Buhary, thanks again for your intervention. Most of the questions you posed,
you answered yourself. Again as demonstrated by my last posting yesterday,
the Alliance is looking FORWARD. We know the battle ahead. That battle is
with Yaya and about the future of our country.

I will seek to address your issues in chronological order. When I said that
the PDOIS and NCP will be treated in the way they deserve by me, you should
have asked yourself what these Parties deserve before you conclude that such
an utterance is a ‘mistake detrimental to the cause of the opposition’. For
all you know, PDOIS might ‘deserve’ the support of the Alliance if certain
things were to chance. I hate dwelling in the hypothetical, but I am
encouraged to do so because you cited various hypothetical situations. For
example, if PDOIS’ main campaign is focused towards the youths (where Yaya
claims to have the most support), then the Alliance will NOT bother PDOIS.
In that scenario, a PDOIS candidacy will hurt APRC more. On the other hand,
if PDOIS comes out swinging against the Alliance (including PPP) then PDOIS
‘deserves’ our condemnation and NOT our support. This is what you should
have occupied yourself first before you make conclusions about my choice of
words. You do not make conclusions and then ask questions.

I don’t know whether you have been reading my mails thoroughly. Otherwise,
you would not ask me whether I think that PDOIS’ and NCP’s decisions about
the Alliance is written in stone or not. How many times did I appeal to NCP
and PDOIS supporters to engage their leaders to try and change their
decisions? You even quoted me one such appeal. Obviously, I know that PDOIS
and NCP can change their minds for the better of the country. Talking about
antagonizing each other and doing the APRC dirty job for them, I hope that
was a rhetorical question on your part and you are NOT accusing me of such
despicable behavior. Check the archives and the chronology of events. Me and
Adama Bah (PDOIS stalwart) who first reported a ‘split’ in the Opposition
and start accusing people of shenanigans? Did I hear you admonishing Adama
Bah for what he did? You will NEVER hear me support APRC or criticize an
Opposition Party for the benefit of APRC. NEVER! From day one, not a single
G_L member worked harder than I did to foster peace and cooperation in this
Alliance (to include everyone). Few days ago I was accused of being a PPP
stooge. Today many will say that I am a UDP stooge. It does NOT bother me. I
know I can say from the top of my voice that while my detractors are
inconsistent (accusing me of being PPP one day and UDP the next), I have
consistently advocated for an Opposition Alliance.

Yes, I will react and put the record straight if I see PDOIS stalwarts
trying to undermine the good work Assan Musa Camara did in forming an
Alliance. Address the people bringing in antagonism in the Opposition. That
is NOT my forte.

Your question how PDOIS and NCP are going to be responsible (with APRC
supporters) for a Yaya ‘victory’) was answered by your very self in one of
your hypotheticals. If votes go to PDOIS that could have gone to the
Alliance and consequently Yaya wins (God forbid) who is responsible for
that? The Alliance because they did not send PDOIS a ‘proper’ invitation to
the Meeting? Well, I guess each of us is entitled to his view about who is
responsible for PDOIS’ decision not to partake in the Coalition Meeting.

I agree with you entirely that the Opposition Parties should first of all
seek to form an Alliance against Yaya. That is exactly what we have been
working for the past few months. The second best thing is for them to
operate on their own agendas and avoid stepping on each others toes as they
march to defeat Yaya. No quarrel there. I just hope that you convey the
message to your leaders on the ground as well. As demonstrated yesterday, I
have enough to write about and the Alliance leaders have enough to talk
about than attack PDOIS or NCP. I hope PDOIS and NCP also focus on Yaya and
stop attacking the Alliance (including PPP).

I take it too that your question about whose side the Alliance is on is also
a rhetorical one. You might have been absent from G_L for a time, but you
certainly did NOT miss all the calls from various quarters for an Opposition
Alliance. Virtually the whole Opposition was calling for the Parties to come
together. Even when PDOIS was saying that they preferred an Alliance in the
second round of voting, others were saying that we want an Alliance NOW.
Months ago, I myself wrote a ‘case for an Opposition Alliance’. People like
Ebrima Ceesay did the same. Jassey-Conteh, Joe Sambou, Jabou Joh, you name
it (am just talking about the ‘Js’). Gambians on the ground were calling for
an Alliance. People came out in droves to castigate others they thought were
disrupting an Alliance. When UDP wanted to postpone their trip to the U.S.
people went berserk saying that Ousainou Darboe does NOT want to talk about
an Alliance.

