Dampha,

I generally focus on what Jammeh is doing to The Gambia and what we as
Gambians can do to unseat him.  I don't try to put Jawara or any other
person down; I know many of these former PPP and NCP politicians from my
days as a Radio Gambia reporter, and as an assistant secretary at External
Affairs.

I also think it serves no purpose to dwell on Jawara's era.  However, I will
not stand idly by to see Jawara's record trumpeted as anything but dismal.
I lived in The Gambia during Jawara's reign, and I know how corrupt and
ineffective that regime was.  I respect his right to return and do whatever
he wants. (I know you didn't call for him to assume a leadership role in the
opposition).  In my view, he doesn't deserve a heroes welcome in The Gambia.
  Jawara as a leader is HISTORY; and he is NO NELSON MANDELA as another
writer indicated.

Enlisting Jawara's help in fighting the October elections could only be a
liability, and nothing else.  An active role for him would definitely
alienate many (like myself) and dash hopes for a concerted front.

With this, I'm moving on.  My point is clear: Jammeh must be defeated,
Jawara is history!

Amadou SJ

"Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire,
sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon
must inevitably come to pass" (J. Meyer).



>From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Putting the Record Straight --- Decree 89 Politicians
>Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 11:44:45 -0400
>
>Anybody that says that I (personally) advocated for the return of Jawara as
>a presidential candidate will be telling a blatant lie. I might have been
>one of the most vocal advocates for Jawara’s return. But in what role? I
>have categorically stated that the man should be encouraged to return and
>support the presidential candidate that is going to be selected by the
>CURRENT OPPOSITION LEADERS. Jawara can be very effective in defending the
>PPP record and discrediting AFPRC/APRC justification for taking over.
>Rather
>than current Opposition leaders tackling Yaya when Yaya tries to compare
>himself with PPP, let the PPP fight that battle. Simple as that.
>
>For people now to twist this logic and make it appear as if I am advocating
>for Jawara to become our next president, is just mind-boggling to me. To
>this day I can only name one person in the Opposition on G_L that is saying
>that the Decree 89 politicians should also be given an opportunity to lead.
>One person. Granted, I delete a lot of mails without reading them, but I am
>pretty certain I would have read a mail under my heading advocating for
>Jawara to return as a leader. To my knowledge, only Jassey-Conteh said that
>we should not close the door on Decree 89 politicians’ chances of leading
>he
>Coalition. Although I do NOT agree with Jassey-Conteh on this, I respect
>his
>stance. Now, where is all this talk about people advocating for Jawara’s
>return to the presidency coming from? Let us shoot straight and quit
>talking
>in innuendo.
>
>I still firmly believe that the man should be encouraged to come home and
>defend his record and lend his support to the Opposition presidential
>candidate. Even if I am convinced that the current Opposition can win
>without Jawara, I will NOT recommend to the Opposition to snub Jawara. If
>the Opposition can canvass for 90% of the votes, why settle for less? No
>one
>can deny that Jawara still has a following back home. Would we rather have
>those people vote for APRC or abstain from voting for the candidate the
>current Opposition is going to choose? If we want the support of these
>Gambians (that are still loyal to Jawara) we do NOT go around alienating
>them by attacking their leaders. What does the Opposition seek to gain by
>attacking Jawara? Preventing him from becoming the next president? This is
>premised on the notion that he wants to become the next president. Not a
>single person can truthfully say here on G_L that Jawara said that he
>wanted
>to become the next president. Like I already said, apart from
>Jassey-Conteh,
>there is NOBODY in the Opposition is even remotely saying that they want
>Jawara to become the next president. And even Jassey-Conteh is NOT saying
>that he wants Jawara per se. It is practically impossible for that to
>happen. So, why use this false premise in order to attack the man?
>
>Attacking the man serves one purpose. It helps Yaya and his gang stand up
>and say that it was justified for them to take over. Attacking Jawara is
>NOT
>helping us right old wrongs by preventing him from gaining power again. The
>law already says that he CANNOT run in October. Besides, it is practically
>impossible for the man to go back and run a political campaign that is
>going
>to overshadow our current Opposition leaders. Our current leaders are lot
>stronger than that. I hope the leaders on the ground will embrace the
>Degree
>89 politicians and ask for their support. We need NOT force these people to
>the APRC camp or away from us. The ex-PPP politicians, in particular, are
>very important because (among other things) they need to defend their
>record
>against attacks from APRC. We would rather that PPP fight that battle than
>say UDP, NRP or PDOIS. For example, if Yaya wants to boast about a
>University and belittle PPP, rather than Darboe tackling that, let Jawara
>explain how Yaya built on what already existed in the form of GTTI, MDI,
>Hotel School, Nursing School, Yundum College, etc.
>
>That is the wavelength some of us are at. Division of labor. Tactical
>Alliance. Now, if the Opposition wants to use PPP in this manner in the
>Coalition, we do NOT go around singing APRC songs like Jawara was here 30
>years and did not do a thing.
>KB
>
>
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