Mr. Touray:
I have just completed reading your open letter to His Excellency the
President of the republic of the Gambia Alhagie Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh. It
really contains interesting topics or issues in it. Although The body of the
letter sounds a little bit like an agressive command, instead of an
invitation form of a request as stated in its first sentence. Anyway that my
personal view.

This is the main reason of my email. As I learned in one of my management
class that" Negotiation tend to be more effective when done physically" I
mean face to face. Therefore I suggest you make a special trip to the gambia
to talk to the president (tete a tete)about this particular issue. Again
that's an opinion from my side. As you mentioned in your letter that this
forum is for people to give out their own opinions. Well that's an opinion
from my side and please it's not a challege. Have a bless Friday and
almighty "Allah" Bless The Gambia.

Badjie-Bassen.


>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Open letter to His Excellency the President,
>Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh
>Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 11:01:46 EST
>
>Very well said Katim. Now, the ball is in their court. This certainly
>provides a chance to set up a forum for discussion, cooperation and
>harnessing the potential of the internet to help our nation move forward.
>If
>our governent is truely interested in moving us forward as a nation, and
>with
>the cooperation of all of Gambia's citizens which is absolutely essential
>for
>any government to succeed, then they will rise to the challenge and
>invitation.
>
>Jabou Joh
>
>
>In a message dated 11/18/99 9:59:31 PM Central Standard Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>  Hi folks,
>
>  Following is my Open letter to His Excellency the President, Yahya A.J.J.
>  Jammeh.  I wrote the letter in a bid to set the record straight about
>what
>  Gambia-L is all about (at least from my perspective) and to invite
>President
>  Jammeh to join and help us make Gambia-L and the Internet even more
>beneficial
>  to The Gambia.  It is my hope that the letter will, together with current
>  efforts on Gambia-L, help move us along a path of cooperation, mutual
>respect,
>  and a long-lasting, healthy debate.
>
>  I faxed the letter to the State House this evening (Thurs., Nov. 18), and
>sent
>  copies to The Point, and The Independent newspapers.  For some reason,
>the
>fax
>  number for The Daily Observer was not working, so I could not send them a
>copy.
>   I will be sending seperate e-mail versions of this to both Foroyaa and
>Tombong
>  Saidy (of GRTS) instead of faxing them their copies.
>
>
>  I haven't had time to read all postings that we've received on Gambia-L
>in
>the
>
>
>  Katim
>
>  ------------- Start of Open letter to President Jammeh
>--------------------
>  Nov. 17, 1999
>
>  His Excellency the President, Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh
>  State House
>  Banjul
>  The Gambia
>
>  Mr. President,
>
>  AN INVITATION TO HELP INCREASE THE BENEFITS OF GAMBIA-L AND THE INTERNET
>TO
>THE
>  GAMBIA:
>
>  I am writing to invite you to help increase the benefits of Gambia-L, and
>the
>  Internet to The Gambia.
>
>  Gambia-L is an electronic discussion forum (sometimes called a mailing
>list)
>on
>  the Internet created in January 1996 for discussing issues related to The
>  Gambia.  It is presently hosted, for free and along with many others, on
>a
>  computer at St. John's University in New York, NY, USA.  Electronic mail
>  (e-mail) sent by a subscriber to Gambia-L is automatically distributed to
>other
>  subscribers who can, in turn, distribute their replies to that message by
>  sending them to the list.  This way, the almost 600 Gambia-L subscribers
>from
>  all corners of the world in effect have online discussions, and exchange
>  information on various issues of concern to them.
>
>  Discussions and announcements on Gambia-L cover a variety of topics
>ranging
>  from job and business opportunities, marriages, obituaries, and
>activities in
>  Gambian communities around the world.  As you can expect, discussions
>have
>also
>  dealt with current and topical issues about The Gambia, and the whole
>world.
>  For this reason, many opinions have been expressed about you and your
>  government on Gambia-L, and the debate continues round the clock, and
>every
>  day.
>
>  Not all of the postings on Gambia-L flatter you or your government.  In
>the
>  eyes of some people, Gambia-L is nothing but a forum for what they call
