I have Known and work with Buharry for a longtime and there is not calmer and more honest person that i have known over the years. Everybody who knows Buharry knows how committed he is to everything Gambian. I for one appreciate GTRS on Raaki for it has given me first hand information about the country. The new portal also serves as an important medium for those of us who need info about the Gambia. I do visit all mediums be it Jammeh's website or the Dailyobserver to gather info. As for the Video, i really appreciated it after being away from the Gambia for 15 years. 
To accuse Buharry of fronting for Jammeh is at best disingenuous.
Pasamba Jow
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.




From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [>-<] Ensa Sey should apologise to Momodou Buharry Gassama
Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 12:02:26 +0000








Karim

 

Thanks, and yes you are right on Buharry, and the independence of his "RAAKI TV and Radio".

 

I completely accept Buharry's own definitive answer to Essa Sey. He is a valued member of our community.

 

However, the larger issue, assuming Essa Sey is correct in his clearly unfounded assumption, is whether Buharry has a right to support the Professor's government. On this point, Pa Musa's analysis provide the only acceptable doctrine if it is a democratic Gambia we are fighting for. In case you missed that mail, please recheck it.

 

I know I will remain in some distinguish company to the last day of our struggle against the Professor's public lawlessness, but the last Deputy IGP of the First Republic is not in that pantheon of sincere comrades. Chongan is dishonest, malicious, and an utterly dangerous person to associate with, and I hope his spokeswoman appreciates this incontestable fact about the man's character. Is it not astounding that he remains mute on Sam Sarr's allegation, and my own post, notwithstanding he is right here with us?

 

For those in some doubt about Chongan's utterly flawed character, I herewith attach Sam Sarr's recent interview with Freedom Newspaper. Karim, read this material because I don't want you coming here crying about the "fifth coulumnist" that is snaky, green-eyed Chongan.

 

Enjoy

 

 

 

 

