Mr. Njie:


This was a well written piece. I  indeed wish to read more from you with
great expectation. Thanks  for the piece and may God bless us all. Take
Care!

Thanks for sharing!

SS.Jawara
Stockholm, Sweden.




----- Original Message -----
From: "Abdoul Njie" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 10:32 PM
Subject: FWD: PRESS RELEASE FROM THE APRC BRANCH ATLANTA


> Culled From
>
> The Observer (Banjul)
>
> August 6, 2002 Posted to the web August 6, 2002
>
> Banjul
>
> Gambians in America speak out.
>
>
> Gambians resident in America have voiced out their concerns on the
country's
> democratic process.
> The press release from Gambians in Atlanta was signed by their president
> Salifu Jallow, chairman of the APRC Atlanta organisation.
> Below we reproduce the full text of the release:
> We want to take this opportunity to thank the leadership and supporters of
> the United Gambian Organisation of Atlanta (UGOA) for holding such a
> historically significant event. We support any initiative to promote
> constructive dialogue throughout the diaspora among the Gambian people. We
> listened very carefully to the other presenters, Dr Abdoulaye Saine and
Mr.
> Waa Juwara aka Mbarodi. We also appreciated the input of many of the
> audience participants many of them members of the local APRC chapter and
> others who voiced their support and commitment. Dr Saine attempted to
> present an intelligent and sensitive analysis of the conditions of The
> Gambia.
>
>
> However, his concerns, although they may have been well intended, led him
to
> many contradictions. His failure to take into account the historical
> realities of colonialism in his summarisation resulted in his seeking to
> place blame for what he perceived as shortcomings and failures of APRC.
> Thus, what has been accepted by some Gambians as a legitimate and critical
> analysis misses the mark by far. A first year student of International
> Economics and Development might find a number of significant points to
> criticise his paper.
>
>
> However, he was very respectful and sincere in his presentation and to his
> credit, he sought to encourage the audience to conduct critical thinking
> about such issues as infrastructure development, medical and health care,
> education, and family relationships. We encourage our intellectuals to
move
> beyond analysis and invest their time and talent in meaningful development
> strategies that will help produce businesses and institutions that will
> expand opportunities for our people. Intellectuals often spend so much
time
> demanding that the government do this and that, yet fail to recognise that
> in the free market economies of the west, the individual, the
organisation,
> and teams of entrepreneurs are the driving forces for creating
opportunity.
>
>
> The argument that a large number of' "Jolas" are in significant roles in
the
> government despite their being a minority simply serves to fuel the
culture
> of ethnic rivalry and tribalism that threatens the long term stability of
> The Gambia. How do we profess to be a progressive nation yet look down on
> each other because of our tribal affiliations? We cannot afford to promote
> one group as being superior to another.
> Ethnic superiority is merely the false illusion of superiority based on
> tribal affiliation. The leadership of any country reserves the right to
> select key people for various positions. The fact is that employment in
the
> military sector is one of the smallest sectors in our country.
>
> Finally, Dr. Saine can be assured that the government of President Jammeh
> understands how critical the agricultural sector is to our economy. We
will
> preserve our farmers, our youth, our women, our families and our future.
The
> APRC government is moving beyond doing a cursory analysis of our problems
as
> a nation to structuring sustainable growth and development strategies that
> will enable us to become a world-class society and a world-class economy.
>
> Perhaps we should consider these comments: "The Gambian authorities are to
> be commended for The Gambia's generally encouraging economic performance
> since 1998 under the PRGF arrangement. During this period.
>
>
> The Gambia experienced sustained per capita GDP growth and low inflation
and
> an improvement in the fiscal balance. The authorities took corrective
> measures, including the adoption of an appropriate macroeconomic framework
> and supporting policies for 2002-2004 in response to pressures on the
budget
> that emerged earlier this year. On the basis of the corrective measures,
the
> Board granted a waiver for the non-observance of the quantitative
> performance criterion with respect to net bank credit to the Central
> Government, and the second review was completed."
> IMF report 12/2001
>
>
> Speaking on the occasion of the commemoration of his country's National
