Mr. Owens:
Your stand against my call for a boycott is well taken.
I believe that we as an opposition must agree in
principle to salvage our country.
Before any consultative negotiations can be taken by
the opposition, it is our responsibility as opposition
members to provide funds for our comrades. It is
disturbing that the last report by Brother Sambou only
numerated about $1,000 so far. I am shock that some
Gambians will talk, but when it comes to money issues,
they are unwilling to contribute.
I have called for an Opposition Unity Conference which I proposed
to coincide with the 4th of July activities in Atlanta.
With the trend of things, I am afraid to tell you that
this summit will not take place. We as vocal members
of the opposition need to contribute and make this
summit a success.
It is a waste of resources to take a lawyerly approach
with the enemy. OJ together with those that have filed
their cases against the dictator in court will be
disappointed by the court's ruling in The Gambia. Who
are we kidding? Those foreign judges who will jump
at any instruction of the dictator will serve a
tremendous blow to OJ and company. The dictator will
not repeal decree 89, and if he does, it will be close
to election time.
The biggest problem with the opposition is that some
leaders are bent on the big ego thing. Some of them
will talk but they will refuse to let go that supreme
ego within themselves.
I hope the leaders of the opposition are listening. I
hope they can come to the realization that personal
ambitions should be set aside for the interest of our
country.
Naphiyo,
Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh
------Original Message------
From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Sanusi=20Owens?= <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: May 2, 2001 10:56:34 AM GMT
Subject: Re: WHY I CALL FOR A BOYCOTT
Comrade Conteh
I beg to defer on this issue. Any attempt by the
opposition to boycott the October Elections would be
regarded an act of treachery to the gambian people
anxious for change.
I note your reasons for boycotting the forthcoming
elections. However, I remain of the view that they do
not warrant opposition parties to boycott any
elections.
You will remember that in October 1996, there were
rumours that UDP will boycott the parliamentary
elections, on condition that certain steps are taken
by the PIEC(IEC). Following a fruitful negotiation
between the UDP and the IEC,the UDP lifted its threat
of boycotting the elections. According to analysis the
UDP "poor" performance is a direct result of their
protracted negotiations with the PIEC(IEC). In other
words, they entered the campaign platform a bit late.
In fact it was reported that the UDP Candidate for
Serrekunda East had already started campaigning for
Halifa Sallah, believing that the UDP won't be
participating in these election.
My suggestion to the opposition is as follows;
Organise a multi-party conference and discuss the
problems they are encountering.
Submit recommendations to both IEC and the APRC on how
the elections should be conducted.
Coming to the reasons which you believe should warrant
a boycott, I beg to say that these could be addressed
separately.In fact some of these do not warrant a
boycott. I refer you to the following;
(1)I do not believe that the continued ban on Sir
Dawda and his former minister is sufficient enough.
Yes the continued ban on first Republican politicians
is unlawful, but there is an avenue which these
politicians should have taken. The likes of SM Dibba,
Assan Musa Camara and many others should have taken
their case to the law courts and not expect a Moron to
repeal Decree 89.
OJ Jallow has already taken up this issue and I pretty
sure a just decision would be delivered on his behalf.
It is without doubt that Decree 89 is contrary to the
1997 Constitution, a point already mentioned by
Justice GSB Janneh in the OJ Jallow Case.
(2) With regards to the unlawful firing of civil
servants, once again, I consider an issue unworthy for
the opposition to boycott any election. Civil Servants
who feel affected by the constant hiring and firing,
should resort to the law courts.
(3) Concerning "One man rule by dictator of
kanilai",to be honest with you, this should be a good
reason why the opposition should participate in the
elections. If not, how are we going to say Good Bye to
Yahya and his reign of terror. Remember that in the
past some opposition parties in other African
Countries have used this as a factor for their
boycott, only to see the Dictator being re-elected.
Classic examples are
Ghana in 1996-Opposition decided to boycott the
parliamentary elections.
Benin 2001-Joe Soglo decides to boycott the second
round of the Presidential Elections
Cameroon in 1997-SDP boycotts the parliamentary
elections.
The ultimate result in all these boycotts was that the
ruling party stayed in power and received recognition
from the International Community.
With all this in mind, my suggestion for the
opposition is to start making plans for pre-election
conference on how a free and fair election should be
conducted in the Gambia. I personally think to
advocate for a boycott without making proper
presentation to the relevant authorities is certainly
a disservice to the Gambian majority yearning for
change.
Come October Gambia shall be free.