Now, you have your own Party saying all along that they preferred an
Alliance during the second round of voting and not NOW. Did you ever contact
them to convince them to do otherwise? We move from there and come to today.
I hope by now you have engaged your Party to convince them to rethink their
position and join the Alliance. Guess not!, because like Jassey-Conteh, you
are waiting for ‘official word’ from them. What do you call Adama Bah’s
narration? At the very least, can’t the Party dissociate itself from what
Bah said about PDOIS having been sidelined? Do you think it is conducive for
PDOIS operatives to try and pit NRP against a UDP/PPP conspiracy? UDP did
NOT go in there to get a presidential candidate. They went in there because
their supporters wanted them to be part of an Opposition Alliance and Assan
Musa Camara invited all the Parties to the Meeting. No secret concessions
were given to anyone as you try to insinuate. Before the Meeting, Camara
circulated a letter to all the Parties including PDOIS. Organizations like
MRDG(UK) circulated proposals to all the Parties including PDOIS. Those
proposals are the basis of the Coalition. Nothing more.

On your hypothetical about a Sidia Jatta or a SM Dibba candidacy, I guess
the only thing I can say is that you have a lot to learn about me. Buhary, I
am a man of my word. I am NOT in this for selfish motives. Like I said
before, I would have happily supported any candidate ‘from the CURRENT
Opposition leaders that the Alliance chose’. A PPP candidacy was the only
thing I have ever ruled out (because I thought the Opposition does Not have
the time to defend the PPP record). If Sidia Jatta was selected, I would be
his number one praise-singer. I support the Alliance and no single Party in
the country. I hope you get that straight now.

Again, I hope you articulate to your Party leaders the uphill task the
Alliance might face if PDOIS is not part of the Alliance. I already know
that. You are mixing the roles. I am NOT the one who is NOT joining an
Alliance because I feel left out. You are right we need all hands on deck. I
hope your Party also realize that.

Yes NCP can be a spoiler. But I find solace in the fact that former NCP
heavies that joined the UDP are still with UDP. Yes we need all votes we can
get. I said that yesterday and I asked for you to convince your leaders to
join the Coalition. But Dibba is a grown man. No one can force him to do
something he does not want to do. I guess I already addressed the issue
regarding whose fault it would be if the vote is split and Yaya end up
winning. But what is significant here is that people are calling for unity
even before the elections. We want to unite long before voting day and
energize the voters. Time is of the essence here. Why wait till one week
before election to unite when we can unite now?

On a point of correction about tactics in the Alliance. Let us get our facts
straight. The Alliance is NOT shutting out PDOIS and NCP because it is
confident that it can go it alone. PDOIS did NOT attend the Meeting and NCP
walked out. It is NOT an arrogant Alliance that shut them out. The Alliance
is NOT taking an anti-PDOIS stance. If you had opportunity to listen to
Radio broadcast from Banjul last night you will hear that Ousainou Darboe
(the leader of the Alliance) has already said that the door is open for
PDOIS and NCP to still join the Alliance. Those pronouncements should be
where you should focus. My pronouncements were a direct response to
pronouncements from characters like Adama Bah. I do NOT have time to foster
animosity between Opposition Parties. We are looking FORWARD. Most of what
you said is very correct. Unfortunately, it is addressed to the wrong
audience. If I were you, I would be busy talking to the PDOIS leadership and
people like Adama Bah if he is not part of that leadership.
KB



