US Ambassador's Farewell Speech
The Independent (Banjul)
DOCUMENT
July 16, 2001
Posted to the web July 16, 2001
Ambassador Haley
Banjul, the Gambia
First, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to the men, women and
children of The Gambia. As I approach the eve of my departure as the
American Ambassador, I must extend my sincere thanks to the fine people of
this land. You have made this a memorable period in my long life of public
service to my country, the United States.
I have lived among you for nearly three years. I have not resided here
simply as the envoy of the United States, I have lived here as your friend.
Yes, I have attended formal receptions, dinners and other public engagements
for that is part of the menu of diplomacy. Yet, I have experienced much
more. I have walked the streets of Banjul, traipsed through the craft
markets in Brikama and sojourned to my ancestral home of Juffure where my
relatives and I rekindled a fire that no amount of space nor time could ever
extinguish.
Throughout my time in the Gambia, I have seen its people at work and at
leisure. I have heard you laugh during the good hour and I have heard you
weep when the tragic moment struck. I have been inspired by your love of
family, your resilience and generosity of spirit. Gambians are a kind
people. May the evening sun and morning star always shine gently on you and
your families.
If I ended my statement now, some people would applaud that I have said such
nice things before my departure. However, if I do not continue, I'm afraid
history's ledger would find my statement lacking. If one truly cares for a
people, one must gather the fortitude to say what needs to be said, although
some people might find my words hard to digest. Yet, the quality of a
relationship is not based on one's ability to smother his listener's ear in
pleasantries but on the reality of love and the love of reality. With this
in mind, I want to take you for a short walk down the avenue of ideas.
Not only is The Gambia home to a wonderful people, it is a fortunate nation.
The calamities and winds of unrest staggering some of your neighbors have
not beset you. You enjoy the air of peace and the perfume of relative
stability. That which you enjoy you should also safeguard. That which you
cherish the most, you should protect the best.
It cannot be assumed that the stability you currently enjoy is guaranteed
for perpetuity. In human affairs, nothing is certain except the transient
nature of things we would like to hold as constants. Do not think that the
calmness of today is insurance for equilibrium in the future. If you want to
bolster the ramparts of stability, you must embrace dialogue, tolerance and
freedom as if they were beloved family members. Conversely, there are forces
that one must shun. While these forces may lend short-term advantage, anyone
who uses them for his selfish ends will become a prisoner of his own
designs. He will become impoverished by the very richness of his misdeeds.
Hovering in the shadows cast by every country's political structures these
harsh forces abide. Intolerance and divisiveness creep about searching to
deceive the politically ambitious. These forces thrive on turning the
innocent into the guilty and in transforming misconduct into virtue.
Unfortunately, many people in the political class have succumbed to these
and other negative tendencies. What is sadder is that those so afflicted do
not recognize their condition. Some actually sense the infection but mistake
their infirmity for strength, mistake their distemper for destiny. For too
long, too many politicians have been eager to utter bitter words. They do
not seem to understand that those words may return to burn their lips one
day. Instead of the politics of issues, these operators issue political
threats. Ignoring the politics of character, they engage in character
assassination.
Has anyone asked if this is what the people want? Judging from the inherent
kindness that guides the average person in his daily affairs, this aspect of
political life is as far from the collective desire as East is from West.
You would have a better chance of kicking an ice cube through the center of
the sun than convincing me that the common person thrives on the politics of
confrontation. Average people want their issues answered, or, at least,
addressed. The average man knows that politicians compete against each
other. Thus, a politician adds nothing to his stature by taking that
competition to extreme proportions. The average person does not want to see
how dedicated you are to hating your competition. He wants to see how
dedicated you are to serving him. Generally, politicians lead the people.
Sometimes, however, politicians need to learn from the people. This is one
such moment. The virtues of dialogue, discretion, compromise and sacrifice
that so often govern interactions between ordinary citizens should be given
greater play in the arena of politics.
Last August, I gave a speech on my birthday in which I expressed concern
that Gambia's political class was not living to its potential. Nearly a year
has passed and my concerns have not abated. Now we are standing on an
important pivot in the country's brief history - presidential, legislative
and local elections lie on the horizon.
Elections should be an opportunity for the people to express their political
will. By selecting who will govern, the people also are choosing how they
wish to be governed. In that this is such an important decision, let the
political contest focus on the quality of a candidate's ideas, programs and
positions. Politicians should observe a voluntary moratorium on
unsubstantiated personal attacks and ominous political threats.
As I depart The Gambia, I ask those of you who value your country, to
protect its inheritance of stability and peace by cooling the political
temperature. As much as you are competitors, you are also fellow countrymen.
Political alliances may blossom and fade. Loyalty to country and its
citizens is a more reliable compass. Let a tolerant patriotism moderate
acute partisanship. Seek to forge a national consensus on governance that
places the rivalries caused by transient political affiliations in a proper
context.
To those in civil society, your task is enormous. A key function of civil
society - the NGO's, professional associations and issue-oriented groups -
is to establish the boundaries within which the game of politics ought to be
played. It is your task to place before the political parties the major
societal issues and to pressure the parties to address these issues
intelligently. In a non-partisan manner, you should credit politicians who
promote the common welfare and constructively criticize those politicians
who seem to have lost their way. Your criticism should not be to destroy or
defame but to call the prodigals back home. In short, civil society must
shape the capstone upon which the national political consensus is
established.