LJDarbo

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Breaking News: Gambia: COLONEL SARR “FINISHES” CHONGAN
COLONEL SARR “FINISHES” CHONGAN 
…CALLS CHONGS A  “SNEAKY” PERSON 
Sam Sarr Calls ON Gambians To Be Wary Of Chongan 
Former Deputy Commander of Gambia’s Armed Forces Lt. Colonel Sam Sarr is cautioning Gambians to be wary of Ebrima Ismaila Chongan, saying that people should not be too comfortable with a  “sneaky” person like Chongan, who is reputed to be destroying his “unsuspecting” friends and foes.  Mr. Sarr is said he is pleased that his friendship with Chongan is over. He said doesn’t trust Chongan one bit—given the fact that he Chongan lives the life of falsehood, character assassination, deception, and in some occasions stabbing “unsuspecting” people behind their back. “Strictly speaking, to expose a sneaky person who is obsessed with stabbing unsuspecting people in the back and to send a special warning to everybody dealing with him to be mindful not to trust him too much,” said Colonel Sarr in an exclusive interview with the Freedom Newspaper. Mr. Sarr insists that Chongan’s “Price of Duty Book” was full of factual errors, and misinformation. He said the book should be recalled to correct the misinformation contained in it. Below is the full text of the interview. 
………………………………………………………………… 
Freedom Newspaper:  Good day Colonel Sarr.  Why picking on Chongan at this time? What went wrong? 
Sam Sarr: Is that a serious question or just a rhetorical one? You don’t mean to tell me that after reading through everything I wrote about in my last paper you still don’t know what went wrong, do you? If so I suggest you give one more reading time to the article. You should be able to see what went wrong there. 
Freedom Newspaper:  What make you believe that Ebrima Chogan’s book should be recalled? 
Sam Sarr: I think I fully stated that in the article as well. The book after all was not written with the kind of seriousness that a good book deserves.  
Freedom Newspaper:  What kind of book do you expect from Chongan? 
Sam Sarr: An average good one with, most important of all, a consistent presentation of facts.  I can’t take seriously a writer who tells me in page one that a particular subject or thing should be viewed negatively and goes to page three to contradict himself on the same subject without knowing it. The book unfortunately is saturated with contradiction. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Don’t you think Chongan’s book was opinionated? 
Sam Sarr: Like most politically oriented books it was a mixture of both opinions and facts.  I didn’t care much about his opinions, but as for the facts that seemed to directly affect me, I couldn’t sit by and let him get away with mischaracterizing, misquoting or misrepresenting me. 
Freedom Newspaper: Would you say Chongan’s book was a factual account of events leading to the military transition or fiction? How would you characterize the book? 
Sam Sarr:  I think he honestly tried to write a book about his life in general  with the coup being given a special attention; nevertheless I believe he just didn’t do a good job at it.  
Freedom Newspaper:  The general perception is that Sam Sarr and Chongan are good friends. Why were you not availed with the opportunity to access the manuscript of Chongan’s Price of Duty book before its publication for critique, or suggestion?  
Sam Sarr: We were friends which I am glad is over now. Yes he sent me the manuscript but it was too boring and time consuming to make the tail or head of his writing.  In the end I decided to just wait for the final product. Unfortunately the final piece of junk is more nauseating. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Don’t you think you are overreacting by spilling your past private conversations with Chongan in the public domain?  
Sam Sarr: If you think so, I don’t. By telling me privately that he didn’t know who Lamarana Barry was when he was behind the name attacking me publicly and then as usual in his forgetful mind he writes about the man as his personal orderly in the past, was enough justification for me to react in way I did. Aren’t you pleased to know that he was secretly denouncing you and Essa Sey as the culprits with the pseudo name Lamarana Barry?  Anyway the good moral lesson there is that you don’t connive with conspirators and expect positive results out of it. Sooner or later the curse will follow you.    
Freedom Newspaper: What do you intend to achieve by declassifying what was perceived as “strictly” a private conversation?  
Sam Sarr: Strictly speaking, to expose a sneaky person who is obsessed with stabbing unsuspecting people in the back and to send a special warning to everybody dealing with him to be mindful not to trust him too much.   
Freedom Newspaper:  Critics say you ought to have engaged Chongan one to one to basis than divulging some of the privileged conversation you had with him on the past in the online media. What is your reaction? 
Sam Sarr: Mr. Mbai , this is one issue that I find very important to pursue my way with little regards to critics reacting unfavorably to it.  When Chongan was writing as Lamarana Barry, I didn’t hear any critic calling him to respond in my defense as a “friend”.  I quietly settled for his private explanation that you and Essay Sey must have been behind the attack.      
Freedom Newspaper:  Are you mad with Chongan for reporting in his book that you pretended to be mad while in jail? What is the “beef” ?  
Sam Sarr: I read the book twice and didn’t see where he wrote anything like I was pretending to be mad.  That’s what he has been saying lately. And please don’t quote where he mentioned it in the manuscript, because nobody seems to know the page or paragraph it was written. I bought the book and can assure you that if you go to page 119, paragraph 1, you will see where he wrote: “……Captain Samsideen Sarr who was sort of mentally ill as a result of the September 6th Incident.” 
Freedom Newspaper:  Mr. Chongan alleged in his book that you and Pa Sallah Jagne, and others had connections in the PPP regime and as such were promoted rapidly. Your response? 
Sam Sarr:  I didn’t read anything like that in the book either.  The only thing I read about Pa Sallah Jagne and I was where he denounced us for accepting jobs from the government after we were released from jail.  I couldn’t understand why out of so many of us who after being released accepted the job offers from the regime only the two of us were criminalized in the book. Anyway I think it is laughable to even remotely think that Samsudeen Sarr enjoyed any favoritism for promotion or any goodies during the PPP era. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Reading your piece, Chongan was instrumental in ensuring that the then court marshal held in Yundum found you guilty. How do you managed to befriend Chongan, when he successfully stripped off your Captain rank from you?  
