Dear "ebou colley"

Thank you for the  offer to further discuss my views on some of the choice of
words in your last post which I thought were inapropriate and inconsistent
with the impression I have of you as someone who is sincere in their effort
to expose this regime, and which I think is representative of your love and
caring for Gambia and Gambians, each and everyone of them.

I am also glad that despite all the venom that was spewed out, alledging that
it was a sense of desire to destoy your character etc that was the motivating
factor behind my comments, you have recognized that this was far from my
intention. There is no sense in that, and I am still surprised at those
allegations from individuals I always believed were capable of deciphering
fact from fiction.

While others may have called you a liar etc, there is no doubt that I have
always recognized your accounts of what  transpired inside the Jammeh camp as
one of the most valuable accounts the Gambian people are privy to, and one
that will serve as a most valuable source of information when the time comes
for these thugs to pay  the price for what they are doing to our country. I
think it is clear that I have always encouraged you to continue with your
story despite all the attempts that surface on the list  from time to time to
disrupt or discourage your relaying of these accounts.

People have to recognize that even the most savvy of law enforcement in the
World considers information from an insider in any organization as the most
valuable when they are conducting any sort of investigation into their
affairs.

This is why law enforcement agencies bother to infiltrate organizations they
are investigating by planting an agent in their midst, or they grant immunity
to an insider in the organization because they can tell them many things they
would otherwise never have found out.

Therefore, i have always been surprised that this simple fact seems to be
lost to many on the list that do indeed attack your character. I remember
once supporting a statement made by Elhadj Mustafa Fye, to the effect that we
must remember the valuable contribution that former insiders in the Jammeh
camp can provide, and therefore, think about granting them immunity from
future prosecution. This arose out of discussions when Ebou Jallow was active
on the list.
Well, needless to say, that idea was not very popular, and I think the
situation was worsened by Ebou Jallow's refusal to tell his story, and
infact, I think I rescended my support of the idea in his case because of his
attitude at teh time.

ebou, we are a society where we have always been taught that the truth is a
valuable commodity, and I believe that if all of us practice this philosophy,
then we will contribute greatly towards our betterment as a people. I also
believe that honesty with each other is another most valuable commodity, and
no matter in how high an esteem we hold somebody, we must always remember
that the best thing we can do for each other is to point out what we see as
wrongs committed by the other person.
In recognition of this necessity for the truth, and for justice to prevail, I
also hold the position that any allegations made by Gambians against anyone
in this or the former regime must be investigated, and those accused must
have the chance to defend themselves. This is no attempt to attack anyone
personally as alleged in the case of Mr Chongan. it is simply a universal
truth.

At any rate, I hope that anyone who has followed my contributions to this
list can at least decipher an inkling of sincerity in my convictions, and in
the fact that i do not find it necessary to personally attack anyone
senselessly.

My personal views, my background and my religious conviction does not allow
me to classify anyone as insignificant.
From the position you have taken, I have always considered you very much an
officer and a gentleman. To me, this also tells me that you do not dismiss
anyone as insignificant, and thus, your choice of words were a surprise and a
dissappointment and I thought my criticism of them would be recognized as
such, and that perhaps, you will recognize that words do indeed carry a lot
of weight.

Also, in my recognition of you as an officer and a gentleman, i hope that you
will not let some of the commentary on your character discourage you from
telling the very important  story of the atorcities of this regime. You owe
that both to yourself and to the Gambian people.

Again, thank you  and we will correspond in private as offered.

Jabou Joh

In a message dated 7/22/2001 11:28:05 PM Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:


> It was rather unfortunate that my last piece was
> perceived by some people, I sincerely respect, as
> rather offensive to them. Certainly, I did not mean to
> hurt anybody as such especially those I consider very
> helpful to the struggle bring down the Yaya leadership
> down.
> Anyway I think the issues raised emanated more from
> ordinary misunderstanding than otherwise. So for the
> good ones like Joe Sambou and Sister Jabou Joh, I
> would not mind resolving the matter privately, since
> my time is very limited for anything else outside my
> program of work.
> I was however pleased that some other readers who
> seemed to have understood the premise of my discourse
> better dealt with some of the issues raised.
> You see, it may be hard to explain but looking at
> things from a realistic vantage, one would perhaps be
> more understanding to my position. For months now I
> have been trying alone to explain with all sincerity
> the events, particularly the ordeal we went through as
> soldiers during the 1994 coup. And despite the fact
> that everything I stated so far was the truth and the
> truth only, I have been insulted, doubted, called a
> story teller, a soap opera producer, a bigot and all
> what not by some readers who don't have a clue about
> what transpired.  Others have even classified me as a
> mere loser enraged by the power and luxuries I lost in
>

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