Gassa, Gassa, Gassa, where art thou?  I have warned you over an over to
research your stats, regardless of whom you obtained them from before you
come here peddling garbage.  You were throwing confetti in celebration with
the padded stats of Habib Drammeh about the coming tourist season.  Now we
have a 30% - 40% difference between fiction and reality that you or Drammeh
should help Gambians with.  The reality thus far points on the side of
Sarge, a 15% - 20% reality decline from last year, which was a burst by any
stretch.  I guess Yaya is pissed off with Drammeh and have him suspended
because this bad news means less money for Yaya to steal now that Allah's
bank (Gambian taxes and debt) has dried up.  This is more an endictment of
Yaya than Drammeh.  However, when Gambians made it their business to
entertain a village idiot then our purse is ripe for the pickins, and we are
being picked clean - not even our bones will stop the vulturing.  Gambians
cannot continue to be in denial or pretend that things are ok because we are
afraid.  We cannot also lull ourselves to willful ignorance of the impact of
Yaya and his gang's thievery and murders.

Yaya read the tea leaves of current events and is trying to weasel his way
out of our gaze by jettisoning the expendable in hope that Gambians are
going to be bamboozled.  No, no, and absolutely no.  You see he's beginning
to realize that there is no place one can hide with crimes against humanity
and theft of a nations resources looming.  He saw what Charles Taylor is
about to face.  His Uncle in Libya has pulled up the white flag in surrender
- oil money can go so far and he realized he cannot bribe the whole world.
He saw Foday Sanko, his friend, die in jail.  His mentor Rawlins is
beginning to feel the grip of Ghanaians.  Uncle Abacha's loot is being
frozen, defrosted and handed back to Nigeria, albeit, only to be stolen, yet
again, by mice galore.  Moi, is being investigated for the billions of $s
uncovered in off shore accounts.  The lunatic of Bissau, his friend Kumba,
is kicked out.  So, it's a good day for the oppressed and Gambians are going
to recover every butut where ever he chooses to hide himself and our money
and we are going to prosecute him.  No TRC please.  There was no TRC for the
Germans, Milosevic, Chuchesku (spelling may be off), the Taliban, Saddam,
etc.  So, why then in Africa?  The world figured we are emotional and can't
reasonably handle justice, so they suggested we sing, cry, and then forget
the crimes of the beasts among us.  We are one set of Africans that will
call for the right justice - prosecution.  We survived slavery and so, we
know how to move on.  Justice will be done and seen to be done on any that
violate our national conscience.  Where are the skeptics against Bissau?

Yaya can run all he wants, yet he's just a phone call away and a few memos
to be brought to justice.  Gambians, please stay focused and don't be
excited by this clown parade called "Operation No Compromise".  Who among
Gambians owns an aircraft? a zoo? stole more than $500,000,000,000 in crude
oil I and II? diverted millions of $s to off shore secret bank accounts? who
was running guns with Babba Jobe? Who colluded with Charles Taylor to sell
"Blood Diamonds" from Sierra Leone?  Who has murdered more Gambians since
Phoday Kabba?  Remember, the staged coups, the student massacres, Korro
Ceesay, Phoday Makalo, etc.  Where are the majority of his fellow coupists?
All murdered.  All these things and many more has one name attached to it,
Yaya Jammeh.  So, why should we be excited that Baba, Soma, Yanks, and
others are being arrested or given a taste of their own AFPRC medicine?  All
of them combined and then some is peanuts compared to the damage done by
Yaya.  My people, let us stop being afraid.  History and current world
events have shown that even the most brutal and corrupt dictators are just a
people pressure away from being brought to their knees.  So, please
disregard this fraud act called "Operation Fool the People".  We have our
eyes on the prize - a regime change and a system change.  We need both for a
better Gambia for all.  Please read on.

Sarge: 20% decline in tourist arrival
By Sunkary Danjo
Dec 20, 2003, 13:54

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Ardy Sarge, the chairman of the Gambia Hotel Association, has disclosed that
the tourism industry is experiencing a shortfall in arrivals, representing a
15 to 20 per cent drop compared to last year.
However, he was quick to add that the comparative lower volume of tourists
this year, is not peculiar to The Gambia but a global phenomenon.

Mr Sarge, who is also the managing director of Bungalow Beach Hotel,
recalled that most hotels in the country were fully booked this time last
year in contrast to the current season where many hotels have vacant rooms.
He cited BB Hotel, Kombo Beach, Senegambia, Kololi and other hotels. “The
prospect of the current tourist season,” he said, “is not satisfactory world
wide. Tour operators have reported a major decline between 15 to 20 per cent
in booking.”

But the veteran hotelier said all is not gloom as the current season “has
brought some positive developments” in the industry, notably the return of
Neckermann, now part of the Thomas Cook group. “This is one of the biggest
tour operators in Europe. Their return can be seen as a vote of confidence
in our services.
As a destination, we must do everything possible not to lose this
confidence,” he said.
He revealed that the return of Drago air carrier from Las Palmas is also a
positive sign as it opens a possibility of getting back into the Spanish
market. He added that in the Belgian market, Thomas Cook cancelled its
combined Dakar/Banjul charter and now uses SN Brussels.

Mr Sarge said the biggest source market of tourists for The Gambia,
continues to be the United Kingdom.
However, in what appears to be conflicting reports, the director-general of
the Gambia Tourism Authority, Habib Drammeh, currently on suspension, told
this newspaper a few weeks ago that some 95,000 tourists are expected to
visit The Gambia this season, representing a 15 per cent increase in the
number of tourist arrivals over last year.

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