Saiks,
Thanks for your wonderful piece, but what's the news? Yaya Jammeh has
mastered the art of telling his audience what he thinks they'd like to hear
whether in Gambia, or overseas. There is something terribly wrong with a man
who believes that the clothes he wears defines him (notice his metamorphisis
since the Arab Gold Digger came calling?.) And it's tragic that such an
immature character is the leader of a nation. The maan is, to be quite blunt
- a hypocite/tyrant/megalomaniac/ignoramus all lumped into one being. Let's
just pray and do all we can to ensure that his sinister intentions do not
come true for our country. Otherwise, god help us!!!
Saul.
>From: saiks samateh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: THE GAMBIA.THE STATE OF THE NATION
>Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 18:41:34 PDT
>
> THE GAMBIA ;THE STATE OF THE NATION
>
>Recently the president of the republic of the Gambia,Retired Colonel,Dr
>Abdul
>Aziz Jaja Jemus Junkung Jammeh gave a beautiful speech at UN general
>assembly,arguing among other things that the problem with Democracy in our
>continent is partly due to the fact that the opposition parties are not
>given
>their rightful place in national issues.This was highly applauded in this
>forum,there were those who believed that this might spell a new era in the
>political life of our nation.I am sceptical,such a sudden political about
>turn
>at the UN does not reflect the realities at home,such a speech is not
>enough
>to bring our nation to a new political era.It is a long way from New York
>to
>the Gambia !had the president made such a speech at home in parliament,to
>the
>Gambian people and appologise to Syncle Nyasse,Yussufa Cham and others who
>have been seriously tortured,unlawfully arrested and detained,I would have
>shared such optimism with my fellow brothers and sisters.If such a speech
>was
>made in the Gambia,to the Gambian people,it would not only be welcome by
>the
>opposition parties but also ordinary Gambian people who have been subjected
>to
> continues psychological warfare ,fear of been listen to,the fear that
>their
>every move being watch, not only by the NIA but also the July 22
>movement.Such
>a situation will continue to weight heavy on the human rights records of
>our
>country.I have all reasons to be sceptical,especially when I compare the
>speech of the President at the UN and that of SOS Yankuba Touray in a
>recent
>Jara APRC rally,it becomes clear to me that the speech of the president was
>made for International consumption.We could read in the Daily Observe that
>the
>SOS
>
> "...urged the people of Jarra to emulate the people of Kombo,"whose
>development priorities,"" he said,"are almost exhausted due to their
>loyalty
>to the government of the day."
>Even though the SOS is speaking as if Jarra and the Kombos are two nations
>apart,that the Kombos getting better off ,we know that the concrete
>realities
>on the ground are of another story ,but one thing is certain,this is in
>total
>contradiction with what the president said at the UN national assembly
>about
>the rightful place of the opposition in a democratic country.Here people
>are
>told that if they want to register any development in their area then they
>should be voting for the APRC and be loyal to her government.Well,when
>ordinary Gambians do pay their tax,they are not ask which political party
>they
>belong to and these tax monies are what is expected to be used for national
>development.Why then should the development of their area be link with
>their
>political loyalty.
>In deed it was heart breaking to learn how ordinary Gambians are subjected
>to
>police harassment at the Denton Bridge for not producing ID card ,it is
>said
>that when ordinary Gambians failed to do so,that is, to produce an ID
>card,they are not only detained for hours but sometimes subjected to
>humiliating act,like "Monkey Dance".A Gambian human rights lawyer insisted
>that this is unlawful and Gambians should not condone it.The SOS in
>responding
>to such a criticism,was quoted as saying that it is lawful and any body who
>failed to produce an ID Card when asked to do so could be fine or face a
>jail
>sentence.But what the SOS failed to understand is that the intention of the
>law is not that security officers are assigned by the law to stand at
>Denton
>Bridge and ask for an ID card.The intention of the law is to give security
>officers the possibility to confirm the identity of individual who might
>,for
>example be suspected of committing a crime or about to commit a crime etc
>as
>the human rights lawyer rightly indicated.You can never take a person to
>court
>only for not been able to produce an ID Card.In any serious law of court
>the
>circumstances that warranted the demand for the individual to produce an ID
>card will be the most important element in the case,I have my doubts if any
>of
>those subjected to police harassment at Denton Bridge will ever be fine or
>jail for not producing an ID card by a court of law.
>And just listen to this ;
>"Sources at the Public Health Department at the Medical and Health in
>Banjul
>have confirmed that the issuing of Gambian birth certificates has come to
>an
>abrupt halt due to financial constraints to meet the printing cost of the
>certificates."