Sam Sarr: Yes he demoted me from a first to a second lieutenant in a court martial that all GNA officers one way or the other refused to take as prosecutor. I had forgiven him thinking that he was a changed man. But I was wrong.  
Freedom Newspaper:  Have you spoken to Chongan since your terse reaction to his book?  
Sam Sarr: I am no longer interested in having anything to do with him. But to answer your question, no! 
Freedom Newspaper:  Did you trust Chongan? If no, why not? 
Sam Sarr: I think I already answered that one. 
Freedom Newspaper: Chongan might as well say he doesn’t trust you since you exposed him online? 
Sam Sarr: I care less. 
Freedom Newspaper: Chongan painted Sana Sabally as a villain in his book, but throughout your reaction you seems to be saying positive things about Sabally. Do you mean to tell us that Sabally is not as bad as being portrayed by Chongan? 
Sam Sarr: The issue was not about Sabally as such but about reminding Chongan where he met him in the past since he couldn’t remember anything about him on the day of the coup. All I had to write about Sabally was written in my book. 
Freedom Newspaper: You tend to focus more on the good things Sabally has done while in the military. For example, you said he testified as a witness during your court marshal. Has Sabally ever persecuted you? 
Sam Sarr: Of course that was very important in my life and career.  Sabally and Hydara arrested and detained me at Mile Two prison.  After that I didn’t talk to him again until I visited him at Mile Two while he was serving his sentence. I was then deputy commander. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Were you tortured in jail? If yes, who tortured you? 
Sam Sarr: I think being locked up in Mile Two for ten months without being charged or tried and not knowing when or whether I will ever be free again was torture every day. If however you are asking about whether I was physically torture, that’s a no!  
Freedom Newspaper:  Like Chogan, Eduward Singhatey is not in your good books. Why? 
Sam Sarr: They share some character traits too scary for my liking. They are both dangerous in many ways.  
Freedom Newspaper:  Are you upset with Chongan for the mere fact that he claimed in his book that you lacked conscience by teaming up with the then junta by accepting a job offer, even though your rights were violated? 
Sam Sarr: If he didn’t try to be hired by the government and failed, then that statement would have certainly bothered me. But he knows that I know about his failure to persuade Jammeh to give him a job after he was released from jail. 
Freedom Newspaper:   What compels you to work with President Jammeh after your release from prison? 
Sam Sarr: It was the best thing at the time; because after all the accusation about the treasonable offenses that were rumored as the cause of my arrest and detention there was no better way of exonerating me than appointing me  deputy and later army commander. I don’t think the government would have hired me if I were guilty of any crime. But looking at what would have happened if I was released and discharged or dismissed like  in the case of Chongan and many others,  I am sure several Gambians would have still been wondering whether I was guilty or not. Besides, the experience I had in the three years I worked for the government was phenomenal. 
Freedom Newspaper: Did you commit any crime, or persecuted Gambians to please Jammeh after your reinstatement?  
Sam Sarr: No! 
Freedom Newspaper: What role did you play in the foiled Farafenni attack? 
Sam Sarr: I was not in the country the day the camp was attacked, but returned the next day and played an active role in the investigation about the attack and the attackers. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Were you in Senegal to seek the extradition of the late Yaya Drammeh, and others? 
Sam Sarr:  I can sense where we are going next but I will just wait and keep up with your pace. You see Mr. Nderry, Yaya Drammeh never escaped to Senegal after the attack. He was captured with the help of some locals around Farafenni after he was found sleeping in some shrubs out of exhaustion. In other words he was already captured before I even arrived in the country. But since his death had once been associated with me by Lamarana Barry, I wouldn’t mine telling you a little bit about his case. Folks like Lamarana may be obsessed with the death of Yaya forgetting or not knowing that he was a mercenary like his colleagues who for years contributed tremendously in the bloody Liberian civil war where over 150,000 people were killed. They were contracted by Taylor when he invaded Liberia in 1989. For years he was together with Sulayman Sarr a close bodyguard to Taylor until he could no longer trust them. When they attacked Farafenni, they took the soldiers by surprise, because most of them were asleep at 5:00 am. It was also clear that everybody they killed, eight of them were unarmed and shot in the back while running away. I had to go to the mortuary to identify all of them before their burials. Their bullet-riddled backs were indicative of the cold blooded murder they were subjected to. The youngest Private Saidy was only nineteen and the oldest Staff Sergeant was Jatta twenty-seven. All those lives wasted didn’t seem to mean anything to Lamarana Barry in the wake of his desire to accuse me of the death of one of the attackers-a vicious monster- while every other captive is still alive in jail. 
Because of the mystery behind the attack , yes harsh interrogation methods were used to extract information from Maballow Kanteh and Yaya Drammeh, the first two to be captured on the day of the attack. Sulayman Sarr, John Dampha and Essa Baldeh were captured in Senegal and sent back to the Gambia that very week. In a nut shell, Yaya Drammeh was never extradited from Senegal. 
You probably may have mistaken the team of soldiers I once led to Senegal in July 1997 to receive the remnant of the Liberian mercenaries who were arrested by the Senegalese Gendarmerie at Tamba Kunda in July 1996, three months before their friends launched the attack. Thank god they never made it. These were the men we got from Senegal in a one-day mission that was hitch free. Except Swanding Camara who with the help of the international Red Cross was later released, I think the rest are all in jail          
Freedom Newspaper:  I remember witnessing a press conference in Banjul, where Yaya Drammeh, Mballow Kanteh, and others were paraded. You moderated the press conference during the period in question. I noticed swollen eyes, and injuries on the bodies of the coup suspects. Were they tortured? 
