Joe!
To be candid Joe,the second part of your article is a shows that you're
one of the genuine opposition we are "yearning" to negotiate WITH and
ofcourse fight when necessary.
Although, "Fighting" in a diplomatic context can never mean using guns
and matchets but "sour words".
So lets see what facing genuine opponents like you can bring for our country
in the future?
Exchanging views with us is far from agreeing with whatever the APRC
says.One has the right to oppose and thats respected by the gvt of the day.
Infact without an opponent we ie:THE APRC will relax.
Philosophically my believe is that,genuine opponents are scissors,the
Country is the cloth to be sewed and the gvt is the tailor.
Abdoulie Wade was once rejected by Talla Sylla and others for having
accepted a ministerial post in the ex Joof gvt! The following was Wade's
reply to Sylla and others:
"If i refuse participating in the Joof gvt we will have two or three
problems in the future-ie: one is we wouldn't have any notion of how the
inner circle was playing its cards,two is we would be seen as opponents WHO
ARE ONLY ready to dislodge joof and co but not to develop Senegal.
Three is it will allow me to identify who i can be able to work with in the
future ".
Prior to the last eletions in Senegal,that very Talla Sylla wasn't still
satisfied with Wade(who was his original mentor)thus Talla hurriedly formed
the "Ande Jeuf" political party.
Now what are we seeing? Isn't it a Talla likely to be isolated as a
self-crowned "perfectionist"?
Didn't we see Niasse also suffer the same fate after having disagreed with
his fellow PS pals during the pre-Wade gvt? This fate has beffallen him
'cause he jumped on Wade's wagon with emotions and not principles.
What i gather from your postings is that you have problems with the policies
of the APRC and not the personalities and their habits as such.
Joe my hat on the floor for opponents like you.The next thing is that we
should be defending our policies before guys like you convincingly.
Joe believe me your type can end up being well-respected opponents within
our midst.Not joining us shouldn't mean not talking to us, so bravo for
being a genuine opponent.
Who can be more royal than the king? Even Darboe has conceded so anyone
disagreeing with him as leader of the opposition must have personal grudges
that are different from being a genuine opponent!
"YEROMAMA PULORI GALO HAAWA BAROGEL N'DIMOU"
"Speak the speeches and let the speeches not spit you."
>From: Ousainou Ngum <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: THE DAY AFTER
>Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 22:23:17 -0700
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>Dear Brother Joe:
>
> What else can I say? You have said it all. This is our case, indeed!
>It
>is quite reassuring that people like yourself, Aunty Jabou, Dr Saine and a
>host of other sincere people are keeping their eyes on the price we are
>bound to pay for affording another 5 years of Jammeh.
>
> I'm still wondering what Gambians were thinking about when they went
>back to the polls to give this dude another shot at the helm. I just can't
>get it! Frankly, the most frightening of all, in my opinion, is the looming
>economic calamity. I hope it doesn't get as spooky as history has proven
>about dependent nations like our small Gambia in such dire circumstances.
>
> Politically and socially, the status quo is not very promising. I
>hope
>Jammeh sees things this way and realize what lies ahead if his gov't
>doesn't
>change its course. Again, thanks a lot for this brilliant piece. Keep them
>coming.
>
>Ous Ngum
>Columbus, OH
>
>
>On Tue, 23 Oct 2001 18:55:46 +0000, The Gambia and related-issues mailing
>list wrote:
>
> > Like many in the opposition camp I have been pondering the last couple
>of
> > days about the outcome of the recent presidential elections and what it
> > means for the Gambia. Over the years most members of this list have
>fought
> > vehemently against the misrule of Yaya and the APRC. Most of the
> > allegations we leveled against Yahya are factual and the record is
>there
>for
> > anyone to see. Where there extra judiciary and summary assassinations
>and
> > arrests during his seven year tenure? Yes indeed! Did he order the
>mowing
> > down of the students and Mr. Barrow? In broad daylight! Is he looting
>our
> > treasury (what's left of it)? You do not have to go far, just back
>track
>to
> > a day before the 1994 Coup and take a snap shot of his finances and see
>the
> > kleptocrat he has metamorphosed into. Has he threatened his fellow
>citizens
> > with death? The tapes are available for those interested in verifying
>(on
> > radio, television, and live and direct). Have our poor farmers got
>cash
>for
> > their crops for three years and running? The papers reported
>extensively
>on
> > this slow strangulation of the hardest working of our lot. Has poverty
> > increased among our lot and is unemployment of our people increasing at
>a
> > rocket pace? Just stroll about the streets in the urban centers. Is
> > inflation suffocating our hue? Just look at our Dalasi, as I write,
>its
> > hovering around D17 to $1 and climbing. How is our health? His family
>does
> > not even trust "his medical system" to cure their headache. How are we
> > doing with Tourism? Well just ask those that rely on tourism the last
>time
> > they were in business. Is there freedom of the press? Well, ask the
> > independent press about the harassment, arson, and thugry that they
> > underwent with this regime. This list can stretch the entire length of
>our
> > river and then some.