Day
> (4"' of July) at his Fajara residence yesterday, Mr McDonald said: "The
> United States recognises that The Gambia has made significant progress
> towards democracy, the rule of law and respect for basic human rights".
> U.S. Ambassador Jackson McDonald,
> 5 July 2002
>
> "Mr. Chambas who was attending a recent meeting in Ghana of Central Bank
> Governors whose countries are working stridently towards abolishing their
> individual currencies for a single West African currency told journalists
in
> Accra that The Gambia's rate of inflation, which is somewhat slower than
its
> much larger neighbours, stands a good chance of meeting the required
> 'minimum inflation', before the deadline, which may not be met by the
other
> countries due to their seemingly irreversible rate of inflation."
> The Independent (Banjul) July 1, 2002
>
> There is undoubtedly a place in The Gambia for intellectuals who
contribute
> to the growth and development of the lives of our people. APRC and our
> leader President Yahya Jammeh, will continue to provide the kind of
> leadership that will build infrastructure, viable institutions, reduce
> infant mortality, improve education, healthcare and the quality of life of
> our people. It is questionable whether there is a place in The Gambia for
> sterile unproductive intellectuals who believe that criticism and
> unqualified scholarship should be masqueraded as a contribution to our
> future!
>
>
> Clearly, the Gambian people wherever you find them in the world, all share
a
> deep and common love for The Gambia and wish to return home. We can hear
and
> feel the concerns of the Gambia people. We want to point out that a
> "constructive dialogue" can indeed be an effective tool for nation
building.
> The first reality we must face is that President Jammeh is the elected
> leader of the people of Gambia, he has not only received that honour once
> but for a second term. The promotion of emotional rhetoric and fiery words
> from those who lost the election must be tolerated. However, one has to
> challenge their sense of patriotism and their clarity on Gambia's role on
> the World scene. We have to stop conducting our affairs like a bunch of
> quarrelling children in a neighbourhood backyard and realise that we are
> rapidly seeking to become a more significant leader on the continent of
> Africa and indeed on the world scene. We need a moratorium on this "war of
> words". The Gambian people do not benefit from abusing each other. We
cannot
> fix our problems or effectively address our social dilemmas across a void
of
> meaningless rhetoric, hatred, anger and a cycle of vengeance.
>
>
> The leadership of the APRC both here and in The Gambia has much larger
> concerns than fiery rhetoric and emotional speeches that do not provide
> constructive solutions to our problems. We are reminded of the words of
> former Ambassador George W. Haley on the occasion of his 75th birthday:
> "Instead of informing the populace about programs and plans, too many
public
> figures engage in personal attacks and the publication of rumours just for
> sensational effect."
>
>
> Because Mr. Waa Juwara is an elder and member of a political party in The
> Gambia none of the members of the Atlanta APRC wished to disrespect him,
or
> criticise him in an open forum. But, frankly many of his remarks were
> designed to fan the flames of anger and emotion. He launched a number of
> claims and charges without putting forth any real substantial evidence.
> Slander and defamation of the character and reputation of the leadership
of
> the Gambia does nothing to move us forward as a people. It is a disservice
> to democracy and certainly not a means to facilitate peace, progress,
> productivity and prosperity.
>
>
> Perhaps, he failed to recognise that there was a large number of APRC
> supporters and members at this event. Perhaps because no one was rude
enough
> to get up and shout him down by voicing disagreement with the majority of
> sentiments he fostered.
>
> Many persons in attendance viewed his presentation with a quiet disdain
> because it was so negative. His effort to discredit the recent elections
and
> his unwillingness to acknowledge the gesture of reconciliation by
President
> Jammeh in facilitating a peaceful and dignified return of Sir Dawda Jawara
> to his homeland was unquestionable. Instead he chose to cheapen that
> important symbolic effort.
>
>
> We will succeed as a nation with the help of Almighty God, despite the
> criticism of the blamers. We have a small but vocal and angry group of
> partisans who seem unable to move toward productive contributions to our
> peace, productivity, progress, and prosperity. Threats of frustrating the
> APRC Government's capacity to achieve its goals are both empty and
foolish.
> Our leadership, our government, our people are woven together in a
delicate