Sam Sarr: I am surprised that you couldn’t remember that both Mballow Kanteh and Sulayman Sarr sustained gun-shot injuries on their legs from bullets fired by their own friends. Sarr was able to make it to Kaulack where the Senegalese nabbed him in a hospital while Kanteh tried to get treatment at the farafenni clinic and was arrested there. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Do you witness the interrogation of Yaya Drammeh and co? If no, then how do you know that they were not tortured? 
Sam Sarr: You should have allowed me to answer yes or no and make it a little easier for you. Yes I was present the day after I arrived in The Gambia, and yes he was tortured.  A year later he died in jail.  I didn’t kill him and don’t know how he died; I am also more concerned about the eight men he took part in killing than his own death; so next time Lamarana comes up with such baseless attacks, tell him to be courageous enough to identify himself for a healthier debate. 
Freedom Newspaper:  I read somewhere in which you said your recent book contained factual errors. How do you intend to correct those errors?  Who misled you? 
Sam Sarr: I was not misled by anyone. In the book instead of Ahmed Bensuda I wrote Philip Bensuda. I also later regretted the way I portrayed such great officers like Major Chris Davis, Colonel Badjie and few others. It is now my strong conviction that Major Antuman Saho’s decision not to commit his heavy weapons to stop the coup was the best decision. Fighting was no option. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Are you under pressure from the Jammeh camp to recant the book before any reconciliation could be reached between you and the President? 
Sam Sarr: No!!!!! 
Freedom Newspaper: You seems to have changed your perception against President Jammeh. This is noticeable in your writings. Why the change of heart? Are you home sick or what? 
Sam Sarr: I have nothing to get sick about home Bro. America is my home and I love everything about this country better. I think am just happy that I was able to leave the Gambia together with my family peacefully and now permanently live in the USA. 
Freedom Newspaper:  What crime have you committed that would prevent you from going home? 
Sam Sarr: None other than perhaps the fact that I used to frequently denounced the Gambia government online. And President Jammeh’s tolerance for such is minimal or none. 
Freedom Newspaper: If President Jammeh extends an amnesty to you and your family, will you return to The Gambia? 
Sam Sarr: Not now. May be after my retirement I will go and see whether I can ever live in that country again. But as for now America is all I care for. 
Freedom Newspaper:  What kind of  person is President Jammeh? Is he evil as portrayed in some quarters? 
Sam Sarr: You said it all by saying that in some quarters he is considered as evil, meaning that there are definitely other quarters where he is believed to be good. That’s life. You and  I are hated by some people and liked by others. So if you can tell me what kind of person we are, I will tell you what kind of person I think Jammeh is. Till then, I will remain a positive neutralist and not venture into answering that question. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Chongan said President Jammeh saved his life in his book. Did the same Jammeh saved your life while in prison? 
Sam Sarr: I think he was referring to the same issue of how Singhateh unsuccessfully tried to get us executed in jail until Jammeh stopped him. He just didn’t elaborate on it. He always looks like he has a soft spot for Singhateh as well. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Why were you detained in the first place? 
Sam Sarr: I may sound funny to you, but to be frank, I still don’t know that answer. 
Freedom Newspaper: Is it true that you were working on staging a counter coup? 
Sam Sarr: You see that’s what the rumor was. With what I narrated above, do you really think I was? 
Freedom Newspaper: What were your worst moments in prison? 
Sam Sarr: Every moment of it, period. 
Freedom Newspaper: Chongan claimed that you were writing letters to the BBC Focus On Africa Program while in prison. Don’t you think Chongan was merely reporting what he heard or witnessed in jail? 
Sam Sarr: I wish he was clear about what he had heard or seen there instead of reporting on matters that he never witnessed and acted as if he was. 
Freedom Newspaper: What is your view about Gambia’s military? 
Sam Sarr: The fact that they don’t have Senegalese, British or Nigerian superior officers telling them what to do I think they are fine by me. I love their role in international missions where they are now considered among the best-UN, AU, etc. 
Freedom Newspaper: Are you worried about Gambia’s future? 
Sam Sarr: Nope! 
Freedom Newspaper:  What is responsible for the coups and counter coups in The Gambia? Is this a problem of power struggle or loyalty problem within the media hierarchy? 
Sam Sarr: I have no idea about that Mr. Nderry 
Freedom Newspaper:  What is you view about Gambia’s opposition? 
Sam Sarr:  I think they are doing their best under the political circumstances they are facing in the county. I respect them now far more than I used to when I was writing my book four years ago. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Are you still loyal to President Jammeh and his Government? 
Sam Sarr: How can I be loyal to him or his government when I am not even working for the county? If you think loyalty is predicated on responsibility, then I think my loyalty now goes to the president of the company I work for Alfred Ciatola of Frontline Industries who manages us like a genius. You can visit our job site and learn more about what we do by logging to: http://www.frontlineindustries.com/home.html . 
Freedom Newspaper:  Given your age, do you feel like you need to be back home and spend the rest of your life in The Gambia? 
Sam Sarr: As I said earlier, not now. There isn’t much I missed in the Gambia at all. 
Freedom Newspaper:  What it takes to be an asylee?  
Sam Sarr: I am a permanent resident but you can visit the US immigration and naturalization webpage where all the terms and conditions for asylum eligibility are stipulated. And mark you, the rules change constantly. 
Freedom Newspaper:  What is your view about Gambia’s online media? 
Sam Sarr: I think all of you are cool. 
Freedom Newspaper:  Any last words Mr. Sarr? 
Well Mr. Nderry, I just want to appeal to you to start watching out for those who want to conduct personal attacks on people without the courage to identify themselves. I think journalism demands an ethical standard that if respected will not allow the likes of Lamrana Barry to be featured in credible newspapers, especially when his facts are totally questionable. If someone wants to report that I killed somebody or conspired with others to commit felony or anything of that sort, I think that person deserves equal scrutiny to determine what motivated his allegations. 
Thank You, 
Samsudeen Sarr 
Newark, New Jersey 
                                                  





