Juwara Fires Back At Gov't Minister

The Independent (Banjul)

November 15, 2002
Posted to the web November 15, 2002

Louis Gomez
Banjul

. Lamin Waa Juwara has asserted that his National Democratic Action Movement
has more sincere, patriotic, better-educated and more competent Gambians to
run the country than the ruling APRC would ever hope to put up.

He told The Independent that after eight years of deliberate plunder and
misrule, the APRC government is left with no moral high ground, which could
embolden Yankuba Touray to smite at the newest political organisation, which
has set itself the task of changing such a deplorable trend.

Mr. Juwara said NDAM and the APRC are incomparable because the latter has
shown a dearth of ideas in handling the country's economy, which he said,
was being run aground by mishandling and misapplication of economic
policies.

In a particularly blistering response to Yankuba Touray, who had asserted
that NDAM were incapable of political leadership, Lamin Waa Juwara told The
Independent that the APRC national mobiliser should shut up because he
commands no authority to speak disparagingly of NDAM.

SOS Touray had claimed that NDAM lacked human and material resources to
challenge the APRC for political stewardship of the country.

Touray had further asserted that NDAM were with no grassroots base to be
reckoned with as a force in the country's political configuration.

In a response befitting his nature as a fiery politician, Waa Juwara said,
Touray was continuing with the APRC's deliberate hoodwink of the people by
asserting that NDAM was not a credible political organisation of
country-wide following. On the contrary, Juwara said his political party,
'is far better than what is being paraded as a political party to rule the
country'.

'Touray's assertions were nonsense. I don't see how Yankuba could defend his
assertion that we are incapable of leading this country' he said, adding
that NDAM have more competent people than the APRC.

'There is nothing more betraying than abusing our hospitality as Gambians by
staging a coup against a democratically elected government', he emphasised.

'The best that Touray can do after he and his government had failed to
rescue Gambians from the throes of economic disaster is to shut up and leave
us to salvage the country' a charged Juwara pointed out.

He described the APRC regime as a government of 'blood suckers who have been
living on promises and lies for eight years'. He accused President Jammeh's
government of smearing the country's name by a rash of human rights abuse,
and official swindling and looting of the national treasury.

Waa Juwara claimed that the SOS for Tourism and Culture and his likes in the
government have a lot of abuses to ponder over instead of making bland
statements against a political organisation of which they know little about.

NDAM's fiery leader warned that members of President Jammeh's regime, who
have committed atrocities against innocent Gambians would suffer the same
fate as Valentine Strasser of Sierra Leone and Samuel Doe of Liberia should
they fall from power sooner or later.

'If Touray thinks Gambians would forgive them for all the crimes they
committed, then he is in a fool's paradise' he charged.

Outlining the patriotic path NDAM has set out to improve the life of
Gambians, Juwara said his party was not interested in wealth nor will it
engage in a blindfolding campaign to hoodwink Gambians. 'We are part and
parcel of The Gambia. As for Yankuba Touray, he can go back to Burkina Faso
or Mali where he belongs. I have all my roots in The Gambia and we will
stand up to liberate this country' he emphasised.

He further said if Touray could describe him as a betrayer of the UDP's
cause, it's because the APRC wanted haphazard leadership in the opposition
to give top flight to their own parochial agendas.

'I am not Darboe and I will never be like him. NDAM is here to stay and
would not tolerate any nonsense from anybody' he concluded.








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