> tapestry. APRC seeks to preserve that tapestry and our future. The
sacrifice
> of patriots will require the elimination of angry, emotional and
meaningless
> rhetoric. We must move forward, we must stand together.
>
>
> No nation is without its tragedies and social ills. The leadership of the
> APRC is deeply committed to moving us forward as a nation. However, we do
> not have the luxury of making ourselves look like a nation of buffoons to
> the rest of the world. The tragedy of April 2000 touched the lives of all
> Gambians. The authorities on the ground made a serious error in judgment.
> The students made a serious error in judgment when they sought to take the
> law into their own hands and defy the legally constituted authority. A
> tragedy was the end result. A tragedy that we will all live with and
regret
> for a long, long, time. However, it is unethical and immoral to lay the
> blame for this tragedy at the feet of the President. Those persons who
> continue to blame him personally -the head of state-in this tragedy fail
to
> recognise the realities of the situation.
>
>
> It does not make sense anywhere in the world for people to redress their
> grievances legitimate or otherwise by confronting armed security
personnel.
> Certainly, we as Gambians do not have to resort to stone throwing and
> rioting to solve our problems. The person or persons accused of committing
> the crimes that triggered this incident should have been brought to the
> proper authority. Whatever legitimate legal and political means to do so
> should have been utilised. . The fact is those persons who instigated the
> students by fanning their emotions and pushing them into the melee - must
> share the blame for this tragedy.
>
>
> We encourage those individuals who want to provide financial support to
the
> children in need of medical assistance to do so. Dissent should be
peaceful
> and constructive. We need to sit at the table together as a "Gambian
family"
> and work through our future as a nation of civilized and intelligent
people.
> We should understand from this experience that rock throwing and emotional
> confrontations in our streets will not bring about justice nor peaceful
> resolution to our problems. When people commit crimes, there must be a
> process governed by the rule of law to bring them to justice. We are
praying
> for these families and we are praying for the healing of the nation.
>
>
> The leading nations of the International community: The so-called G-8
> nations are looking at Africa. The Council of Foreign Relations, The
> Tri-lateral commission, the Bilderberg Group, The World Bank, The
> International Monetary Fund, The World Trade Organisation and other
> International strategic think tanks and intelligence agencies are
assessing
> "their long term interest in the critical resources of the continent. We
are
> a major gateway to the continent. There is a serious debate raging in
> political circles around the globe concerning the future of Africans. Some
> are advocating the so-called "benevolent colonialism".
>
> Still others are simply writing Africa off as a continent of primitive
> savages incapable of self-government or of rising to world-class
leadership.
> Even more terrifying are those who would let the continent be ravaged by
> aids, Ebola smallpox, malaria and even more terrifying diseases. We are
> burdened with politicians who should be asked: "What did you do during
your
> term in offices? What substantive legacy and benefit have you left our
> people in the many positions that you held?" We have the right to know and
> the responsibility to ask. However, those who do not wish to see a stable
> African continent, a stable African nation, and a stable Gambia must be
> amused at our petty child-like squabbles. We have had some tragedies, we
> have had some shocks. But, the Almighty has protected us from the crises
in
> the Sudan or Rwanda or South Africa. We have emerged in the 21st century
as
> one of the nations with great potential for a bright and meaningful
future.
>
>
> We have our enemies. Our enemies will revel in our so-called freedom to
> castigate ourselves on the world's stage. Those people who love to
humiliate
> and degrade the reputation of our leader, and our country fail to
recognise
> that the ultimate victim of their tirades and harangues are our own
people.
> They give our enemies fuel to undermine our future. We must wonder how far
> they will go. The vast majority of Gambians want desperately to have a
> peaceful, productive and prosperous future. The APRC of Atlanta joins the
> APRC of Gambia under the leadership of our President H E Yahya AJJ Jammeh
in
> a call for peace, productivity, progress and prosperity. The time is at
hand
> and the future is bright before us.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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