Ebou:

To say that I am disappointed by your email of last night would be putting it
lightly and thus a gross understatement.

Your reckless use of terms like 'anachronistic' in an attempt to downplay
Jammeh and the APRC's less than upstanding past record is baffling,
bewildering and downright insulting to the intelligence of sincere members of
this list.  This, to put it lightly.

Reading your email makes one wonder if you really are a sincere person, or
whether you actually understand the true meanings of some of the words you
used in your piece?  Maybe we can give you the benefit of the doubt and
instead of calling you part and parcel of the daylight robbery of millions of
Dollars from the coffers of a Third World country such as the Gambia, we can
say with a great amount of certainty that you are a direct witness to the
current regime's corruption.

The Swiss Bank/Taiwan fiasco has been widely documented and it is one of many
issues which shall be addressed the day - Inshallah - Jammeh is dragged to
court for his crimes against the people of the Gambia and I hope -- despite
your belief that he is an enigmatic international figure who should be
reckoned with -- you shall do the right thing then and testify on behalf of
the people of our country.  It is the best thing you can do when one
considers the shady circumstances surrounding your involvement in that
particular crime.  And I hope that when this happens, you revise your
position of present, i.e., that their crimes and conduct of yesterday have
become incongrous with the present.

Now, to the topic at hand; your belief that we cannot negotiate with the
current regime is -- in my estimation -- borne out of a misunderstanding of
the word 'negotiate' as well as a lack of a thorough understanding of the
significance of this wonderful online community (Gambia-L) to the way Gambian
political reality is perceived by the rest of the World.

The last time I checked the dictionary one of the definitions of the word
'negotiate' is as follows:

"to arrange for or bring about through conference, discussion, and compromise
<~ a treaty"

Correct me if I am wrong, but this means a hypothetical situation where we
decide through some intermediary to pursue the olive branch avenue and put
forth a list of concerns and possible solutions to, say, the long time
incarceration of Dumo Saho and Co without due process can surely be
considered a form of negotiation between the Gambia-L and Jammeh.  This
because we would like to see a particular outcome to our concerns about that
issue.  However, you seem to think that there is nothing binding the current
regime to negotiate with us, but I am afraid to say that you are dead wrong
here again perhaps because you do not fully understand the present, prior and
future significance of the intellectual haven we have here.

If this place had been some other measly LISTSERV on the world wide web with
no significant or serious impact on the Gambian political scene, the olive
branch gesture would never have been received from extended to us.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that -- though we might not have enough clout
to swing the elections in favor of the Opposition - this gesture does show
that we are a force to be reckoned with as it relates to the way many folks
perceive event back home.

This notwithstanding some of the great things that have directly or
indirectly been created and set forth via the Gambia-L; petitions about the
current situation back home to anyone who will listen, movements in NY and
London, organized demonstrations against the current regime, philanthropic
groups which have contributed to causes back home, magazines and website with
the clear intent of informing anyone who wants to learn about our country
about events there, etc., etc.  We have also been told about Gambians on the
ground who travel many miles just to read the list.  The significance of the
list on the up and coming conscious youth should not be discounted either.
Obviously, you underestimate the power of the tool we have here but it is
almost certain Jammeh does not.  Otherwise, an olive branch would not have
been extended to us.

The crux of your argument is that we forget all the misdeeds this regime has
committed in the past, accept Jammeh as the legitimate president when amid
potential electoral malpractice's 48% of the voters supported the Opposition.
 Forgive me, but it is extremely hard to take anyone with these views
seriously.  After all, even those of us who support accepting the olive
branch are neither delusional or hypocritical when it concerns the truth.
Any honest and truthful Gambian does know the score.

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