Rene,
Thank you very much for your intervention.
What were the expectations that people had? Which people?
As far as I know, there was a euphoria when the coup occurred. The vast
majority of youths were dissatisfied that I did not accept a ministerial
post. In fact, PDOIS lost a lot of votes to APRC precisely because the APRC
carried out the campaign that we were unwilling to collaborate with the new
regime even though we used to criticise Jawara.
When we defied Decree 4, we were alone. All the old politicians were here;
not a single one of them wrote an article in the newspapers or even attended
our court proceedings to give solidarity of any sort. Some even called on
Jammeh to finish us.
However, we are on record for opposing Lamin Juwara's arrest during the
coup. We will eventually publish some of our views. His wife was in constant
communication with us and we continuously sent people to find out about his
fate. There are many things we do without putting them on record. We are not
engaged in a show.
We established a Democratic Front to call for a National Conference. Here
again, no first republic politician even made any attempt to support this
move.
We entered a period of national dialogue with a transition programme
approved by the Gambian people. We monitored this programme to ensure that
we achieved the strategic objective of returning to a constitutional order
with an electoral system which can be further consolidated through struggle.
At the moment, PDOIS is carrying out the task that it has always carried
out, that is, to enlighten the people on everything that is going wrong in
this country. Later on, we will post what we have been saying about the
present regime.
I am enjoying the critics who are saying that we are soft on the Jammeh
regime. Those who are attending our rallies and following our "sweeps" in
street corners know that as far as PDOIS is concerned, APRC is a
continuation of the PPP regime. There has been no break in policy; no break
in practice and we are making this abundantly clear by producing facts. In
fact, we have a series on FOROYAA at this very moment entitled "The APRC and
the PPP Expose Each Other's Dirty Linens in Public." After we complete the
series, we will send it to the L.
What has really happened, Rene, is that we are were an independent force
during the coup period struggling for the country to return to
constitutional order with an electoral system, in opposition to the
aspirations of the AFPRC to stay in power indefinitely. And we were also
opposed to any force being used as Jawara was calling for.
To understand PDOIS' conduct during the coup period, one must study how we
handled the issues we were confronted with.
AFPRC came into being and we took a firm stand for PDOIS to remain. Once we
were taken to court, and we defended ourselves splendidly without being
incarcerated, the AFPRC was demystified. The PPP elements wanted to make us
their heroes and tool. When Jawara started to argue his Haiti case for arm
intervention, we constantly emphasised that a person who has left this
country with his whole family and flee to safety will not be allowed to
provoke an arm conflict whose end results were incalculable. PDOIS
maintained its independent posture and pursued its strategic objective for
constitutional rule to be restored and election to be effected. We earn
respect from our opponents. We have always earned respect from our
opponents, be it Jawara or Jammeh.
You must bear in mind that we cannot win all the support of the people in
The Gambia. Politics is about interest. Some criticisms must be provoked by
interest. Some are well meaning. I have to distinguish the two. What we can
do is to answer to their criticisms. This is precisely what I am doing.
As far as I am concerned, I enjoy more respect than I desire in The Gambia.
It is not because the old politicians have any fear for a person known as
Halifa Sallah. There are certain types of lives that I have not lived, and
no decent human being would simply fabricate evidence to try to tarnish the
image of a person. I want to be genuinely convinced of the impression that
Hamjatta and Saul, now Fatou Ceesay and Ousman Ceesay, are trying to
project.
Can you say that the explanation we have given regarding the 1997
Constitution is refutable? I have not seen Fatou Ceesay or Ousman Ceesay
making any attempt to refute such a position. What is there for me to accept
if critics do not deal with essence but rather attribute to me what they
desire and argue against their own mistaken notions. How am I to handle such
a tendency other than to sweep their thrash in the dust bin? I will never
get tired of this.
Of course, relying on the type of people some of them project as heroes, one
can understand the nature of their political leanings. However, as far as I
am concerned, every human being is free to engage me on this forum. I would
be very happy if no one tries to defend me. I have had to send personal
mails to people so that they will not step into this issue. This is a very
fortunate development and I am highly inspired that the exercise is taking
place.
I only hope that I will be allowed to deal with the situation in the same
way that those who have started the enterprise sought to promote their
mistaken notions.
Greetings.
Halifa Sallah.
----- Original Message -----
From: Rene Badjan <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2000 2:16 PM
Subject: Re: Fatou: Re: Is it not Halifa sallah who is dwelling?
> After everything has been said, it is still obvious that Halifa, has
been
> pivotal in the political transformation in the Gambia, then and now. The
> issues that have been raised, are genuine concerns that Halifa should find
> the time to reflect upon. The expectations were high, the circumstances
> different, yet the reality remains the same. How this reality was viewed
and
> impacted upon, is the basis of the contention that surrounded this debate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
