Sanyang, thanks for your piece. You set forth some convincing arguments. On
Saihou Sisay, I do not know what you mean when you say that he is a 'symbol
of Opposition' in the eyes of many ordinary Gambians. Please enlighten me
some more. Did Sisay belong to any of the current Opposition parties? Did
Sisay have a lot of following in the current Opposition? I still do NOT
accept that the 'defection' of the despicable and shameless Saihou Sisay
adds 'points' to the APRC. On the contrary, this just shows how desperate
APRC is. This shows that the APRC is bedfellows with the PPP regime. Worst
still, the APRC is bedfellows with the most corrupt elites of the PPP
regime. The rejects.

Like I said before, Saihou Sisay was one of the catalyst of the 1994 'coup'.
Tens of millions of dalasis were given to this man. He embezzled most of the
money and refused to repay the loan given to him. This man perhaps
single-handedly bankrupted GCDB. In any case, the more than One Hundred
Million dalasis he owed that bank could have gone a long way in salvaging
that bank and the Gambian economy at large. When AFPRC stole power from the
government, they looked at the people that owed GCDB/AMRC eased up on
certain 'friends' of the AFPRC and pounced on Saihou Sisay. Evicted him from
his house. Seized all his properties including his cars. It was a pitiful
sight to see the vermin riding in a pickup truck as opposed to his 'fancy'
cars he bought from the loan he got from GCDB. Now, seven years down the
line, for that same man to crawl before the people that tormented him and
rendered him destitute, and still expect to carry clout in the society and
'give' APRC some votes, is just mind-boggling to me. In my book, the man
lost what little respect he had when he enslaved himself to Yaya. If at all
he had voters to give to APRC, the argument can be made that the voters are
the kinds of people the Opposition does not need. In my book, the Opposition
does not need slaves and their supporters.

I CANNOT also remember when Saihou Sisay and Musu Kebba Drammeh 'delivered'
votes to their old party (PPP). So, I do not know why you and the APRC thing
that these characters have clout. Musu Kebba Drammeh lives in Latrikunda
German (part of Serrekunda West Constituency during PPP). Saihou Sisay also
lived/lives in the same constituency. If my memory serves me right, I think
this was an NCP stronghold during the Jawara regime. Gibou Jagne always won
that constituency. I think the only time he lost was when he was jailed in
the aftermath of the 1981 coup and he could not campaign. Please correct me
if I am wrong. I did not follow partisan politics thoroughly in the 70s and
the 80s. If I am right that Serrekunda West was always an NCP stronghold,
then I fail to see what clout Sisay carried when he was at his peak and what
clout he would carry now after being disgraced and unmasked as a parasite
and an opportunist.

Because I do not want to be too personal, I will leave it at that for now.
But I can tell you that I can think of numerous reasons that will make
people to NOT listen to Sisay when he tries to convince them to vote APRC.
Same goes for Musu Kebba Drammeh.

Secondly, what I referred to as GRTS/Observer propaganda HAS BEEN refuted on
the ground. UDP DID say that the people paraded before GRTS were NOT UDP
supporters. How else do you want them to refute the misinformation? Did the
alleged defectors take UDP membership cards to show to Yaya? Did the alleged
defectors bring forth evidence to show that they voted for UDP in previous
elections? There is absolutely no evidence (apart from the word of these
vermin) to show that they are 'defecting'. So if they come out and say that
they used to be UDP supporters, all UDP needs to do is say that that is not
true. It is hilarious to me when I see this gimmick repeated on national
TV/Newspapers all the time. APRC is pretending to have mass appeal by lying
that people are 'defecting' to APRC. They think this childish gimmick will
convince real Opposition supporters to join the APRC. This gimmick might
convince some on G_L, but it does not convince people on the ground. Those
people know each other. They know who was an Opposition supporter and who
was not. The closest to a 'defection' the APRC got was when that despicable
MP lied that he was leaving the UDP when in actual fact he was kicked out of
the Party. What is going on at GRTS and Observer is pure propaganda aimed at
fooling people that are ignorant of the realities on the ground. GRTS is
banking on the hope that if people in Basse are told that some Brikama UDP
supporters 'defected' to APRC, the Basse UDP supporters will also defect,
not knowing that the whole story is a gimmick. The Opposition is combating
this. They do NOT have access on GRTS to set the record straight, but every
time I read a story on Observer talking about 'defections', I also read
another story stating that the 'defections' are bogus; what we are seeing is
APRC supporters pretending to be UDP supporters. So, this vicious propaganda
and lie HAS BEEN refuted on the ground.

I agree with you that we should not 'bury our heads in the sand and hope
that the Opposition will win in October'. I can assure you that people are
WORKING day and night to ensure that the Opposition wins in October. Some of
us prefer not to parade all our contributions in the struggle on G_L. I am
sure you are also aware of the tireless efforts of the Opposition on the
ground. As we write, people are under jeopardy of criminal convictions
because they refused to allow the APRC to rig the voter registration
process. There are Opposition parties canvassing voters day and night trying
to convince them to vote for the Opposition. The work Halifa Sallah and
Sidia Jatta does for their constituents is known to everyone (inside The
Gambia and abroad). What Hamat Bah and Ousainou Darboe are doing for the
struggle is also common knowledge. People are NOT just hoping. People are
WORKING tirelessly.

