Hamjatta, Welcome to the Halifa Fatigue Club! Your farewell speaks for me totally. As a matter of fact, the Latin phrase "consensus ad idem" - a meeting of the minds (if I recall anything from my Biz Law class in the Sixth Form) is an apt description of our perception of what Mr. Sallah's role has been vis-a-vis Yaya Jammeh. But, why beat on a dead horse? It's painfully obvious that Koto Halifa will never own up to his misdeeds. So, what's the point in continuing this debate? I would give anything to have Halifa explain to me why he thought in 1996 that "there's nothing wrong with Lt. Jammeh turning the AFPRC into a political party and running for office." And he cannot say he wasn't warned. Like Baffour Ankomah did for Jawara, I raised the red flag for Halifa, and the guy all but told me to go to hell. "I you were democratic" he told me, "you'd understand why you cannot tell any one not to run for president." What I feared then, and stated clearly in my article, is what we're facing today. And it a devil's alternative any way you look at it. Why? Because when all is said and done, Yaya Jammeh will not go quietly - if you know what I mean. I feel numb just thinking about it. I have a terrible feeling that the carnage going on these days, is just the beginning. This man is set to do so much damage to our country that only Allah can save us. The economy is collapsing, corruption and nepotism are sky-high, employment opportunities are zero, etc, etc. Having seen Yaya Jammeh in action for two years, I cannot believe that any sincere educated Gambian could egg him on to be a presidential candidate in '96. Like I pointed out in my article, not just Yaya, but "no one in the AFPRC Council has the education, experience, or foresight to run a country." Apparently, Halifa had a big problem with that statement. Under different circumstances, I'd be saying "I told you so." But considering the tragedy going on in Gambia, because of Yaya Jammeh, that would be very inappropriate. I spoke to a friend of my dad's on Koriteh day. He is a Quranic teacher for the Education dept. This man has two wives, and eight children, not to talk about extended responsibilities. Of his D900 monthly salary, he told me that D140 was with held just the week before Koriteh. When he complained to his Head Master, the man took him aside, and said "you should be thankful that they've only taken D140 from your pay. They've taken D400 from mine." So, Oustace said, "who do we complain to?" The Head Master told him in no uncertain terms that if he complains, he'll do so at his own peril. "This has been going on for a while. You should be glad that this is your first experience." Think about this man's situation. Now imagine him being better off than most Gambians, because as dire as his situation may seem, he's in fact in better shape than most of our people. This is the social cost of Yaya Jammeh's misrule. Your comments on their last posting is very accurate. I just hope Foroyaa will keep up the pressure on this murderous regime by raising questions that all sincere Gambians are asking albeit silently, or outside Gambia. Thanks again. Saul. PS. I can't open your attachment. It looks like a WordPerfect doc, but I don't know. Can you just incorporate it in the text of a posting? Saul. >From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: The Absmal State Of The Gambia: The PDOIS Connection >Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 06:38:30 EST > >Foroyaa wrote: > "in our view, if a person's term in office can only be sustained by >uncovering coup plots after coup plot leading to killings after killings, >then it is best for a person to call it a day than to leave such a >historical > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------