JDAM, this was the first time I see and read this. In my opinion, it was your warrugal at the time and I commend you for it. Indeed you were speaking for me then. And the concentric rings of life continue to form. Haruna. -----Original Message----- From: Lamin Darbo <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Fri, Jul 24, 2009 5:35 am Subject: A PERSPECTIVE FROM 1994; THE REVOLUTION THAT LEFT THE TRACKS An acquantance from a European country kindly sent my article below and suggested it be reposted as published in the Daily Observer fifteen years ago, if only as a reminder of our justified dissapointment with the 1994 'revolution' of His Excellency, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh. It remains my contention that July 22 represents a valid continuation of our national conversation, and that a forceful change of government is not per se unconstitutional. I do not think many are likely to mourn the passing of our current regime regardless how it came about. Please read on ................................................................................................................................... DAILY OBSERVER, MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1994 A 0 COMMENTARY We salute you! Albeit Cautiously Dear members of the provisional council: As an international media blitz focused world attention on the tragedy of a million Rwandan refugees in camps in Zaire over the weekend of July 22, Gambians at home and abroad were captivated by the unfolding of the most profound event in our national affairs: the declaration of a military takeover July 23. Even for those Gambians who foresaw military government in our public life, the crisis that started Friday and culminated in a takeover Saturday may have come as a surprise. As the sketchy details of conditions in The Gambia were taking shapes in the media, some of us took informal polls of Gambians in the United States, Canada, and the Western Europe, eliciting their views on the overthrow of the fraudulent “democratic” tyranny of Dawda Jawara. I even made a few calls to The Gambia for the domestic perspective. To a person, the verdict was unanimous: we are happy and grateful, but??? Without doubt, you are the men of the hour, symbols of heroism to at least 90 percent of all Gambians. The question mark is over the future. And the future is what we must address because therein lies our collective destiny. In light of the track record of military regimes in other African countries , the near unanimous but qualified support is understandable. We would hate to see our parents, families, friends, and any Gambians for that matter flee the country in fear for their lives. Death would be preferable to countenancing such a spectacle. To solidify your position and keep the country together, you must avoid the adoption of the modus operandi of military governments in Africa. More fundamentally, you cannot afford to create martyrs. And vindictiveness must not be a part of the new order of national affairs. Memories last forever, and if bitter, they become a factor in the calculus of daily events, escalating the potential for tragedy on a constant basis. Ordinary Gambians, especially the unlettered bulk whose support for Jawara’s government had no rational basis, must be left alone. Only those public servants whose conduct clearly triggers the response of our laws may be fair targets for investigation. Dawda Jawara was a captain who lost his bearings, and the ship of state he disastrously piloted was destined to run aground. He finally arrived at the ultimate destiny of his nepotic, corrupt, and incompetent administration: the trash-hip of history. Dawda Jawara’s absolute control over the reins of power made him more feared than respected. You have the right to expect loyalty from your closet advisers, but they must not be fearful to the extent of endorsing all your policies regardless of their merits. You must be open-minded and receptive to ideas different from yours. =2 0 We are not nostalgic for an era and a government that visited executive vandalism on the Gambian people. But we also refuse to be sentimental and complacent about the present. Your place in history will entirely depend on how you utilise the awe-inspiring instruments of government at your disposal. After a fraud lasting three decades, the populace may be prone to the syndrome of unrealistic expectations that are almost always integral to forceful government transitions in Africa. Your task is to communicate in effective but realistic terms, and to refuse to feed the frenzy of utopian sentimentalism during your honeymoon with the Gambian people. This, however, is not to suggest that you shy away from engaging the practical challenge of nation building. And nation building necessarily involves national reconciliation. In light of the manner you ascended power, certain constituencies may feel alienated. Your task is to reassure everyone, and not make anyone desperate through fear for personal safety. And even if private property is seized pending further investigation, I strongly recommend that a final determination of forfeiture be adjudicated before the tribunals of justice in The Gambia. In similar vein, and notwithstanding the suspension of the Constitution, the Cabinet members of the overthrown government must be accorded due process commensurate with the basic tenets of justice. The families of those former cabinet members, whether among the Jawara asylum party in Senegal, or other parts of the wor ld, must not be used as bargaining chips. They are not even vicariously responsible for the untoward conduct of their spouses and/or parents. Although our first successful national encounter with a forceful displacement of government, the experience of other countries should provide cogent instruction in our attempt to fashion a strategy of national unity in the aftermath of such an earthshaking event. The overthrow of the Jawara government was bloodless and we challenge you to keep your administration bloodless. This means no hostages, no summary trials, and absolutely no executions. Lieutenant Jammeh’s interview with the BBC and his comments regarding the plight of the “little man on the street”, coupled with his statement concerning civilian involvement in the council, are encouraging. As you make appointments to the cabinet and other policy-level positions, you are well advised to draw from a talent pool untainted with the cancerous corruption and indiscipline of the Jawara government. This should effectively exclude all the past and recent high-level officials in that administration who involuntary left office. Certainly no cabinet member as of July 22 should be included in your government, although reports reaching us indicate otherwise. From a national security perspective, such an appointment may be unwise considering the person’s key role in the Jawara government for over a decade. A watcher of the Gambian political scene said that we should approach events in our homeland with “cautions optimism”. For now, we salute you, albeit cautiously, for ending a three-decade fraud that emasculated the Gambia. Everyone I contacted simultaneously endorsed the overthrow of the Jawara government, and expressed uneasiness with a permanent military regime in The Gambia. I strongly recommend that you seriously consider and communicate to the Gambian people a timetable for a return to civilian rule in the country. Excuse my concern but my civic duties dictate that I express my thoughts on a condition of first impression in my country. The stakes are too high, and sink or swim, we are in it together as Gambians. For 17 years, I have followed every major political event in Africa and the world. I have seen governments, civilian and military, engineer and nurture atrocities of mind-boggling dimensions on the people whose welfare they are supposed to protect. I have also seen the silent killers, the governmental equivalents of high blood pressure, arrest the hopes, and drown the dreams, of generations of their youthful citizens. Jawara belongs in the latter. Governmental crime has different formulations, but after the enervating trials of the Jawara fraud, Gambians may have no patience left to tolerate an assault on their material and spiritual heritage. May God bless The Gambia and Gambians in this hour of trial! Lamin J Darbo The University of Tennessee College of law =0 A 3700 Sutherland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 379191, U.S.A. (Tel: 615558 7034) To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask]