I must again apologise for the long time it has taken me to answer some of
the issues you’ve raised.
You wrote:
“Jungle Sunset,
Many have insulted you on this forum but you cannot claim that all the
comments you forward upon everyone is received with joy. Whatever our
political stance we share a country whose peace and growth is hopefully on
all our minds. In many of our contributions it seems each of us is trying to
contribute in the way they know how. What surprises me about you is your
intellectual polarity. Unfortunately it is very common among Yahya's
supporters in general especially those who had some formal education of some
sorts. Doesn't it seem clear to people like you that it is principle that in
fact account for peace and development we aspire”?

Kalilu, for meaningful change for the better to take place in our country,
we need to share a common vision, understand that vision and aspire to make
that vision a reality by putting in place those structures that would be
necessary. However, my observations on the L seem to point to, in most cases
at least, to a general rule that seem to provide only a very narrow spectrum
outside of which it is taboo to talk about. It is totally unacceptable to me
for anyone to try to impose his/her will on people no matter how well
intentioned it is. This, in my book, is called a dictatorship. Equally, I
don’t believe that two wrongs can equate a right in any sense of the word.
As such, we Gambians, must look inward our selves, cultures, upbringing,
present day realities and honestly ask ourselves which of the many
tasks/difficulties that we can realistically solve to the satisfaction of
the majority of our peoples. By satisfaction here, I mean a solution that
the majority fully understand as a realistic and perhaps the best position
available to us at the material time.

You also wrote:
“Based on principles of human equality how can you possibly justify the
seizure of power by a stubborn few and ruling the many by force. You
advocate peace and peaceful means of change but you turn your eyes from
Yahya’s method of rising to power by force. Why is he an exceptional? You
must know that people in the west are fighting for animal rights why are
individual human rights of your brothers and sisters not an enough issue for
people like you to denounce Yahya’s regime. Did you ever think that
seriously any opposition had a chance to offset a regime that came to power
by force? Now it’s not only the sweet fruits you maybe able to consume today
but should we not consider the seeds we are sowing in the process. Don’t you
think that the way of the jungle is in its rise to power--- to use your own
phrase”?

I have never defended the above view of yours and I don’t know what ever
gave you that impression. If you say that I hardly get involved in
discussions concerning so-called human rights violations, I will not deny
that. This is because whereas the issues of human rights, as many have
pointed out to me, are very important in ushering in a better Gambia, it is
not the be all and end all of our woes as far as I am concerned. To me, the
individual cases are far less important to me than the many other issues
that affect us. Some of these, unless they are solved, pose a far more
serious danger to the peaceful co-existence that we now enjoy and pride
ourselves in than anything else. The late Israeli General and leader, Moshe
Dayan once said, “if you want peace you talk to your enemy and not your
friend”. If people decide to be martyrs, murderers or torturers that is
their business. I personally believe in dialogue and the frank exchange of
ideas and not the arrogant view, held by some, that whatever you perceive to
be wrong must be confronted and changed regardless of whatever the
consequences are going to be. Change is a very complex thing and as such
must be managed carefully by taking into consideration other, less obvious
but equally important, issues. Confrontation only breeds disaster. In an
interview this weekend President Olusego Obasanjo, in an answer to a CNN
correspondent about the recent massacre of civilians by the Nigerian army,
said this "Soldiers are not trained to maim, they are trained to kill".
These are very chilling words but are unfortunately true especially with
African armies. It is therefore prudent to deal with them very carefully and
not to confront them unless abosolutely neccessary. I will therefore end by
quoting the following "Pride is a dangerous associate and a thinking man
should be aware of it, for it can lead him to risks and troubles he would
not otherwise endure".

Have a good day, Gassa.





>From: kalilu camara <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Our Time Has Just Arrived.
>Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 15:18:12 +0000
>


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

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

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]

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