The Independent Published Monday, June 10, 2002 OJ responds to Sir Dawda’s 'unfair' critics Omar Jallow commonly called OJ has dismissed as unfounded reports suggesting a rift between Sir Dawda Jawara and other members of the Peoples’ Progressive Party who criticised the erstwhile leader for allegedly failing to seek a blanket amnesty that would have covered other members of his ousted government still living in exile. OJ who has built a reputation as one of the staunchest loyalists of the PPP during the entire length of Sir Dawda’s eight years in exile in the United Kingdom, was reacting to unidentified PPP malcontents who vehemently criticised the ex Gambian leader over what they called his hands-off attitude to the fate of other members of his administration who were ‘selectively excluded’ from benefiting from President Jammeh’s amnesty to him. They charged that Jawara had acted selfishly by ‘springing to the amnesty offer’ without considering what should become of other members of his erstwhile administration who were being allegedly victimised for his own sake. OJ in turn vehemently denied that there was any genuine member of the PPP who is disaffected with the turn of events for Sir Dawda particularly over the amnesty and his subsequent return to the country. He said The Independent had carried comments by some unidentified individuals unfairly critical of Sir Dawda, who OJ said is poised to steer the destiny of the PPP. OJ vilified the criticism of Sir Dawda as a ‘cruel act of black painting the good’ emphasising that the entire leadership of the party had been quick to register its ‘overwhelming pleasure’ for the return of their leader from whom they will take their directives as the secretary-general of the PPP. OJ said while Jawara was in exile there have been constant consultations between the PPP elites and the ex-president and that no situation had arose that would have prompted the PPP to criticise and complain against Sir Dawda. ‘We have been communicating on issues pertaining to the party and there was never a time when any member of the party has been critical of his return’ said. OJ believes that instead of criticising him, individual members of the PPP should show a more accommodating spirit by excusing the ‘old man’ for the time being. ‘It is necessary for the people to be patient and allow Sir Dawda to sort out his domestic and family affairs after being away for eight years’ he suggested. He said as home-based members of the party who have been advocating for President Jammeh to allow Sir Dawda to return, it would be ludicrous to imagine that some members of the party would oppose the turn of events. He said the campaign for Sir Dawda’s homecoming was conducted locally and internationally and it mustered enough pressure on President Jammeh to decide on that effect. ‘I was one of the first if not the first to support the proclamation by the president and categorically declared in reports that Sir Dawda’s return is the only lasting means to true peace and genuine reconciliation’ OJ claimed. He said it was ‘more than disappointing’ that reports of a ‘silent protest’ against Sir Dawda had made the rounds from so-called bigwigs of the party who are deliberately out to tarnish the image of otherwise honest and sincere members of the PPP among them Jawara. He said far from rocking the PPP apart, Sir Dawda’s return has provided a refreshing start to the party, which had dominated Gambian politics for three decades. He also said that the homecoming is the positive beginning to the reconciliation process, which will eventually lead to a vibrant democracy in The Gambia. On whether Sir Dawda will be actively involved with the PPP considering his declared retirement from politics, OJ said ‘Jawara is a fatherly figure to the nation and should be expected to use his position to facilitate national reconciliation and influence issues that could promote democracy, respect for the rule of law and human rights, just like what Nyerere was doing in Tanzania’. However, in the same breath he emphasised that Sir Dawda would not be expected to participate in any process to make The Gambia a one-party state since this does not sit comfortably with his pioneering role in steering The Gambia to multi-partyism during his tenure as president. He said this was happening at a time when a majority of African states were taking the path to either one party rule or military dictatorship. ‘If Sir Dawda retires as the PPP secretary-general we will call an emergency congress to select a new leadership cadre’ he explained. ‘Party leadership come and go, but parties stay to pursue their programmes’ he added, citing the Labour Party in the United Kingdom as an example of a political organisation that has outlived its founding fathers. _________________________________________________________________ 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 To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~