Brother Kanteh:
Now is not the time to question PDOIS' experience and your subjective
evaluation of what it should have done. I believe the word FOROYAA
speaks for itself. We are almost at the end of the road. All we need
is unity and subjectivity should not take place at this critical
moment.
Would you subscribe to JONYAAA? I hope not. Please let us report
objectively.
Naphiyo,
Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh
Greensboro, NC/Kombo East Constituency
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Hamjatta Kanteh [log in to unmask]
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 20:49:52 EDT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: BURNING ISSUES FOROYAA Publication
For a paper that has more than a decade's experience in reporting and
commenting on topical issues, Foroyaa seriously goofed here by allowing its
columns to be reduced to being a mere recycling factory of APRC rumours and
conspiratorial innuendoes. Instead of Foroyaa getting first hand information
from the individual parties and personalities it reported about, it relied
primarily on second hand accounts of events and inferring from them grossly
erroneous stuff on the intent, manouevres and actions of some Opposition
heavy weights. Foroyaa certainly doesn't help the collective spirit when it
tendentiously make conspiratorial what is at best a genuine effort in the
preliminary engagements of ironing out wrinkles that have the potential of
hindering coalition progress. That is to say that it is perfectly normal that
before formal negotiations take public form, backroom horse tradings - that
are invariably raucous and having the negative impact of throwing poor light
on the collective spirit if conducted in the public eye - have to run their
course before the shape and form that the collective spirit will take is
announced to the public. Foroyaa's whining or lamenting at this backroom
horsetrading denotes and betrays its innocence in political negotiations.
Insidiously, and with great literary adroitness, Foroyaa tried to paint a
patrimonial picture of Hassan Musa Camara's informal appointment as the
'political fixer' to work on narrowing down the differences between the
different Opposition parties. Camara's appointment as a political go between
to finesse a common platform of action for the Opposition signally represents
the recognition that such a role invariably involves negotiation skills and a
lack of direct interest in who heads the Opposition Alliance. Camara, by
virtue of decades experience as a public figure who had served all areas of
gov't and led a mainstream political party and the fact that he is ineligible
to contest the current presidential elections, was better predisposed than
anyone else to play this role without any ill-will towards and or fearing or
favouring any political grouping. This is the context of Camara's current
role. It is not so much the 'patrimonial kingmaker' Foroyaa subtly and
deceptively tried to implant in its readerships' minds.
Moreso, if Foroyaa was irresponsible and lazy in its reportage and commentary
of the Opposition Alliance issue, it was surprisingly sulking and hubristic
in the way it expects cooperation to eventually take form and work. For
instance, Foroyaa commented that:
"UDP has held rallies and invited opposition parties to join them but this
had not materialised. Analysts observe that unless the opposition reaches
an agreement on a presidential candidate it is not likely to have a joint
rally which gives the impression that a particular aspirant's candidature
has been endorsed. What is therefore of paramount importance is discussion
to determine whether a coalition is to be forged or not."
Above all, this passage demonstrates the extent to which, say, the UDP is
ready to sell the message of cooperation. Foroyaa's assertion that the UDP's
invitation has, as of yet, not materialised is a bit disingenuous. Perhaps,
as it applies to the PDOIS, it is true that the UDP's invitation has, as of
yet, yielded no dividends. But it is a matter of public record that UDP
rallies have and continue to be graced by such PPP heavyweights like OJ and
NCP or GPP stalwarts alike. Which takes me to Foroyaa's dissembling argument
on why the UDP's invitation has, as of yet, not materialised; i.e., because
there has been no agreement on an Opposition Alliance for the presidential
elections, such invitations will remain unreturned or never materialise. The
fact that PDOIS has been invited to a UDP rally and declined it and wilfilly
reports it in its political organ, Foroyaa, does it no favours. PDOIS/Foroyaa
also does itself no favours if it willing to sulk rather than proactively
engage its Opposition colleagues in what could be the beginning of a fruitful
cooperation. For instance, if the UDP invites it to join it in a rally, PDOIS
ought to accept the invitation and use it as a basis to explore ways in which
it can stamp out misconceptions, mistrusts and misunderstanding that continue
to stand between the different parties. Likewise, to see how cooperative the
UDP is, PDOIS then can return the UDP's compliments by inviting the UDP to
join it in a similar forum. That way, we are no longer talking about parties
communicating through third parties; rather, we are beginning to see a whole
new mechanism that would greatly help foster common understanding on the way
ahead. The collective interest and or spirit is neither served by column
inches of regurgitated APRC rumours or inferring from these rumours grossly
erroneous stuff about Opposition players and consituents. Mistrusts and
misunderstandings feed from such a parlous way of comminucation. And most
definitely not the prudent way to build common bridges to cooperate.
Foroyaa also lamented that to this day, an agenda or a framework has yet to
be worked out to form the basis for an Opposition Alliance. Again, PDOIS
should not whine or sulk but seize the initiate and proactively come up with
an agenda which it can publicly propose to the other parties. That way, PDOIS
would be at the forefront of Opposition thinking and would not be reduced to
chipping sulkily at what others have publicly tabled for the Opposition
Alliance. PDOIS has the intellectual muscle to come up with a programme that
it feels would be the correct basis with which the minimalist programme it
favours is workable and acceptable for all parties to publicly consider for
endorsement as a framework for an Opposition Alliance. If PDOIS cannot do
this, then it makes the task of cooperation no easier if all it could come up
with is to sulk about what others are doing or not doing? What is PDOIS
practically doing to move forward the Opposition Alliance? Instead of
reducing the columns of Foroyaa into a recycling factory of APRC lies,
disinformations and rumours, these are the intellectual arguments that
Foroyaa ought to be busying itself with.
Foroyaa was very right to point out that: "The Opposition Must Not Be
Indecisive
The Price Of Indecisiveness Is A Weakened Opposition" If Foroyaa believes in
its own wiseacres, it was not helping matters either by engaging in
intriguing but self-defeatist intellectual arguments or speculations about
non-existent Opposition plots or conspiracies. If Foroyaa strongly believes
in its own wiseacres, it would have by now published an Opposition Alliance
framework paper which can form the basis of mutual cooperation between all
the Opposition parties genuinely interested in the democratic health and
future of the country.
All the best,
Hamjatta Kanteh
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