> >
> > In sum, was Yaya’s seven year terror a raw deal for Gambians?
>Absolutely!
> > How come then, some may ask, did the majority of the very people who
> > suffered under his wrath vote him in for another five-year term? That
>is
>a
> > question that can only be answered by the 52% of the voters that voted
>for
> > him. As a citizen who did not cast my vote and a believer of an
> > individual's unconditional right to suffrage, I would not attempt to
> > question the sanity of the majority who voted for him, even with their
> > acknowledgement of the above listed catalogue of criminal activity.
>Doing
> > so, means going against the very principles that we on the L upheld and
> > fought for so long. We cannot on the one hand request for the Gambian
> > people to be given the right to be heard and when we did not like what
>we
> > heard, we turn around to question the sanity of their decision. I
>doubt
>if
> > any of us in the opposition would have questioned the voters if victory
>were
> > on our side. As much as I disagree with the majority decision, I will
>also
> > not venture to wish them bad luck and lay in wait for that day to tell
>them
> > “I told you so”. Doing so would mean that my ego got the best of me
>and
>the
> > welfare of the nation is secondary to mine. For now, I'll just nurse
>my
> > bruises with the hope that "those whose flesh meet the sward know
>firsthand
> > how sharp and painful the entry – better than the observers, you and
>me".
> > I hope the majority is right and that this is what they want and is
>best
> > for the country.
> >
> > This victory for Yahya did not change the facts mentioned above and as
>long
> > as those wrongs are not corrected my resolve to follow his every move
>like a
> > Bloodhound stays the same. We are in this fight for the long haul.
>Let
>us
> > not let our emotions get the best of us. This criminal enterprise can
>only
> > be brought down by persistence and more persistence. We should use all
> > options available to us. I know there are those among us that, based
>on
>our
> > past experience with Jammeh, want to reject outright, any “peace
>offerings”
> > from his end. Our struggle does not require that we either fight or
> > negotiate at the table, but not both. On the contrary, We can both
>fight
> > and negotiate at the same time. The South Africans, the Senegalese,
>and
> > countless other countries did it and others still do. In the case of
>the
> > South Africans, they would retaliate for Afrikaner murders of their
> > colleagues and sit at the table with DeKlerk, the same evening. If we
> > believe that our struggle is for Gambians, then we should do everything
>that
> > would enhance their lives, even negotiating with Jammeh. Just as we
>fight
> > with him daily, even when we loose, we should also be ready to
>negotiate
> > when there is a need/chance for it, even if we failed in the last ten
>tries.
> > Fighting is an extension of diplomacy and diplomacy is in turn an
> > extension of fighting. If we are just in this struggle for individual
> > pursuits, then we can afford to be one-dimensional. However, if our
> > struggle is in the name of the Gambian people, then we cannot afford to
>be
> > one-dimensional. For, to do so, means that we are shortchanging the
>very
> > people whose welfare we sought to enhance.
> >
> > We in the opposition should revisit “honestly” where we went wrong in
>this
> > last election and work on rectifying our mistakes and translate it into
> > victory in the parliamentary elections in February 2002. The parties
>that
> > have a working agenda should review their strategy for positive results
>in
> > February. We on the outside should engage the opposition parties and
>the
> > parties cannot ignore or avoid our probing. We also cannot just
>theorize
> > and theorize again. The opposition needs our financial support and I
>do
>not
> > mean in the last minute, but NOW, if we want to increase our numbers in
> > parliament. February is not far, so please let’s make hay while the
>sun
> > shines. Folks, our situation requires maturity. We may have a lot of
> > choices, but we better choose wisely.
> >
> > Chi Jaama
> >
> > Joe Sambou
> >
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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