The July 22 Movement's failed ambush against DARBOE and his UDP supporters is a vivid illustration of Moron Jammeh's desperation to hang onto his failed presidency. He has miserably failed in all his efforts to wipe out his opponents completely. The time has now ripe to consider very seriously the tangible ways and means of restoring back peace and tranquility into our beautiful country, and more fundamentally, in recouping the human decency and geniune love the country have lost. A country which had been firm friends with the International Community is now isolated and no longer a member of the International Community Family of Nations. It was in the early part of the 1990s that because of The Gambia's peacefulness and decent international image that the United Nations had selected her as a venue for the Human Right Center. A country which used to be called by Western journalists as a "Test Tube" became the tongue of the sub-region in both diplomatic and economic fields. Then the economic strategy was to make The Gambia the Singapore of the sub-region. A gateway for re-exportation of capital and consumer goods and services to her neighbors in the sub-region. Countries in the sub-region that used to benefit from the re-exportation of goods and services are Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakary, Sierra Leone, Mali, Mauritania, and many other distant countries. There was economic interdependence amongst these sub-regional countries which further strengthened the solid bonds between them. It was the principle of "Virtues Circle" that used to tremendously determine Gambia's Regional and International Relations. By allowing the re-exportation of goods and services across her borders to needy countries in the sub-region, The Gambia then had a powerful diplomatic strategy: Virtues Circle. Trading with your neighbors or even your foes is a powerful tool in creating a solid and fruitful relationship. This is a similar strategy President Bill Clinton and his Administration have been advancing on China since the beginning of his Presidency:MFN TREATY; and of course, it has been immensely working. With Yaya Jammeh in control for this period, the Virtues Circle diplomatic School of Thought has been eroded, and being replaced by "Vicious Circle": The process of predicament that arises when the solution of a problem creates a new problem and each successive solution adds another problem. This is what the Jammeh Administration is good at, creating problems and predicaments for his neighbors, particularly Senegal. His involvement in the Cassamance affair by developing very close ties with MFDC and harboring in the country is a clear manifestation of his Vicious Circle diplomatic School of Thought. Consequently, Jammeh's Vicious Circle diplomatic relations has adversely hindered economic growth and development in the country. Foreign Exchange has virtually disappeared; the French CFA which used to flow steadily in the country is more than just a name; and a result, business is completely dried. This is the kind of debate writers and columnists in the country should focus on writing, rather that a sheer "Dry Intellectualism". We need contributors to not only report what is happening, but also pin-point the effects of what is happening, and more importantly, draw a comparison and conclusion of events in the past and present, and if possible, even table solutions to those events. This is what "Seasoned Intellectualism represents. Now that the Jammeh "Dictatorship" has anchored at the harbor, and nothing left but to vacate the ship, our focused discussion should be: First, How to undo what he did in destroying the very fibre of our beautiful country. Second, What is strategy to go forward, and also how to re-build old bridges and new bridges which would take us across the Atlantic Ocean to the 21St Century. This is the job of a well-seasoned intellectual, and not a sheer reporter of facts. In conclusion, I must commend Ebou colly, KB, and all those excellent contributors and well-seasoned writers who love their country dearly. I am urging all of you to persist on what you believe. Keep Hope Alive! Ansumana Kujabi Concerned Citizen ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------