To the press, I say, "Do better!" True, no one is free of bias or slant. But
a professional must seek objectivity. This means you must work to ensure
that your biases do not cloud your work. You must summon the courage to
withstand pressure from friend and foe who will use different tools to get
you to publish their tales. Remember storytelling is not the province of
factual journalism. Leave fiction to the writers of fiction.
To the opposition, I ask you not to be reckless in your criticism of
Government and its alleged failings. With the same volume that you broadcast
government foibles, you should acknowledge its accomplishments. Yes, the
politics of personal attack will grab people's attention. However, people
will see you in the same negative light that you attempt to cast on
government. Presumably you are in the opposition because you believe you
have devised policies and plans that differ from and are better than the
Government's political and economic program. If that is the case, you should
be eager to enlist government in dialogue and in the comparison of ideas. If
you cannot do this, then you should question whether you picked the right
vocation when you became a politician.
To those in Government and in the ruling party, you have a great and
important responsibility. In that you control the levers of state power, you
are in a commanding position. You lose nothing and gain everything by
extending the hand of magnanimity to those in the opposition and civic
society. You will engender greater understanding and advance the cause of
civic education by encouraging constructive debate on substantive issues.
Regarding the upcoming elections, whosoever works to make the process free
and fair will win a high place in Gambia's history. Headed by President
Jammeh, whose attributes and abilities cannot be ignored, the government has
established a track record. There have been both achievements and lessons
learned. Vigorously present your record and future plans to the people then
let them decide. If you do this, you will be applauded. As guarantors of
democracy, you will be heroes unto your own people.
Free and fair elections are not the product of chance. They are the
offspring of noble intention. There are numerous factors that contribute to
good elections. Among the most important are an accurate registration
process, the secrecy of the individual ballot, accurate vote tabulation, no
unreasonable restrictions on political activities and equitable media
access.
Regarding the registration, there were allegations of misconduct committed
by partisans of both opposition and ruling parties. Great care should be
taken to correct whatever anomalies that occurred. The secret ballot is an
essential bulwark of the democratic process. To be free and fair, the
decision of each voter must be an utterly private affair. So that fear of
intimidation does not distort the public will, each vote must remain
anonymous. Additionally, the integrity of the vote tabulation process is of
material importance. Great care again must be taken to ensure that the most
accurate and transparent method is employed.
There should be no unreasonable restrictions on political activity. No one
should be precluded simply because of past political affiliations. In this
light, the prohibitions of Decree 89 undermine democracy. Decree 89 is a
visible blemish on what otherwise might be a hopeful picture. As long as
Decree 89 is operative, the electoral process carries a presumption of
unfairness. This presumption of unfairness will remain unless the decree is
lifted in time for those presently barred to participate effectively in the
contests of their choosing and for which they would otherwise be eligible.
Media access for both the opposition and governing party must also be
equitable. The GRTS television and radio stations should give the opposition
access to be heard. Additionally, the independent media should behave in
accordance with the name it has assumed. It should provide the government
and ruling party equitable access and objective coverage.
In the quest for genuinely democratic elections, we wish The Gambia the
best. At this point, let me dispel any misunderstanding about the U.S.
Government position. The United States plays no favorites and sees no
enemies. We back no candidate nor party. We oppose no candidate nor party.
We do support the Gambian people in their desire to exercise their
democratic rights.
If the election is free and fair, we will welcome the decision of the people
and do our utmost to give the bilateral relationship its fullest expression.
In conclusion, I leave you with the following thought: One morning, a father
calls to his two sons. Perched on his chair of the choicest mahogany and
expensive embroidery, the father tells the siblings that he will be gone for
the day. He asks them to protect the house.
No sooner does the father disappear from sight, than the two rush to the
chair, fighting each other to take the seat. They tussle furiously. Soon
they have tugged the chair outside the house and beyond the compound wall.
At that moment, they hear the clap of thunder and see lightening strike. A
vicious storm approaches.
Across the street, a neighbor yells to get the chair inside before the rains
come and ruin their father's most valued possession.
One boy struggles mightily but the chair is too heavy to move by himself.
The other folds his arms, pouting that if he cannot sit in the chair, he
does not care what happens to it. The storm comes. Rain and lightning
destroy the chair.
When the father returns home, he sees the chair's
remnants and sets upon his sons to punish them. Before he begins, the
neighbor comes and tells the man what he saw. Upon hearing his neighbor, the
man embraces one son while the other receives not only his punishment but
also the punishment that was intended for the kind brother as well.
Imagine the chair is the seat of governance, the neighbor is the custodian
of a nation's history and the father represents the sovereign power and will
of a nation's people. The two boys represent contestants in the political
arena. Which son would you rather be? If you answer wisely, you will begin
to expend less effort jostling with your political opponents and exert more
effort in improving the lot of the people you wish to serve.
As I finish, I thank you again for making my tenure as Ambassador a fond one
and thank you for listening to me this evening. Good night to you and may
God continue to bestow his blessings on the good people of The Gambia.
_________________________________________________________________________
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