I stand by what I said. Those who have been following developments in The
Gambia, would agree with me that the governance and human rights situations
have improved for the better. The main reason for the imposition of
sanctions and withholding direct assistance to the government from the US
Government, the 1994 coup but also the 1996 elections were not regarded to
have been free and fair. That was the first elections of President Jammeh
and some things went wrong, however this time around things were much
better.

One case in point was the equal access to the public media (GRTS) for all
political parties. This time around all the parties, the opposition in
particular was given equal access to GRTS. I published the political
broadcast schedule on the L and in all forms of media in The Gambia and was
followed to the letter.

You can read the State Department Human Rights report on The Gambia for the
past five and one can see that things have improved. This does not mean that
The Gambia is free from human rights abuse or that the governance situation
is A+. The fact of the matter is President Jammeh and the APRC Government
are trying their level best to improve the situation. We all do learn from
our mistakes and the President and his party are mastering the art of
governing by learning from their mistakes among other things.

I joined the Gambia-L way back in early 1995 to share my opinion on issues
affecting The Gambia and no body can intimidate me. Whether I am in
government officially or not, does not make a difference when it comes
giving my opinion on issues. I am not a spokesman of the APRC and has never
been. I have the right to share my opinions on this forum like any other
member and I will continue doing so. Even if I am wrong, I have the right to
be wrong, Sir.

I will admit in a heart-beat that things are not perfect in The Gambia and
there is still room for improvement, however the fact is President Jammeh
and the APRC are trying their best improve the situation.

Why do you guys think the US Government lifted the sanction? The simple
reason is that the human rights situation and governance situation is
improving for the better. There has never been a freer and fairer election
than this past one. It was not decided in the Supreme Court as the US
elections were.

Let's move on.

PEACE

Tombong



>From: Modou Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: US-Gambia relations fully normalised
>Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 12:18:01 -0500
>
>Fye Samateh,
>
>Please can we stick to the issues and stop intimidating one another. If I
>remember correctly, Tombong said he supports the APRC, but he did not say
>that he is their spokesman. I hope we can keep it that way for now.
>
>Tombong, like anyone else with no official title, should be seen as an
>individual and nothing more. Everyone should have the freedom to speak
>their
>mind without fear of intimidation. But this freedom should not be used to
>deny others their freedom of expression either.
>
>Two wrongs don´t make one right. We are complaining about the intimidations
>back home; thus we should not practise the same bad habit on the gambia-l.
>
>What I think you should ask Tombong to do, is to answer Sanusi´s questions.
>Whether or not he has been damped by Yaya is not relevant here.
>
>We should be very careful about the way we tend to see the relationship
>between the Gambia and the USA. Remember neither country is a saint when it
>comes to human rights issues.
>
>After saying this, Gambia is my country and the one I care most about. So
>let us discuss what our country can gain from this relationship.
>
>I am very sorry Fye Samateh, for comeing out like I did. I hope you will
>overstand my point and forgive me for any feelings this might cost.
>
>Thanks,
>Modou
>
>
>
>
>>From: Fye Samateh <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: US-Gambia relations fully normalised
>>Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 02:03:33 +0100
>>
>>Bro Sanusi.
>>
>>You are quite right is time Tombong stop to be a spokesman
>>for the APRC after he was dumped by Yahya,and give us some
>>clarification what he's talking about.Perhaps a discussion as you
>>suggested.
>>
>>Respect
>>Fye.
>>
>>From: "Sanusi Owens"
>>
>>
>> > --- TOMBONG SAIDY <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >
>> > ....it is an acknowledgement by the US Government of
>> > the progress made in the areas of Good Governance and
>> > Human Rights since 1996.
>> >
>> >
>> > Tombong
>> >
>> > Please do us a big favour by explaining what the APRC
>> >
>> > has done since 1996 in the areas of Good Governance
>> >
>> > and Human Rights.
>> >
>> > I look forward to an educative discussion.
>> >
>> > Have a wonderful day.
>> >
>> > Sanusi Owens
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the
>>Gambia-L Web interface
>> > at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>> > To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
>> > [log in to unmask]
>> >
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>>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
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