Concern Expressed Over Current Political Situation
The Independent (Banjul)
July 21, 2000
Banjul - Ousman Manjang, former spokesman of the Movement for Justice in Africa - Gambia branch (MOJA-G) and current project co-ordinator of GAMSEM (Gambians for the Self-Employment), has expressed concern over what he called 'the deteriorating political situation in The Gambia.'
During an interview with The Independent at his office in Serrekunda he described the current political situation in the country as 'dangerous.' The MOJA activist stressed the need for all political parties, religious institutions, NGOs, civil society and concerned individuals to come together to maintain peace, ensure social and political justice and make sure that the coming elections will be conducted freely and fairly. This, he said, would give legitimacy to whichever party emerges as the winner of the impending elections. It would, according to him, give the popular consensus needed to foster national unity and maintain the stability necessary for overcoming our present economic troubles. He added that the challenge for bringing peace to our turbulent sub-region is not a partisan affair, but 'the work of government that must desist from adventurous foreign policies and citizens that must roll back war and extend the frontier of peace.'
Asked how he compared the first and second republic politics, Mr. Manjang said in his opinion the First Republic was more tolerant, pluralistic and democratic than what obtains today, 'even though the present government has pursued developmental issues with a greater vigour. While the former regime has given us a far more democratic breathing space,' Mr. Manjang said, 'the present regime has given us more schools, roads, hospitals and greater infrastructural upliftment.' He said that the current regime's human rights record is far inferior to that of the defunct PPP regime.
Asked why then he has been less vocal in his criticism of the present regime compared to his activism of the days of the First Republic, Mr. Manjang said, because he is 'not in the habit of conducting political activities individually, but I consider political work a collective effort.' He added that given that MOJA is today crippled by bitter ideological debates, factionalism and massive cross carpeting, he lacks the organisational base strong enough to carry on with the level of political activism he pursued during the First Republic. He said he is 'today not mandated to speak on behalf of any group of people but solely for myself.' Mr. Manjang however maintained that MOJA is still alive. 'MOJA,' he said, 'may be down, but not out. The peculiarity of MOJA is, unlike other parties, its belief that the masses are their own liberators and the architects of their own future.' He claimed they are 'not in for vanguard type parties that seek to put a detached elitist political class in power on behalf of the masses. Such a political view is one that is still absent from the spectrum of available choices in the Gambian body politic.'
Asked how he feels about his former MOJA colleagues now in the APRC, Mr. Manjang said 'given the political impasse MOJA is trapped in today, I respect ex-members rights to opt for alternative political organisations. Ex-MOJA members are to be found in all the political parties today and I understand that. What I consider a betrayal is the membership of former MOJA members in organisations like the July 22nd Movement and Young Action Groups that in 1996 campaigned for ''no elections'' and that continues to engage in political thuggery.' This, he said, 'is a clear betrayal of some of the fundamental tenets of MOJA's political thought.'
On former MOJA activist Momodou Sarjo Jallow's appointment as secretary of state in the APRC government, Mr. Manjang expressed his strong confidence in Mr. Jallow's 'sincerity and integrity.' Mr. Jallow, he said, 'was in the civil service immediately prior to his appointment as Secretary of State. So it is just a continuation of the service he was doing for the Gambia government.' Furthermore, Mr. Manjang explained, 'unlike me, Mr. Jallow has always been supportive of the politics of the AFPRC/APRC and it was only logical for him to join them, which is a far cry from political opportunism.'
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