Gambia-L:

Another e-mail from a source in the Gambia.

Ebrima Ceesay

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Ebrima,

The APRC Rally held last weekend at the Allen Street in Banjul heard Yankuba
Touray heaping all the blame for the mess in which the country is on the
Jawara regime. He attributed the APRC's current problems with the farmers to
the privatisation of the GPMP, the liquidation of the Cooperative Union and
so on and so forth. My problem with his speech was not the accusations
levelled against the Jawara regime per se, but rather the venue he chose to
explain the failures of the government of the day and the audience. I
already told you that the attendance of the Banjul rally was abysmally low.
Secondly, he was talking to the wrong people. He should go to the farmers in
Baddibu, Niani, Kantora and Foni etc and tell them what he told his Banjul
audience. I bet you anything, Ebrima, that they will chase him with sticks,
stones and their hoes if he said such things in the rural areas. The APRC is
afraid to go and face the farmers with two successive and disastrous
groundnut seasons already under their belt in six years of mis-rule. He
knows the mood of the farmers because he tried distributing the famous 40
tractors donated by Yahya using the Gambian people's money but he, Yankuba,
could get only as far as Farafenni. Yankuba and his entourage had to be
escorted out of the area. Meanwhile, we are all anxiously waiting for Yahya
to venture into the provinces during this year's "Meet the People's Tour".
THEY ARE ALL AFRAID TO MEET THE FARMERS WHO ARE STILL DEMANDING PAYMENT OF
THEIR GROUNDNUTS WHICH THEY HAVE SURRENDERED TO GOVERNMENT AGENTS AND SOME
PRIVATE BUYERS.

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