Thanks to all that are in the struggle to free The Gambia from the Jaws of
the Beast.  As we set out in search of this freedom, through various means,
we should think not only about how to end Jammeh’s tenure, but also the
future of our nation after Jammeh.  Our situation is desperate and it is
natural and healthy to call for various means to get him out.  Get him out
we must, but that we also have a responsibility to not repeat our mistake
which brought us Yahya.

Some people are in favor of  “Using Any Means necessary” to bring a change.
  However, isn’t that what we did that brought us Jammeh?  Have we not
learned from Jammeh and countless other military thugs in our continent.  Do
we even know these very people we are relying on for our salvation?  It is
also interesting that most if not all the people calling for another coup
are not in the Gambia.  So, who do you expect to fight your war?  The kids,
again?  Let us be careful of what we are asking for, for we may just get.

There are also those that call for civil disobedience to force the
government to react.  The rationale is that they believe that Jammeh will
rig the ballots or that he will not allow elections to take place.  To this
group, I understand your frustration, but I think if we go this rout, we
will just end up like Peru.  The US and the international community
understood the plight of the opposition in Peru, but did not say much
because they also believe the opposition should have participated in the
election contest.  Thus Fugimori is in for another term.  The only thing
they could say is that the election was not seen as fair, because they did
not want to infringe on the wishes of those who voted for the president.
So, let’s win the elections to legitimize our claim in the event he refuses
to step down.

Calling for mass demonstrations should have been done way back before we
even had the last elections, when he started killing people and capped it
off with banning of most political parties.  We cannot afford him an easy
way out - staying in power for as long as he wants.  We should put all our
energies to having a free and fair election.  We are too close to the end of
the line to squander it.  All the opposition parties should magnify their
efforts to galvanize the electorate and also bring international attention
to the political situation in the Gambia.  When we have the elections, we
will know the choice of the people.  If Jammeh refuses to step down, then we
can apply civil unrest because we have a clear winner to take up leadership
after the dust settles, breaking the chain of murder, torture, and thuggry
that was levied on our people.  This will also strengthen our cause in the
eyes of the international community.  The international community is showing
a lukewarm response to our plight because while most do not like Jammeh,
however, they fell the people voted him in, in the last elections.  Senegal
is a perfect example.  Wade made sure the electorate was galvanized and the
international community was sensitized of the political temperature in
Senegal.  He made it clear that business is not going to be as usual and
that any attempts to manipulate the ballots will invite violence.  He also
understood that, as much as he wanted a showdown with the government, he
needed to do it from a position of strength, by showing that he is the
mandate of the people through the ballot.

This, my friends, is our first option.  Let us not put the cart before the
horse.  We have waited too long to do what we were supposed to do in the
beginning – civil disobedience and mass sit-ins.  Our last chance prior to
the elections (baring another mass killing) to call for mass demonstrations
or sit-ins was the April 10 Massacre, which would have elevated our cause in
the eyes of the international community.  Now is not the time to give Yahya
an opportunity to institute Marshall Law or turn himself King.  This way he
could postpone the elections indefinitely.  I would not even rule out him,
suspending the constitution to attain his goal.  If the majority of our
people want a free and fair election, not even Yahya and his troops can stop
us.  Yahya has as much power as we give him.  We have to win first before we
can claim our prize.  We condoned his ways for six years and counting, why
are we then impatient to strategize in the next four months for a sure win
come 2001.  Are we suspicious of our own convictions, that our rhetoric does
not equal our belief that the overwhelming majority of the citizens want him
out?  Flash backs of the PPP era when most complained for five years, only
to vote Fafa in for another term.  We may have many options, but we have to
choose wisely.

My Humble Opinion

Joe Sambou



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