>How can a government that is unable to provide her citizens with birth
>certificates claimed to have the right to take them to court for not
>producing
>an ID card ?Our nation is in trouble and she needs an urgent attention.The
>trouble is not only that we are in-need of drugs for our hospitals or
>papers
>to print our birth certificates but also to improve our human rights
>records.A
>journalist who was recently arrested and detained for reporting a rumour of
>a
>said shorting episode at Kanilia has this to say ;
>"They took all what I had on, from trousers, shirt, shoes, watch and ring.
>I
>was left with only my under-pants. I had to sleep on a bare floor and the
>stench of the cell was unbearable and offensive. Throughout my 28 hours
>stay I
>had only a cup of water to put in my stomach,....I was not charged with any
>offence. I think I did not deserve the maltreatment meted to me,''
>You cannot build a nation by imposing fear in the minds of the people.You
>cannot talk of democracy at international forum when in your own country
>the
>demand for it is much more greater.The president should in practise and not
>only with words show that the opposition has a role to play in national
>development.In his recent interview with the "Voice OF America",the
>president
>said that must of the opposition against his regime is coming from the USA
>and
>from people whose "Picnic" was brought to an end by the july coup.Well
>those
>who were reported to have taken part in the Washinton demonstration by a
>Gambian newspaper(weekend Obsever)are people known to this forum.Ousainou
>Mbenga and Sofie Ceesay are not people known to have entertained the PPP
>regime but have been consistent in their opposition against all forms of
>oppression and exploitation of the Gambain masses.If president Jammeh did
>not
>know this there are people closer to him who know better.Who is he
>fooling,himself ?the Gambian people ? or the international forum again ?
>We would not let our nation to be taken over by Islamic fundamentalist.We
>have
>seen how they have strengthen their position under APRC regime,any opinion
>that is different from theirs is foreign and un- Islamic.Even religious
>leaders who have the Gambia at their hearts ,who have no reason to
>entertain
>religious antagonism,have been attack and accused of been in the service of
>satan by these Islamic fundamentalist.The religious tolerance in our
>country
>should not be allow to be geopardise by these disgruntled elements whose
>ambitions,as they proclaimed is to declare the Gambia and Islamic
>state,their
>ideas are so old fashion that they should be place in a museum and it only
>there they are safe to be place.
>The number of school children who are sent home for not been able to pay
>school fees are too many.Why build more schools if they only end up been
>empty
>?
>We know how much our health sector is depending on foreign donation and
>mercy.We have enough resources to build a modern army but to take care of
>the
>health of the people must be left in the hands of foreign donations and
>goodwill.Recently we had how the government was able to lobby with the
>Cuban
>government to reduce the Salary of Cuban doctors in the Gambia,but we are
>yet
>to hear that the president and his cabinet ministers have agreed to reduce
>their salaries which is much more than what the Cubans doctors are earning
>in
>the Gambia.It will be more than great if the government decides that they
>will
>no more buy arms,they will reduce the budget of the army so as to be able
>to
>buy drugs for our hospitals and give the children a better education.
>A government that is committed to national development will always give
>examples for the rest of the nation to follow.Sacrificing for your nation
>will
>be a priority,more so in a poor country like the Gambia,but gathering
>wealth
>and privileges is no way forward for national development.
>We have a president who said he is a farmer,gathering people at his farm
>with
>all forms of entertainment is no way forward for national development.The
>problem of our nation has never been that people have not been engaging in
>farming.The president knows that more than 60 % of the Gambian population
>are
>farmers.The number of acres he is farming on will continue to be a dream
>for
>ordinary farmers in the Gambia.The first thing he should ask himself is
>that,
>how is it possible that he as the president and part time farmer has been
>able
>to farm on so big a land and have so great a harvest,is he a better farmer
>than the majority of the Gambian farmers ?the fact is that the reality of
>Gambian farmers who are not able to sell their products ,are different from
>that of the president.Had they had the same opportunity as he,then he will
>not tell us about his farm.He as the president is not a full time farmer,if
>he
>could produce better than those whose entire life depend on farming,then
>there
>must be something wrong with the system.
>It is time to save our nation,and it is our responsibility to do so,we must
>not remain indifferent to what is happening at home,we owe it to our
>children,to our belove country and to history.We must not enter the next
>century as passive onlookers."six Feet deep" must not be any excuse for
>choosing to be silence,it is our nation and we alone can make a difference
>in
>the country.
>
>For Freedom
>
>Saiks
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>____________________________________________________________________
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