Hamjatta,

You wrote


> For starters it is plainly
> dishonest to imply that there is no such thing as an Opposition Alliance:
> what would you call agreement of the PPP, UDP and GPP to fight the elections
> under the leadership of Mr Darbo? The fact that Mr Darbo heads the different
>

You conveniently left out the most important fact, and that is, this
opposition allinace was proposed to bring all opposition parties under one
fold to help eject the dictator. However, these three parties you mention
underhandedly colluded to exclude the other parties by "floating ideas
between people with similar objectives" as someone called it. They then
called a meeting by verbal invitation, and most amazing of all, they decided
to nominate a leader for the opposition alliance when half of the opposition
parties were not present.

One party, that of Mr S.M Dibba walked out due to his disagreement with the
nomination, and PDOIS called to have the meeting delayed so they could
attend, and Hamat Bah was out of the country.

Despite all of this, and despite the fact that a coalition of opposition
parties is something that needs careful negotiation betrween all the players
and compromises made if there is to be a situation that is truely a colaition
and not an attemopted take over, you still want to argue that there is a
colaition.

Hamjatta, at least have the decency to admit that there is a merger of the
PPP and UDP only, and no true colaition. The way this whole affair was
orchestrated is what I take issue with, and it was shamelessly underhanded.
Please, let us try to stick to the truth because it is the truth that will
set us free. This is an allinace that has placed the UDP into another league,
far different from the one that others including myself had placed them in.

You also wrote:

This merely reflects your own personal weakness; i.e., how you easily become
a victim of your own herd instincts of following popular and fashionable
opinion rather than research issues and make the appropriate comments.

Hamjatta,

I made no excuses for not having done my homework. You, on the other hand,
ought to have the courage at last to do yourself a favour by admitting that
you are a PPP/UDP supporter. You say you do not support PDOIS any longer,
this is your choice and mine is also mine to make and truth, fairness and
transparency should be what we pursue in our attempts to moveforward. One
cannot acuse the present regime of lack of transparency, which is quite true,
and then turn around and engage in the same underhandedness. This is not a
way forward, but merly a chnge of one conspirator for another.

If the truth be told, I think even you know that I am no follower of crowds
and popular opinion, unless that opinion happens to be the truth. This
situation cannot be so easily relegated to such a simplistic explanation.

Rather, I think the UDP should tell us just how they can call themselves a
fresh new party and still allign with the PPP, but most important of all, why
it was that this allinace should have been so deviously organized. These two
parties should have had the decency to just tell Gambians that they want to
allign, rather that saying that they are joining an opposition when the
planning of this so called allince was nothing short of a conspiracy to merge
these two parties, while finding convenient excuses to leave the other
parties out. I also happen to think that it was a most unwise decision..

What is the explanation as to why they refused to delay the meeting so PDOIS
can attend if they had good intentions of forming a true coalition that
included everyone?

What is the reason a meeting was so poorly planned with only verbal
invitations?

What is the reason that despite the fact that one of the parties walked out,
they still went ahead with the meeting as if nothing else mattered?

What is the reason that they went ahead with the meeting when Hamat Bah was
out of the country?

What is the reason these so called "balloons between people of similar
objectives" were not floated to the other parties like PDOIS etc? The answer
I got on that one was that they thought that PDOIS would not be receptive to
them, so this was based on a perception by supposedly well meaning ad neutral
elements who were suposedly organizing this meeting for one and all.

Why was it that politicians who have a lot of experience, and had even run a
government before did not take into account that a colaition of political
parties with different ideas had to be something that willl take a lot of
negotiation and concesions on the part of all if the intention to form a true
coalition is genuine?

Why was it that every avenue to eliminate all the objections of the other
parties like PDOIS and NRP were not pursued if the intentions to include
every opposition party without prejudice was genuine?

What about the legacy of the PPP, and how UDP will reconcile that  even as
they say they are a fresh party with new ideas.?

 I think the issues that need to be addresed are being  passed over because
the answers are too obvious.
This is about truth, fairness and a way to move us forward that has been
railroaded, and  let the newly merged UDP/PPP allinace answer the important
questions that are raised instead of beating about the bush and asuming that
people are stupid.

Jabou Joh

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