Sister Jabou:
Well said. But let us rise above any criticism coming from
the PPP/UDP camp. Our intended purpose is true coalition.
History will serve us well because we only advocated equity,
fair-dealing and truth. After all, we have been fighting for
democracy on the L. I wonder what happened to our sense of
reasoning? It is a shame that we can attack the credibility
of yahya jammeh, but it is taboo to attack the PPP/UDP coalition.
Naphiyo,
Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh
Greensboro, NC/Kombo East Constituency
Original Message:
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From: Jabou Joh [log in to unmask]
Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2001 15:57:45 EDT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Attention Kebba Dapha
Dear Kebba Dampha,
I wanted to take time to point out that I have observed how you prowl the
corridors of the L, pouncing on every comment regarding the PPP, or the
UDP/PPP/GDP alliance made by anyone. You either attack anyone who has a
differing opinion personally and try to discredit them or you use some
information you have about them as a weapon to shut them up. Is this a new
methodology of assuring us that you have our best interest at heart, and that
we are to look forward to a new era of self expresion without prosecution?
Your aim it appears, is to make sure that no one says anything that is not in
agreement with your views, or in support of the parties you support.
You seem to be the official spokesperson of the PPP and the UDP/PPP/GDP
alliance lately, although you deny this in every other post you send to the L.
I am not sure if this role is officially sanctioned or just of your own
making. However, whether this role you have assumed is officially sanctioned
or not, I dare to tell you that your actions and your methods are a liability
as opposed to an asset to the people you support.
Kebba, you defend these people with such vehemence but with the most negative
methods. This alliance you support has promised that if they win this
election, they will work to create an atmosphere of tolerance where all
Gambians can have their say in whatever matter that pertains to.
This is commendable and is really what all of us are fighting for, whether we
belong to, sympathize with or support the same party or not. Once anyone is
elected into office in a government that we hope will never be the likes of
what we have now, that inividual and their party become the government of the
people, making sure that all Gambians are served equally, not just their own.
However, your actions on the L are far from representing such an attitude
because you want to make sure that no one says a word, and such behaviour is
far from being consistent with the kind of atmosphere that the people you
support are promising to Gambians.
Therefore, the question must now be asked, are your actions sanctioned by the
people you support? Is it their contention that no one should say anything or
make any comments that are contrary to what you want to hear? If this is the
case, and i sincerely hope it is not, then how can we find comfort in a
promise of justice, equality and freedom of expression and affiliations when
we watch the methods you employ on a daily basis on this forum?
This forum is a venue for Gambians to meet and exchange ideas in an
intelligent manner. It is supposed to be a microcosm of the democratic
process in action, not a place to be dominated by any one individual whose
aim appears to be to shut people up by any means, and in a most distasteful
manner indeed, complete with distasteful words and expressions just because
they hold views different from yours.
People who are on the path of truth, and who recognize that government is a
vehicle whereby the people's wishes and welfare are taken care of by those
they elect to do the job, and who are confident in the methods they employ
towards this end as being the best and most beneficial to the people, do not
find a need to employ methods to keep people from expressing their opinions
and criticisms. Rather, they recognize that it is through this very exercise
that we the people make sure that those who step forward to represent us are
answerable to us.
It is by this process that we constantly remind them that without the people
and the country, the positions they will fill would not have existed. It is
indeed a job, and the people must be qualified to attend to all the people's
every need, not just a segment of them.
Therefore, the people reserve the right to question, criticize, offer
alternate methods of achieving the goal, and demand answers of thsoe who seek
to lead us, and if there is ever an attempt to stifle that right by anyone,
then surely there must be a fear that being answerable to the people and
allowing commentary and criticism may expose a truth that they would rather
not deal with? This is the impression that your attitude and methods imply.
You have raised the question of assylum to Mr Kah when he commented on
something that had nothing to do with assylum, but has everything to do with
the future of our country. This is a good example of your personal attacks on
people merely because they have made comments or hold positions contrary to
that of you and yours.
As I have said before, the question of assylum for it's citizenry is not
something that any government or aspiring government should consider a
subject flattering to them, or a weapon to use to silence people for
expressing their opinions.
If our affairs were in order, and they are not due to the failures of people
who lead us now, as well as those who led us before, then our sons and
daughters would not have been scattered all over the World seeking asylum or
work in other people's countries and being at their mercy.
It should be the aspirations of every sitting administration in our country,
present or future , to do their utmost to make sure that we do not have
Gambians finding it necessary to seek asylum anywhere when they do have a
home to go to.
Therefore, if you support a group aspiring to lead us, then the issue of
asylum should come up only in terms of finding solutions that will create an
atmosphere of tolerance and prosperity for all Gambians so the ydo not find
it necessary to seek this elsewhere .An atmosphere of love and caring for
every Gambian, instead of using this issue to discredit or heap abuses at
them, and only because they hold differing views.
Dampha, we may have different affiliations or allegiances and ideas as to how
to reach a better place for our people and our country, but we must never let
those affiliations lead us to forget that the ultimate goal should always be
to accomplish the best possible situation for all Gambians, regardless of
party affiliations.
If we employ certain things, and certain unsavoury methods in our pursuit to
elect those we favour, we depart from that ideal and head into other areas
that have led to our demise as a people as well as a country. If we do that,
then we are motivated by vices that make us forget the real purpose and role
of government, as a service to the people as a whole, and not a weapon to
accomplish the wishes of just a few of us and the rest be damned. That serves
no purpose for the people, and it certainly is not in the best interest of
those who employ such practices as history has proven time and again.
Let us agree to disagree in a manner that is representative of intelligent
people who understand and recognize that everyone has the right to self
expression without being subject to endless insults and blackmail.
I will also take this opportunity to say that given the vehemence and fervour
with which you defend your affiliations, it never ceases to amaze me that you
have hidden behind a psedonmy, even as you deny your role as a defender of
those whom you defend. Why is it that you do not want to own your position by
putting your real name behind what and whom you defend? Why can't you face
the people and defend what you have defended all this while? It is easy to
defend all sorts of things and haul all kinds of insults at people behind a
mask. It takes real courage to own those positions in the open, and when this
is not the case, that in itself is indicative of an endless number of things.
This is not a personal attack, but an observation on my part, as well as an
appeal to let us have this forum back as a place for the exchange of ideas as
well as a place for self expression, as opposed to a medium where one man
sets out on a mission to silence the people while at the same time telling us
in between episodes, that your mission is really to make things better for
us, and to create an atmosphere where our voices can be heard. The message is
loud and clear that all we have to do is to shut up and let you and yours
put together whatever it is you are putting together, so long as the people
do not interfere. That is to say the least, a rather bizarre way of assuring
us of a bright future .
Jabou Joh
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