>From: Momodou Buharry Gassama <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: On The Opposition Alliance
>Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 16:09:43 +0200
>
>Hi Kebba!
>                  While I respect your stance on the current scheme of
>things which are the result of deeply held convictions, please allow me to
>throw in a few words of caution. The decision of the alliance parties to
>come together is just the beginning of a tough battle. It is by no means a
>guarantee for victory. I therefore believe that it is ill-advised to draw
>battle lines between those parties that opted for the alliance and those
>that have not as of now joined.
>
>You wrote:
>
>''Now that the Meeting has taken place and the lines are drawn, I hope
>PDOIS,
>NCP and their supporters get the message that they are NOT part of the
>Alliance (as we speak). As such, they will be treated in the way they
>deserve. ''
>
>I think it is a mistake detrimental to the cause of the opposition to make
>such pronouncements. What do we as supporters of PDOIS and NCP deserve? Are
>you
>sure that we agree with the parties' stance not to get involved? Are you
>sure that the parties' pronouncements are written in stone and not chalk
>that can be erased? Even if it is such that PDOIS and NCP are not part of
>the alliance, would it not be in the interests of the opposition to keep
>away from attacking and antagonising each other and in the process doing
>the APRC's job free of charge? I think your statement that ''ALL the other
>Opposition Parties (including NRP) are rallying behind Ousainou Darboe. He
>is our presidential candidate. He deserves our support and in my opinion he
>earned it too. I take this opportunity to appeal to PDOIS and NCP to be
>pragmatic.'' is the right avenue to take to bring about victory for the
>opposition. It does not however augur well to lace it with the first
>quotation plus the following one:
>
>''I hope that the NCP and PDOIS supporters realize that if they persist in
>this avenue they would be as responsible for the 'election' of Yaya in the
>same way as APRC
>supporters.''
>
>How are we going to be responsible for the election of Yaya? Every party is
>created on an agenda and where different parties try to come together,
>different agendas also come into the picture. The pragmatic approach in
>this instance is to work out a compromise in order to forge an alliance. If
>this is not possible, the parties should then in the interest of winning
>the election not complicate matters further by creating unnecessary enemies
>among the opposition thus wasting their meagre resources on each other
>instead of the party they are all trying to defeat.
>
>You wrote:
>
>''But PDOIS and NCP have to realize here that people will NOT forget this
>treacherous stance. At the end of the day, UDP might implement a level
>playing field, but the parties that did NOT join the Coalition will be
>reminded about their stance when it is all said and done. When the field is
>level, we will tell the Gambian people on whose side PDOIS
>and NCP was during the battle to unseat Yaya.''
>
>What treacherous stance? On whose side is PDOIS and NCP? On whose side is
>the alliance? Based on what criteria? Like I stated earlier, all parties be
>they APRC, PPP, PDOIS, UDP, NRP etc. are all premised on agendas and
>interests. Most of us are not aware of what went on in the public meeting
>and the informal ones that led to it. We therefore have to rely on second
>hand information which might not be as holy as it sounds. What can however
>be assumed to be crystal clear is that none of the parties in the alliance
>went in at its disadvantage just for the sake of forming an alliance. The
>UDP gained a presidential candidate. We do not know what other concessions
>it gained. We do not know what concessions the PPP gained. We therefore
>should not condemn the other parties before knowing their official reasons
>for not joining.
>     Let me ask you a hypothetical question. If PDOIS and NCP had gotten
>together before the alliance did and nominated Sidia Jatta or SM Dibba as
>the presidential candidate without UDP, PPP, NRP or GDP participation,
>would you have accepted that? Would you have accepted your party's refusal
>(even though it might not be yours as an individual supporter) to accept
>the result of negotiations in which it had no part as treachery or would
>you have pressed on to see negotiations that might bring about a complete
>alliance based on principles and understandings that would ensure that
>problems do not arise after the battle is won? I don't think that we should
>write our positions in stone or present either / or alternatives at this
>juncture. Things are somtimes not as simple as this. We have to create
>middle grounds at the moment to facilitate dialogue which will bring about
>a complete alliance because believe it or not the alliance is faced with an
>uphill battle and all hands are needed on deck. As Saiks pointed out, Dibba
>might not be able to win the presidential elections but he can sure be a
>spoiler. Let me create a hypothetical situation. Let us assume that things
>are neck and neck between Jammeh and Darboe and all rests with the last
>constituency to be counted. This particular constituency has 10, 000
>voters. Jammeh has 4, 950 votes and Darboe has 4, 945 votes. The remaining
>105 votes is split between NCP and PDOIS. In the absence of a complete
>alliance, Jammeh becomes the winner. If you however take only 6 of the
>votes from the NCP or PDOIS, Darboe becomes the winner. Who would be to
>blame here? The alliance because it had so much confidence that it is made
>of the largest opposition party and the former ruling party which still has
>a major following and does not therefore need smaller parties or the NCP
>and PDOIS for failing to join? Would it really matter who is to blame? The
>reality would be that Jammeh would be deservedly celebrating. You see, one
>cannot afford to throw away a single vote in these elections. The present
>alliance might seem as a credible or even overwhelming challenge to Jammeh
>but we have to realise that Jammeh has the benefits of incumbency and all
>it encompasses in African politics. It is therefore incumbent upon the
>opposition to forge ahead and try to form a complete alliance. Just because
>this did not happen at the first meeting does not mean that it will not
>happen. I believe it will be a grave mistake on the part of the alliance to
>take an anti-PDOIS/NCP stance and create animosity within the opposition. A
>genuine alliance can come to fruition even a week before the elections.
>While it is your democratic right as an individual supporter of the
>alliance to take the stance you have taken, I hope and pray that the
>official alliance is more cautious in its pronouncements. I also hope and
>pray that Mr. Camara doubles his efforts to bring about a complete
>alliance. Thanks.
>
>                                                      Buharry.
>
>
>
>
>
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