 

 

  

 

 
 


From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [>-<] Ensa Sey should apologise to Momodou Buharry Gassama
Date: Sun, 30 May 2010 20:02:59 +0100



Having recently digest Ensa Sey's recent interview with Pa Nderry Mbai, what he need to do is apologise to Momodou Buharry Gassama. When will this character assasinnation stop?I cannot wander to think if we will go anywhere with prevailing madness folding in our country, if decent citizens who have nothing to do with the regime are paint black. It was LJ Darboe yesterday and now Momomdou Buharry Gassama. I have long been on the Gambia online community and could recab Yero Mama's insult about qualitative and quantitative research analysis of Dr Ebrima Ceesay on the Gambia.
RAAKI TV and Radio have nothing to do with regime in power. Both Buharry Gassama, Dr Ceesay and LJ Darboe are decent citizens. It is really unfortunate to get a remark from such a self clone pro-democracy activist. At the moment am just wandering about the efficacy of our cyber advocacy, more so we have people within our midst that can peddle lies, damn lies against decent individuals who for years have stand for truth and justice. I have a deep respect for Momodou Buharry Gassama. He is a decent and honourable citizen. Me and my wife Khaddy have never met him in person but alway when I mentioned Buharry Gassama's name to my cousin Dave Manneh, who met him in Sweden few years ago, just could imagine his soft voice on my telephone define his humble and definitive gentleman character. Essa Sey should apologise to Momodou Buharry Gassama!!! RAAKI WeB rADIO AND tv HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YAHYA JAMMEH IS REGIME! 



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