>  "anti-Jammeh people."  I have received suggestions that I for one created
>  Gambia-L because I oppose your government.  While I do not agree with
>some of
>  your policies, I did not help start Gambia-L to provide a forum for your
>  critics. Gambia-L is in fact a result of my efforts that started as far
>back
>as
>  1993 seeking help setting up a mailing list to discuss Gambian issues,
>and
>  assistance in connecting The Gambia to the Internet.  My interest in
>seeing
>The
>  Gambia take her rightful place in the global Internet community also
>prompted
>  me to write a two-part article about the Internet that I made available,
>for
>  free, to "The Daily Observer" newspaper in The Gambia.  The article was
>  published around April 1994, well before most people had even HEARD of
>the
>  Internet, and certainly before you came to power.
>
>  Following your overthrow of the Jawara government, I started using one of
>my
>  e-mail accounts in early in August 1994 to discuss developments in The
>Gambia
>  with few of my friends.  This system was semi-automated, but the number
>of
>  people participating in the discussions continued to grow.  We were
>finally
>  able, in January 1996, to find a more convenient host for the list at the
>  University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Washington, USA.  We named the
>list
>  Gambia-L, and still kept it's objective as a forum for the discussion of
>The
>  Gambia and related issues.
>
>  UW hosted Gambia-L until last May when we were forced to find a new host.
>The
>  reason we needed a new host for Gambia-L was that a number of Gambian
>  subscribers to the list started threatening a Gambian employee of UW who
>  sponsored the list there.  Those who threatened the Gambia-L sponsor did
>so
>  because they were dissatisfied with discussions on Gambia-L, especially
>the
>  many postings on the list that were critical of you and your government.
>
>  Fortunately, I was able to get St. John's University to agree to host
>Gambia-L,
>  and we successfully migrated the list to its new host without serious
>  interruptions in service.  The move to St. John's University has been a
>  blessing in disguise for the simple reason that postings to Gambia-L are
>now
>  archived on the Web at
>http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>and
>  accessible to Internet users anywhere in the world.
>
>  Gambia-L continues to be managed by a number of volunteers, including me,
>who
>  are responsible for approving requests for subscriptions, and handling
>other
>  administrative details.  Subscription to Gambia-L is open to everyone,
>except
>  for the case of one previous member who was expelled because of his
>rudeness,
>  and insults to people on the list.  All postings to the list are
>automatically
>  distributed, without the intervention of any of the managers.  This
>arrangement
>  is different from what obtains on other lists, called moderated lists,
>where
>  list managers have to approve postings sent for distribution.
>
>  The fact that Gambia-L managers do not intervene in the distribution of
>  postings to the list, coupled with the free and open nature of
>subscriptions
>  means that Gambia-L could not possibly be aimed at providing a forum for
>people
>  to thrash your administration.  While it might be true that most postings
>are
>  critical, rather than supportive of your government and policies, this is
>only
>  because your supporters and/or government officials have failed to
>respond to
>  the criticisms of your government on Gambia-L.
>
>  For example, in the past few weeks, there have been postings suggesting
>that
>  your government has a list of Gambians overseas who are black-listed and
>being
>  watched-for at border crossings by your immigration officials.  Another
>posting
>  mentioned that some Gambians were having their passports seized when they
>  submit them for renewal because they are deemed opponents of your
>government.
>  I was, to say the least, disappointed that only one government official,
>  Tombong Saidy, of the Gambia Radio and Television Service responded to
>these
>  postings.  It would help a great deal if other government departments and
>  agencies would get more involved in the dialogue on Gambia-L to help set
>the
>  record straight, and dispel rumors.
>
>  It is my strong opinion that contrary to what some of your supporters are
>  saying, Gambia-L and those who criticize you on it are valuable resources
>to
>  The Gambia government.  As you know, Gambians are susceptible to telling
>people
