Karamba, thanks for your response and I hope a better Gambia is at the
horizen.  Thanks for the fruitful exchange.

Chi Jaama

Joe Sambou


>From: [log in to unmask]
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Recent trip to Gambia Joe
>Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 16:04:09 EST
>
>Joe ,
>         once again I will try to discuss the issue of participation in the
>elections. As I said before the coalition had no choice having seen for
>themselves the very apparent contours of a totally rigged election. It is
>akin to expecting a victim to commit suicide to avoid a planned execution.
>Dembo Bojang would be doing the good folks of Bakau a monumental disservice
>if he knowingly enters into an electoral contest in which hundreds of
>people
>would be bused in to defeat him and his constituents in a manner that is
>specifically proscribed by the laws of the country. This is true
>countrywide.
>The purpose was to have legitimately elected members of parliament
>unwittingly participate in a fraudulent scheme whose sole purpose is to
>subvert the will of the people. There is no argument that all opposition
>members of parliament are very much needed in the house and record of the
>coalition MPs speak for themselves. They worked very hard and served their
>nation honorably. All the party wants is a contest based on the laws of the
>country and they have never asked for anything outside those confines.
>While
>I perfectly understand your desire to see them in the house and doing the
>people's business, it is the government and it's allies in crime that have
>denied the people their rights to representation. When you are dealing with
>a
>thuggish regime that has no desire to respect the will of the people, good
>people must take a stand and refuse to be accessories to these crimes
>against
>the people. It was impossible for them to participate and that is the only
>reason they did not. If we go by the typical Gambian penchant for
>tolerating
>bad behavior and crimes as you mentioned with regard to the different
>categories of people murdered by this regime from the soldiers, to the kids
>and insist that the UDP should go ahead  and participate despite these
>grave
>violations, what would have been the outcome? You will still not get these
>honorable members you rightly believe should be in the House and it won't
>be
>because their constituents don't want them. They would have lost their
>seats
>to the criminal enterprise hatched by the I.E.C and gov't. Elections are
>about winning and loosing but they must always be on a fair basis.Afterall
>you will not find anyone who would dispute the very fundamental issues that
>underlie the boycott. Once we agree on the reason as being genuine and
>critical to democracy, there is no question about the need for an
>established
>party to stand up and say no to these obvious shenanigans.
>         On the issue of the international perception, I will tell you for
>the
>record that the coalition has met and discussed with all friends of Gambia.
>Unanimously they have all said they agreed and understood why the boycott
>was
>undertaken. Granted these same countries have not packed up and left. They
>will continue to conduct their businesses in our country and that includes
>interaction with a regime they annually characterize as brutal and inhuman.
>Relationships among countries endure a lot of disagreements and don't
>mistake
>this regimes dealings with the civilized world as anything remotely
>resembling a seal of approval. This is a pariah regime that that illicit a
>lot of contempt primarily because of the way they treat the Gambian people.
>The battle for reshaping the destiny of country has to be fought primarily
>in
>The Gambia and the coalition has a very robust and comprehensive strategy
>for
>that. We are glad that friends of Gambia in the international community
>agree
>with us and ensuing events would validate the strong yearnings of our
>people.
>Don't despair.
>Karamba
>
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