Mr Sidibeh,
                 Thank you very much for a very well written retrospective. I
am especially impressed with your sequencing of events and your perspective
of an organization you seem to demonstrably understand and care about. While
ideologically I am on the opposite side of the spectrum relative to Moja , I
believe your absence from the body politik from the time of your inception
has diminished our overall democratic experience.Gambia like any society
looking to positively forge ahead has to have it's full compliment of ideas
and participants actively involved in the crucial business of improving our
society and the lives it's people. I was also struck by the very candid
reasons you advance for the current near comatose state of Moja. You
justifiably apportioned significant blame on the Jawara regimes
heavy-handedness and also lethargic leadership from within MOJA. In a strange
way, both of these reasons point  to what I call a destructive propensity for
self preservation deeply embedded in the Gambian psyche. Sending field forces
to arrest seemingly innocent people espousing new and different ideas was the
flawed response of a regime that was much more interested in preserving
itself than fairly contesting ideas. Similarly the expedient judgment of some
of your colleagues to jump into Yahya Jammeh's bandwagon under the spurious
pretext that it was a credible revolution point to the same selfish streak
lurking in the hearts of many a Gambian.There is simply nothing some people
would not do to meet selfish ends. In the process good people and good ideas
become casualties.
    I did find two phrases troubling. You said MOJA did not support the Kukoi
coup  but it's members went ahead and armed themselvesf to defend the country
from invading Senegalese soldiers sustaining casualties in the process. I can
understand on grounds of nationalism for Moja to characterise the Senegalese
as invaders and thus the need to attempt a defense. What troubles me is the
fact  that you attribute none of the   violence that was precitipated by
looting and the general breakdown of law and order to Kukoi and the coupists.
I do not think Kukoi would  strike you as being a responsible revolutionary
whose rhetoric or methods was a prelude to anything but anarchy. Similarly
you stated that Moja opposed the Jammeh coup in principle but decided to
offer critical support.Since you did  not elaborate on what that means , I'd
like to ask for a clarification.Did you mean you supported the coup just as a
tansitionary episode? Do you still support the APRC regime?
 I look forward to your response
Thanks
Karamba

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To 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]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>