Bamba, I appreciate the sentiments you expressed. But further to that I
think we would best understand Jammeh if we look at the historical
circumstances that created him. First and foremost, we all know that Jammeh
was a military person and as such he was moulded to give as well as to
execute orders without any questioning, for to question orders in the
military hierarchy would constitute an act of insubordination which can lead
to some form of disciplinary. Hence what Jammeh experienced in the armed
forces, is  what is called vertical socializtion. In vertical socialization,
a very rigid and strict structure of commandism operates as  oppose to civil
  society where we experience horiziontal socialization in which we relate
to each other  as equals,  questioning each others actions as well as give
opinions, hence developing a sense  rationality that is unknown in the armed
forces.

With such a background and finding himself in a position of control
naturally Jammeh's background is bound to surface. So what we are seeing is
a person that inernalised a mode of relation tha is pyramidical in nature,
at the apex he does not confer to seek consensus on issues but issues orders
that he expects to be obeyed without questioning  and this is the bit we
find extremely difficult to comprehend as civilians. Many people,political
reporters included, still find it baffling that Jammeh, despite being
elected, is still as draconian as he was when he usurped power. Many of us
would try to blame those around him, but that would be a mistake because,
like I said the military mind opertaes in a very funny way. The senior
expects no opinions from the juniors and this is the same mentality that
would, I presume bug Jammeh. He seems to think that no one can suggest or
tell him anything once he made up his mind and this is filtering in our
foreign policy. A clear example is the way the conflict with the Brits. was
handled, am sure you would agree that it was poorly handled. The whole saga
could have been easily been avoided with little flexibility, but obstinacy
and rigidityprevailed and now the Government is pleading to restore the
relationship, a complete shambles, waste of time and lost of resources.

You see, with the concept of commandism no political or democratic rights of
any sort are tolerated, except those sanctioned by Jammeh. In this type of
approach the only language spoken and understood is the language of force
and this is a daily experience for the Gambian people.

The principal danger in this situation is not just the denial of civil
liberties and the arbitrariness which accompanies enormous power in the
hands of individuals.The serious danger is a lasting one:the perpetuation of
  the kind of established  disorder. I hope Jammeh would realise that he
needs to improve the human rights image of the nation for it is not enough
to insist that rights are being re4spected when radio stations are shut and
people like Dumo are still incacerated. The best awy to move forward is to
broaden the democratic base without democratic dispensation there will
always be voices that will challenge his conversion to a civilian. Jammeh
must draw a line and make his past as a soldier a history and this could
only be achieved through the rule of law, in fact if I were him I will give
the NIA a whole new image. There must be confident building measures of some
sort  without which he may find it difficult to earn the respect of the rest
of the population, which is a significant minority. After all his government
is a legitimate one mandated by the Gambian people. One can understand when
Blaisse Jagne addressed UN pleading that they have kept to their bargain and
now it was the turn of the international community to respond. He was at
pains pleading for recognition, what he failed to realise was that elections
is just the beggining and not the end. For Gambia to be accepted human
rights issues most be addressed or else it is back to square one.Blaisse
most realise that they are as equally culpable as anyone else in creating
such a diplomatic empasse. The ball in as much as it is in the international
communities' court it is equally in their's. Hence they most sort out the
concerns that affcets both Gambians and the international community. A
government that opertaes like the Taliban cannot be accepted and that is
precisely why the rule of law must take precedence over power or political
might.

Am sure most if not all Gambians do wish Gambia well and would not want any
sanctions to be imposed but by the same token we hate to see or hear reports
about people being arrested for the most trivial of issues. And this is the
basis for which our genuine concerns are expressed and we find it
frustrating that we are not getting through to Jammeh. I hope all political
prisoners will be released to mark a new beggining.


>From: Abdoulie Jallow <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Malik>>Re: call for restraint on abusive adjectives
>Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 08:41:45 -0500
>
>Malik,
>
>I apologize for the lag on my part in response to your last posting on this
>discussion.  I believe that this is an issue that needs much attention from
>everyone concerned with how Yaya is ruling the country. Now that we have a
>common understanding of the issue of Jammehs' personality, I will venture
>to take it a little bit further than him being a nag in the way he conducts
>himself as a head of state on many occasions. Inasmuch as he is responsible
>for his public utterances and deeds, part of my dispraise for such behavior
>will however, have to be apportioned to those in a position to tell him off
>when necessary. In particular, the members of his literally non-existent
>club of toadies.
>
>Malik, in Africa, we always fall in the trap of making kings out of idiots
>and clowns. That is from the lowest threshold of the meaning of the word.
>Every chapter of the African history bears an episode of such a character.
>Gambia is no exception. We are guilty of making a big deal out of our
>leaders. We tend to subdue and be content with what we have as leader as
>being ordained by the Almighty. How many times have you heard “Yala mo kofa
>tek.”? Such attitude is what makes Yaya and dolts like him so haughty,
>unbelievable sometimes. They are not even remotely close to being what we
>expect of leaders by example. I can vividly remember what transpires during
>the ”Mansabengos” in Brikama in the PPP era. The chiefs being literally
>worshiped as some of them ride their clear white stallions in crowds of
>thousands. Do we want to flip the pages of history backwards? I guess not.
>Yaya wants us to do just that when he said that the democracy of
>the “khaftan” and “sword” is what is right for Gambia as he shows the
>heartfelt desire to be worshiped by his group of toadies. He is acting like
>a 19th century king in the 21st. Moreover, he seems to have the admiration
>of many in our midst. People need to understand that much of what Gambia is
>going through as a developing nation in the eyes of the world is dictated
>by the conduct and perspective of those who put themselves at the helm. The
>world sees the Gambia in them. Their level of professionalism in conduct of
>the state business is as important as the issues they seek to sell to the
>development partners. I can only imagine the rush of adrenaline experienced
>by some of the genuinely hard working professionals in the government when
>Yaya goes through his spasms of idiocy.
>
>Enjoy your day.
>
>Abdoulie A. Jallow
>(BambaLaye)
>
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