President Warns Armed Opposition Elements The Independent October 15, 2001 Posted to the web October 15, 2001 Lamin Dibba Banjul, the Gambia President Jammeh has made a thinly veiled threat to members of the opposition who wield dangerous weapons during and after the election, saying they will be shot on sight. In the first public speech since his return from a trail blazing campaign tour of the countryside, President Jammeh told Brikamarians Friday that his administration would apply zero-tolerance to elements of the opposition who take to the streets armed with cutlasses and other weapons capable of disrupting the pre and post election period. "You will be shot to death" he said apparently referring to supporters of his main challenger Ousainou Darboe who have been blamed by the APRC for sporadic skirmishes that resulted in injuries and material damage. The president said he was aware that opposition elements have bought cutlasses in readiness to disrupt the election. But he warned that heavy-handedness would be applied to deal with anybody seen holding a cutlass and other weapons. In an angry tone the president also came down hard on the perpetrators of the election dog ritual in Brikama three weeks ago, saying that if discovered they would "suffer from a very bitter lesson than they have ever experienced in their lives". President Jammeh berated Brikamarians for allowing the sacrifice of a dog in their town to influence the outcome of the October 18 polls, which he was sure of winning. "Where on earth have you heard of a dog sacrifice the marabout who advised you to kill a dog for the election has fooled you" he pointed out, underlining his disappointment with the people of Bojang Kunda for what he called their hypocrisy and double standard. A dead dog was found wrapped in a white satin sheet along a busy street straddling the Fire station, apparently killed as sacrifice for the election. It drew an angry protest from thirty starkly naked women who cursed and swore against the perpetrators of the ritual killing. The nature of the protest also caused shock and disbelief among not only Brikamarians but Gambians in the Greater Banjul Area. President Jammeh bluntly dismissed the Bojang kunda kabilo of Brikama as averse to progress by undermining themselves and identifying with the opposition. "You the indigenous people of Brikama cannot fool me. You do not want progress. You said I rescued you from buying water, but you will buy it" he posited, straining in anger. President Jammeh also pointed out that the coalition was launched in Brikama "and you were clapping for them I know you all". He outlined that the free education enjoyed by the daughters of some Western Division residents excludes daughters of members of the opposition and criticized what he referred to as the double standard of the beneficiaries and warned them to be mindful of the imminent consequences. In his contribution, Yankuba Touray the APRC campaign mobiliser took a brutal swipe at the ruling party's main challenger Ousainou Darboe, saying he was the fool of the millennium "because his father Numukunda Darboe was jailed to death by the PPP regime". Mr. Touray argued that if Darboe was not a fool why did he associate himself with those responsible for unlawfully jailing his father to death. Mr. Touray was also unsparing on Dembo Jatta a PPP politician from Kombo Central who he said had disguised as a woman to escape the clutches of the 1994 coupists. "Even if he plaits his hair and put on ear rings with the latest ladies fashion he will be arrested and jailed" Touray remarked. Sifia Hydara an APRC lady councilor disclosed that the women of Brikama have vowed to stake their lives for Jammeh's victory in the election. She said a flood of people have joined them in their "crusade to flush" the opposition out of Brikama forever. "Anybody who for reasons known to them do not want to see President Jammeh and his government should die and get to hell" she said. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>