I'd very much appreciate if any member of this list can help with the
following information regarding African Center on Democracy and human rights
studies located in The Gambia.
1-Who chartered the organization
2-What is it's mandate
3-How is it funded
4-How is it staffed
5-Who is the intended recipient of it's work
I ask these questions because they are located in a country whose people for
the last six years have been beset with unprecedented creulty , subvertion of
democracy and the abrogation of the rule of law and yet the center is
gleefully accepting ill-gotten largesse from none other than Yahya Jammeh. It
is simply not true that the centre isn't aware of this government's abysmal
record on the democracy and human rights of the Gambian people. The nations
independent newspapers and politicians have catalogued each and every abuse
and the U. S State department has released what amounts to annual indictments
on these very subjects that supposedly lies at the heart of the centres
activities. Accepting personal gifts from an unreconstructed tyrant that
purports to advance the cause of the center constitutes an effective negation
of everything the center is supposed to stand for. The elation and gratitude
expressed by the Centres leaders in receiving a new Pajero sport utility and
the President's very unconvincing claim that he wasn't looking for a quid pro
quo illustrate an incestuous relationship between oppressor and advocate. The
Centre's credibility and functionality lies in it's strong advocacy which is
necessarily predicated on relying only on prescribed funding streams that are
independent and removed from the entities and people they impact. By
accepting personal gifts from Yahya, the center has in effect turned into a
compromised entity. They ought to return the vehicle and maintain the
integrity of their center by not cavorting with dictators and tyrants. If
central to their mission is the propagation of democracy and human rights in
a continent that has seen very little of both, they must begin by running
their outfit ethically and strive to bring positive change. There can be no
better example of a place in need of positive change than their home base. It
is appalling to hear one of the leaders upon receipt of the vehicle pledge to
lobby other African leaders for a similar approach to their Organization.
These people ought to park and go wherever they come from and leave the
necessary advocacy to people like Muhamedlamin Sillah who  we know actually
care about democracy and human rights.
Karamba

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------