GAMBIA-L Archives

The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List

GAMBIA-L@LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show HTML Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:57:11 -0500
Content-Type:
multipart/alternative
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (13 kB) , text/html (16 kB)


[Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:42:52 +0000 From: dabanani Subject: Re: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)To: GAMBIA-L











Haruna

I was minded to invite you to a duel at my old haunt - the King Center in Atlanta - for accusing me of being a "bit hard" on Fatty and his GMC. A friend reminded me of the inappropriateness of a non-violent Centre as the venue for a violent sport mainly played by idle nobility obsessed with a sense of honour that was mainly absent in their individual constitutions. You owe the brother for coming to your rescue!] JDAM.

 

The friend must be mutual and I applaud you for heeding his advice as you arrived at your own considerate explanation above. I knew you could be funny and I take your challenges in the spirit that you merely wish to appeal to higher senses of virtue. That notwithstanding, the demarche of other individuals and or political parties to whom you share no affinity, express or otherwise, deserve equal poids in considerations. No pun intended. I encourage further reflection as to your premier reaction to the Congress Party and Mai Fatty's person.

 

[But seriously, considering you are a highly nuanced communicator, you came across as somewhat unfair in assessing my reaction to Fatty's piece.] JDAM.

 

JDAM, trust me I agonied over assessing your culprit reaction. I came to the conclusion you were unfair to the Congress Party and Mai's person. I remain unconvinced, nuanced communicator or not, that you were the least reasonable. I encourage you to reconsider. You will remember that you have affinity for PDOIS and you are a respected member of our Gambian and other communities.

 

[I stayed within Fatty's "speech", and considered nothing extraneous to what he said.] JDAM.

 

I understood. I could sense efforts to remain within those confines. Therefore I stayed within the confines of your express reaction. JDAM, the calculus/fear that enticed you to invoke hustler in matters Gambian is what was extraordinary in my view. That was outside the confines of anything Mai's "speech" as you put it (again), evoked. I encourage reconsideration.

 

[In any case, I am happy for Fatty's GMC to respond to the concerns I raised. I take the view that those who intend to be our leaders must exhibit a willingness to directly communicate with those of us interested in their views. There are no better venues than the L, and The Post.] JDAM.

 

I agree. The choice of venue is the purview of the aspirant. JDAM, I don't want you to be unnecessarily disappointed should PDOIS, UDP, NRP, APRC, The COngress Party, or GPDP, choose other venue. You set yourself up for gratuitous disdain. And that is not your yearning.

 

[In any case, I was fair in admitting that if the glaring issues of accuracy can be regarded as trivial, "the overall message of the GMC as articulated by Fatty positively appeals". How did you fail to spot this observation?] JDAM.

 

I did not miss that lattitude you were so generous in sharing. And I did not miss your overall intent. So I did not bear on those one way or the other. I merely think your caution was extremely shared and is without merit in so far as the Congress Party Chairman's speech was concerned. I encourage your reconsideration and absent that, I will personally reserve a social circle at the King center. I will accept no amount of nuanced communicating outta this. And I would encourage you to jet any defense of ambiguity in the 97 constitution as it applies to citizens of Gambia. You afford it undeserved secours. The conflicts and lethargy of that constitution and her current custodians is exactly why you admire PDOIS, and is necessarily why we have a new party, the Congress Party. Notate Bene. You are in a particularly honourable position and you risk misleading/confusing a lot of folk who are hungry for salvation and knowledge.    

 

BTW, have you figured out if Bamako and any of her precursor governments DISCRIMINATE against your Tuaregs yet. That was an incendiary charge JDAM, especially coming from you. I think I understand your intent to be advised caution and further encouragement, albeit strange considering ambiance, for Bamako to stay true north in this regard. Oh and another thing: The Rule of Law is a bedrock principle in Democracy. Democracy provides the requisite endroit for the rule of law to manifest. Without democracy, the rule of law could be the rule of Jungle law. And that is what obtains in Gambia and some other places where the Tuaregs and other tribes find themselves in. I am confident you appreciate that. Precedence therefore from other jurisdiction must be consulted with temperance and consideration. Yesterday was the birthday of two of my children so I took considered respite from here. That is why I didn't come a'swangin' at you. Haruna. 

 

  

 

 

 

--- On Thu, 29/1/09, Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>Subject: Re: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)To: [log in to unmask]: Thursday, 29 January, 2009, 9:01 PM





JDAM, I took the opportunity to read Mr. Fatty's maiden speech for The Gambia Moral Congress. It is an inspiring speech and they deserve both our scrutiny and support just as the other political parties do. One thing though; I noticed the party was referred to as The Gambia National Congress once but introduced as The Gambia Moral COngress. That might have been an error but I think the party should adopt The Gambia National Congress as name, instead of The Gambia Moral Congress. I urge consideration of that by the party and I am confident the reason will become apparent to them. As regards your reaction to the party and or Mr. Fatty, I think you were a bit hard on them. I understand the need for scrutiny of anything, much less a political party, but invoking hustler is extreme. I encourage you to reconsider that fear. Scrutinize nonetheless. I add that we scrutinize not only all new parties, but all other existing parties (UDP, NRP, PDOIS, PPP, APRC, GPDP), and on an ongoing basis, if the gravity of Gambia's circumstance is the worry.  I am confident Mr. Fatty and the Congress are fully aware of the provisions of the 97 constitution as it relates to Mr. Fatty's candidature and it was not readily apparent to me if the chairman of the party is or will be the party's candidate for president.With these in mind, I encourage those who wish to, to lend support to the Congress Party. There is no singular domain for integrity in so far as humans are concerned. I encourage you to embrace the Congress with a discerning mind but fair nonetheless.Haruna.



Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:05:29 +0000From: [log in to unmask]: Re: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)To: [log in to unmask]

















YJ

 

It appears The Gambia Echo has an exclusive on what is dubbed "The Maiden Speech of the National Executive Chairman" of the GMC. I am unsure if the caption is that of  Chairman Fatty,  or if it was The Echo's way of introducing the piece. I encourage you to read the piece in full as it deals - though not in any detail - with Fatty's "stance on unity, human rights, education and the lot more".

 

I agree with your "theme for the next presidential election", i.e., to "support the best candidate that will uproot Jammeh and restore hope and confidence (good governance) to Gambians and their friends". If it is possible for Fatty to contest the next presidential election, that would be fantastic news for Gambians in the sense that The 1997 Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia would have ceased to be the supreme law of our country. Stated differently, and contended for strictly in the ordinary run of events, Fatty is unqualified to contest the 2011 presidential elections as a candidate. Is Fatty aware of the Constitutional limitation to his ambitions? I would suppose so!

 

Under Section 62 (c)  of the Constitution, a Person must have "been ordinarily resident in The Gambia for the five years immediately preceding the election" to be "qualified for election" to the office of President. Fatty had been continuously absent from The Gambia for at least the past twelve months, and clearly failed the Constitutional test. I must concede that it is possible for him to contest the 2011 elections, but for this to materialise, Jammeh must have been out of power, and the Constitution abrogated, or at least suspended. Is this a realistic scenario? Considering the uncertainty underlying our political condition, it is not inconceivable for the 2011 presidential elections to take place without Jammeh's participation. 

 

What troubled me about Fatty's piece is whether it was a speech, as captioned in The Echo, or simply a written articulation of his vision for a Gambia under a GMC government. If it was a speech, where was it delivered, and who was in the audience? Why were the other Movement/Party leaders not introduced to the audience at this important first meeting? This is important because Fatty's refers to "other leaders", without mentioning any names. 

 

If the piece was a written articulation of Fatty's vision, where did he "issue" it, and again, who were the other members of the leadership? He was in Senegal. and there is credible information that he now lives in the United Kingdom. Why did Fatty not inform his intended audience, i.e., those of us now reading this material, and for whom it is supposedly intended, as to his location? I certainly appreciate no confidentiality about the location of an individual who is in no objective immediate danger of his physical security.

 

Another matter that Fatty touches on was his "life threatening injuries". The importance of those injuries lies in their cause, and we should not be left speculating on the matter. As reported in some media, Fatty's injuries were as a result of an assassination attempt in The Gambia. Others take the view that those "life threatening injuries" were attributable to an innocent, if terrible accident. Fatty danced delicately around the issue, leaving us none the wiser as to the facts, even as he himself understood them. 

 

A yet more intriguing aspect of Fatty's piece is the issue of why he conveyed the impression that it was delivered, or "issued", in The Gambia. At the beginning of his piece, he stated that he was not in The Gambia. However, in express terms, Fatty specifically claimed to be in The Gambia, as exemplified by the following statement. "This we DECLARE for and on behalf of generations of Gambians here at home and around the world". In yet another section of the piece touching on those Gambians who left the country as refugees, Fatty states that they "shall once again, reunite with your families, loved ones and friends here back home, in dignity, freedom and prosperity". For someone currently outside The Gambia, why are such misleading statements necessary?

 

If the foregoing observations trigger no concerns, the overall message of the GMC as articulated by Fatty positively appeals. For me though, the concerns are overwhelming, and I intend to approach the GMC with absolute caution. The struggle against Jammeh's  dictatorship is too critical for one Gambian to utilise as an avenue to hustle on other Gambians. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LJDarbo

 

 

  

 

     --- On Wed, 28/1/09, Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]>Subject: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)To: [log in to unmask]: Wednesday, 28 January, 2009, 11:31 PM

http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/lawyer-mai-fatty-forms-political-partyFor a start, I congratulate him for initiating a political party. This, by far is a step in the right direction. I only hope he will represent the plight of the ordinary people. I honestly look forward to his full agenda disclosures, i.e. to say his stance on unity, human rights, education and the lot more. The theme for the next presidential election should be: Support the best candidate that will uproot Jammeh and restore hope and confidence (good governance) to Gambians and their friends. To add, this is coming at a time when most Gambians are looking for a change and direction.What say others on this?Regards,yj-- yjThere is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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] �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 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] ����������������������������������������������������������

ATOM RSS1 RSS2