>  what they want to hear and not necessarily the truth.  This, in my humble
>  opinion, was the reason that former President Jawara was blind to obvious
>  shortcomings in his government, and ultimately paid the price with his
>  downfall.  For this reason, I suggest that rather than dismiss Gambia-L
>as a
>  forum for your opponents, you should use it as a source of valuable
>information
>  and advice you will never get from those in your inner circle more
>interested
>  in self-preservation than what is best for our country.
>
>  May I mention that the importance of getting sound, truthful feedback has
>been
>  demonstrated amply in history.  You will recall that the late Shah of
>Iran,
>  Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, General Mobutu Sesse Seko of the
>former
>  Zaire, and Samuel Doe of Liberia, to name a few, all died in disgrace
>and/or
>  violently after being overthrown from seemingly unending dictatorships.
>The
>  one lesson each of these people failed to learn was that the greatest
>insurance
>  against a shameful end to power is to give the truth a chance to be
>heard.
>  And, Sir, if you think for one second that you are the exception to this
>rule,
>  you should think again.
>
>  I would like to reaffirm my commitment to the idea that Gambians all over
>the
>  world have a right, like anyone else, to exchange information and ideas
>with
>  each other.  For this reason, I would like to see Gambia-L used as one of
>the
>  many tools that the Internet has provided people around the world to
>enhance
>  communication, and increase understanding.  We would be foolish to use
>  something that continues to unite people the world over to divide us, and
>set
>  us further back in our quest for national prosperity.
>
>  In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that there has been an
>increased
>  interest in Gambia-L subscribers to start a dialog between various
>Gambian
>  interest groups the world over.  In particular, a recent Gambia-L posting
>from
>  Dr. Abdoulaye Saine of Miami University of Ohio in the United States has
>been
>  received with enthusiasm by many subscribers who are ready to work toward
>our
>  common good.  I invite, and strongly encourage you to join us in charting
>a
>  course of action to increase understanding, and foster a healthy debate
>among
>  us.
>
>  Toward this end, I would like to offer some suggestions about how we can
>make
>  Gambia-L, and the Internet even more beneficial to The Gambia.  First, I
>would
>  like to suggest that Gambia-government Departments and agencies either
>  subscribe to the list, or make sure that they have a system in place for
>making
>  sure that they receive all discussions that relate to them.  The Gambia
>already
>  has Internet connectivity, and I see no reason why there should not be an
>  effort to ensure that every government Department has at least one
>  Internet-enabled computer.
>
>  Second, I would like to suggest that every Gambia government Department
>set
>up
>  a Website.  This effort should be coordinated to produce Websites that
>are
>  informative, engaging and of consistent quality.  Such Websites will be a
>  valuable link between the Gambia government Departments and Internet
>users
>all
>  over the world.  Furthermore, the huge and increasing numbers of
>worldwide
>  Internet users means that developing an Internet-presence strategy for
>the
>  Gambia government will be a valuable investment for many years to come.
>I am
>  willing to offer any help I can in this regard, as I'm sure many Gambians
>the
>  world over will be willing to given the chance.
>
>  In conclusion, I would like to say that it is my sincere hope that the
>appeals
>  for reconciliation and healthy debate on Gambia-L will be heard, acted
>on,
>and
>  that we work to make the forum and the Internet a valuable resource to
>our
>  nation.  To paraphrase a Wollof saying, "you should dance when God claps
>for
>  you."  It is my belief, Mr. President, that we've started dancing to a
>tune
>of
>  cooperation on Gambia-L, and I invite you to join and help us use the
>medium
>to
>  improve the welfare of the Gambian people.
>
>  Thank you very much for your consideration, and I wish you all the best
>in
>your
>  endeavors.
>
>  Sincerely,
>
>  (signed)
>  Katim S. Touray, Ph.D.
>  Madison, WI
>  U. S. A
>
>  ------------- End of Open letter to President Jammeh
>----------------------
>
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>


Yankuba Badjie (Yanks)
Student Miami University
Middletown Ohio


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