I encourage you not to 'dream' on. Continue WORKING for the Opposition.
Every decent Gambian should 'abhor' Yaya and should be 'happy to see' Yaya
fail in his endeavor to annihilate our people. Do not 'close close your
eyes' when Yaya and his cohorts 'register progress' in your mind. But as an
Opposition sympathizer I think you should try and counteract that
'progress'. For instance instead of buying into the gimmick that people are
'defecting' to the APRC from UDP (progress according to you and the APRC),
don't you think you should put APRC on the spot to prove that those alleged
defectors were indeed UDP supporters? At the very least, don't you think you
should give more credence to UDP when they say that those vermin were NOT
their supporters? Again, none of us should close our eyes to APRC
'progress'. The critical issue though, is what do we do with our opened
eyes? How do we look at that 'progress' and counteract it? How do we
convince the misguided APRC supporters to leave their party or at least
desist from lying about being former UDP members? How do we convince Tombong
to do his job properly and stop spreading these lies? Does it make sense for
us to swallow APRC propaganda and throw in the towel and say that the
Opposition has already lost the election? I realize that you do not advocate
this position either. I agree that we need to look at our shortcomings in
order to make improvements. It is wrong to just look at the shortcomings and
stop at that. That is counterproductive.

Sanyang, I agree with you that we deserve the best in The Gambia. We should
eradicate ALES in our midst. As I said yesterday, I personally will NOT
settle for anybody other than Yaya. But I will accept any of our current
Opposition leaders any time to replace the criminal and moron leading our
country. I have no quarrel with your choice of a candidate or party. To
answer your question though, frankly, I have NOT yet reached a stage where I
have decided on which of the three Opposition parties or leaders I want to
support in the coming elections. I still believe we have a chance to form a
united front for the October elections. I will pledge my support to any
leader chosen by a United Opposition. I will reassess my position later when
I am of the view that a Coalition will NOT happen. I hope and pray that it
does NOT come to that.
KB



>From: Lamin Sanyang <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Who is your choice? Dampha
>Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 10:36:35 -0000
>
>Dampha, you wrote:
>>Sanyang, correct me if I am wrong, but I hope you are NOT trying to tell
>>us
>>that APRC 'scored some points' over the Opposition when the shameless
>>Saihou
>>Sisay 'defected' to the APRC from PPP (that does not exist anymore). I
>>also
>>hope that you did NOT buy into the GRTS/Observer propaganda that '600 UDP
>>followers' defected to the APRC.
>
>Yes, brother, that is exactly what i am trying to put across. Dampha,
>Saihou
>Sisay and Musu Kebba Drammeh represent in the eyes of many ordinary
>gambians
>'symbols of opposition'. By pledging their firm allegiance to jemus, they
>are taking with them some numbers badly needed by the UDP, the PDOIS, and
>the NRP. What you refer to as GRTS/Observer propaganda is yet to be refuted
>by those on the ground. My point is  NOT hanging anybody's dirty linen by
>zooming their shortcomings but refusing to give in to wishful thinking. As
>an elections' proponent sympathetic to the Opposition i choose to
>concentrate on trying to improve the weaknesses on my side of the fence
>than
>burying my head in the sand with the hope that come october we will win. I
>refuse to dream on. I abhor jemus and the aprc, i am happy to see them
>fail,
>but at the same time i refuse to close  my eyes when they register
>progress.
>And fact is they are harvesting bumper. Now, my worry is what are we doing
>wrong in the opposition that is delivering platinum on jemus' lap? Their
>latest strategy, one that is winning over electorates is cause for concern.
>Dampha we all know the aprc shortcomings, no one is ignoring their crimes.
>Reports are coming from all over; the Independent & Point newspapers,
>Ebrima
>Ceesay's sources, the recent Ebou Colley narrative all speak volumes on the
>jemus-aprc atrocities. These reports get the attention due them from
>different List members. And Dampha i must say you speak/write well for most
>of us. People like myself do not see the need to repeat the same things
>when
>you are through. On the other hand, an area we consciously avoid is 'what
>are OUR shortcomings and how can we improve?' .
>
>Dampha, can you recall the PPP congress in mansakonko when Jawara declared
>that he was going to retire? Video tapes captured all sorts of emotional
>outbursts. In some clips the Saihou Saballys were dancing 'kingho' in
>frenzy. On the ground, moaning, were the Aja Fatim Mbengas, not to mention
>the Alhagi Abou Sallahs. On their return to Banjul at Mccarthy Square, a
>more pronounced demonstration of sentiments was witnessed. 'Jawara, you
>cannot retire. Baaba Jawara, this cannot be. Nna kebba, if you leave who
>can
>take after you'. Jawara decided to stay, the disappointment of many and a
>frustration to the opposition. Among the most bitter NCP stalwarts was the
>slogan 'anybody is better than Jawara'. Jawara brought in senegalese
>soldiers to massacre us claiming he was sending a message to Kukoi Samba
>and
>anyone contemplating on a similar venture. July 22nd 1994 gave us jemus.
>The
>devil reincarnated, banned the NCP and murdered our children in broad day
>light. Reminds me of Arap Moi. According to Kenyans, Moi seldom comes after
>an opposition directly. First, he sends 'a warning'. Armed soldiers raid
>your compound. You are tied and pushed in a corner to be witness to the
>murder of your family, with the children going first. Lord of the earth and
>heavens, we will struggle, we want the best. No one is 'fantazing' that
>Sidia Jatta , Hamat Bah or Ousainou Darboe are capable of being killers. My
>slogan is 'only the best'. This does not mean that the person should be
>short of human fallibilities, not a junior jesus. But simply the best. My
>choice is the PDOIS and Sidia. Dampha, who is your choice?
>
>For the rest of the analysis i refer you to Yusupha's response. Yus, my
>brother, we are in sync on this one.
>
>Joe Sambou, thanx for the address, you will get my $20. I will be proud to
>have my name on the list.
>Minos
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________________
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