Good Morning Mr. President, The Fear of old politicians Mr. President, your aides are clamoring that the repeal of Decree 89 is meant to further democracy in the country with what Africans call a double tongue. You said on July 22nd that Decree 89 was history and you in fact threw an invitation to those affected by the ban to freely engage into politics. But what is surprising is that days later this tone changed. During the inauguration of Saihou's hotel and the new NAWEC generator, both you and Yankuba nuanced the dispensation. In fact, Yankuba had earlier promised a commission for President Jawara and brandished the spectre of the commission's findings against OJ and others. Your tale at Saihou's lodge is also fresh in our minds. We did not fail to decipher who the wounded lion in 1994 was as well as the rabbit/hare (heir?) and the donkey. This sounded to many as a threat. The promise to set up a commission for the former President is also a matter of great concern. All the commissions had their life span restricted to six months by the National Consultative Committee but your government prolonged their tenure to over two years. Now, everybody knows that the commissioners had concluded finally their assignment, a situation that has allowed some of the affected people to seek redress in the courts against the decisions of the commissions. So, on what basis a commission is to be set up against Jawara? Is a new decree going to be promulgated now that we are in a civilian administration? I do not think Now when the AG was introducing the Repeal Bill at the assembly, he emphasised that the decree was lifted in the spirit of reconciliation and national unity with a view to making democracy a way of life in the country. But the minister was quick to add the restrictions that would be brought to bear against certain people affected by the findings of the commissions and the age ceilings. Now, he said all these restrictions were based on existing provisions of the constitution but he omitted to also observe that the same fundamental law guarantees to all Gambians the right to partake in the political life of their country. The APRC MPs who took the floor also re-echoed the AG's position, that is, people must understand that some former politicians are affected by the commissions or by age. On subhead "Political Rights", Section 26 of the Constitution reads: " Every citizen of The Gambia of full age and capacity shall have the right, without unreasonable restrictions a) to take part in the conduct of public affairs directly or through freely chosen representatives b) to vote and stand for elections at genuine periodic elections for public office, which elections shall be by universal and adult suffrage and be held by secret ballot c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in The Gambia. Therefore, we wonder how these people can be legally restricted from taking part in the political life of their country. If the AG's pronouncements are anything to go by, where do these people stand should they invoke Section 26 of the Constitution? The bottom line is a promise is a promise and it must be respected. Who so ever is interested in drawing sword with you for the presidency must be allowed to do so as the Constitution does not promote any form of segregation. The state media almost 'jubilated' when they read and/or published the applause by the US of your decision to lift the ban on politicians. At The Point, we were not jubilant for we were worried about the fate of the people. The text of the American release congratulated you but at the same time, it made it clear that all banned politicians should be allowed to re-join the political arena. " The repeal opens the door for all credible political aspirants to contest". Remember that these people know very well the people who were banned. Therefore, if the ban is lifted, they would expect to see all those banned to come back, as the law that barred them is dead. We hope this is clear to everybody. Decree X was promulgated to prevent Y N, B to contest. If Decree X is repealed it means that Y N and B are no longer proscribed. Mr. President, why fear people you say are old and have not impacted well on the lives of Gambians and had failed to deliver. Now you and your aides clamour that you are troubleshooters, you have produced good results, therefore why fear the compatriots who you term as old people who have not delivered anything to the Gambian people. If you are so sure of your star and deeds, why don't you proclaim that the arena is open to all and let the best win. Let the people's choice win. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------