Have a wonderful day
Sanusi
--- MLJ Conteh <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >
Comrades:
>
> May I begin by thanking Sister Jabou Joh and Mr.
> Edrissa
> Njie for their courage in endorsing the opposition
> to
> boycott the forthcoming presidential election in The
> Gambia? I also want to thank PDOIS for its
> courageous
> foresight in intimating its desire in boycotting
> future
> elections in The Gambia. I emphatically want to
> repeat
> my call that no single opposition party in The
> Gambia
> can claim to have the soul right to our struggle.
>
> In a more simplistic term, Gambians must understand
> the
> underlying decisions or conditions that are
> conducive
> for a free and fair elections. No opposition
> political party can ignore the plights of the
> disbanded
> politicians under Sir Dawda's legal government whose
> rights are repeatedly been violated by moron
> dictator yahya
> jemus. No genuine free thinking Gambia who claims
> to
> induce himself or herself with political rhetoric
> can
> unilaterally avenge the political plight of the
> majority
> Gambian with a self-imposed political agenda in
> freeing
> The Gambian people. Our journey in this
> far-reaching
> struggle is a testament that ignorance and
> selfishness
> will result in the opposition wondering after the
> unfaithful
> day in October of what really happened to our
> struggle.
>
> Does this mean that a new generation of Gambians
> will seek
> to salvage The Gambia in a traditional Gambian
> style? I am of I the opinion that my
> conscience and willingness
> to speak the truth will enforce me to join others
> after
> the dictator rigs the elections. I cannot
> consciously advocate for a participation
> in the elections when those innocent Gambians who so
> vehemently fought for the rights of all are
> been constantly violated. Politics should not be
> based on an ideology of vocation where individuals
> are only
> interested in their own achievements at the
> detriment of
> society. It is indeed refreshing that our attitudes
> and convictions must be yielded in a phenomenon of
> political indifference for the good of society. We
> have
> engaged in substantive dialogue for the good of The
> Gambia. We believe in one kind that the dictator of
> kaninlai is the worst thing that ever happened to
> The
> Gambia, and therefore our attitudes in summation
> must be
> sanctioned to a capacity of good will. The Gambian
> country under the dictator of kaninlai is doomed to
> fail
> and as such our collaborative efforts must be
> guiding
> principles for a better and free Gambia.
>
> For those of us who have voiced our sentiments in
> this
> struggle, we must clearly define our intended
> purpose
> and draw parallel to historical precedents in
> understanding
> our engagement with the enemy. Why rock or ride a
> broken
> car that will stall at any moment? Why subject
> yourself
> to intimidation by the enemy who continues to deny
> you
> the right to political process? Why engage in
> disunity
> and refuse to admit that our own individual
> political
> satire against each other will backfire on our face?
> Why will the opposition guaranty the dictator the
> right
> to deny us another five or six years of freedom?
> The
> opposition should know better. Please follow the
> lead
> of PDOIS and plan to boycott future elections if
> Mr. Johnson and Mr. Fatty are not reinstated.
>
> These are the following reasons why I call for a
> boycott:
>
> 1. Continued disbanding of Sir Dawda and his former
> ministers.
> 2. The unlawful firing of Bishop Johnson and Mr.
> Fatty.
> 3. The murder of innocent Gambian students.
> 4. Dictator yahya jammeh's continued donation of
> public
> funds to social organizations without
> appropriation.
> 5. Continued one man rule by the dictator of
> kaninlai.
> 6. The buying of votes in the last bi-elections in
> Central Badibou and Kiang East constituencies.
> 7. The control of the media by the illegal
> government.
> 8. The unlawful imprisonment of Mr. Dumo Saho et al.
> 9. The unlawful firing of The Gambian civil
> servants.
> 10.The use of local chieves as propaganda tools
> against
> our comrades.
> 11.The establishment of the NIA aka KGB and
> continued
> harassment of our comrades.
> 12.The innocent rape and killing of a Gambian school
> girl.
> 13.The torture and butcher of Mr. Ebrima Barry.
> 14.The recent law passed by the house that is
> retroactive
> in protecting the security forces.
>
> Comrades, I am certain that numerous violations and
> illegal
> activities by the illegal government of the day will
> serve as reasons that dictator yahya jemus will use
> all
> costs to continue his terror against innocent
> Gambians.
>
> I want to reiterate that if the opposition
> participates
> in the presidential election, I will continue to pay
> my contribution to help in unseating the dictator
> despite
> the fact that I strongly advocate a boycott.
>
> Naphiyo,
>
> Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh
>
>
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