him the money.  Any amount that's left over after he is done with the
preliminary work of putting the committee together will be handed over to the
committee for them to use in their work.

I guess that's about all for now.  Thanks so much to all of you for taking the
time to discuss issues of great national signifcance.  Like I tell my friends,
the only difference between us and donkeys are that we argue, and they don't!
Please let's keep it that way.  Have a great week, and best wishes in your
endeavors.

Katim

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> From: Abdoulaye Saine <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Proposal and Strategies: A Summary
> Date: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 9:52 AM
>
> G-L Community:
>
> What follows is a summary of the various proposals and strategies that
> were posted on the Bantaba and to me privately. I found them to be
> thoughtful and reflective of the twin themes of "National
> Reconciliation" and "Positive/Constructive Engagement" with president
> Jammeh, his Government, the National Assembly, Political parties and
> other institutions and groups in Gambia's civil society. In looking at
> all the postings on the issue, several key categories emerged.
>

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