From: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] Subject: Article on Dibba -a
>reaction Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 20:11:54 EST
>
>Subj: Re: AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ON SHERIFF DIBBAS ALLIANCE WITH APRC Date:
>08/01/02 13:53:32 GMT Standard Time From: MSAWANAH To: Bob6772
>
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>Momodou Lamin Sawaneh
>
>Reaction to Gambia L article.
>
>I read your article on the above subject matter but I found it difficult to
>understand the purpose of writing such an article. By reading the article,
>I could not see to which audience it is directed . It did not help me in
>anyway to get an understanding of why Dibba took the decision of this
>nature. The story is not the least articulate and much more disappointing
>of all is that the writer could not provide a reasonable and attainable
>solution to the present political dilema in Gambian politics , if any. He
>criticised and blamed all the parties except for PDOIS which he described
>as credible in one of his remarks.
>
>I think people should be reasonable when they are talking about politics in
>any form being national or international politics. We have to give proper
>historical background to situations and corroborate with the present
>developments and then suggest solutions which can be of value to the
>players on the ground. This attitude of condemning everybody and everything
>without providing any solution of your own does not help any Gambian no
>matter on what side of the coin we are. And unless there is fundamental
>change in attitudes we would certainly get nowhere. I found out that the
>people that the writer is criticising are even better than him. This is for
>the simple fact that those politicians have pointed out why they are taking
>such decisions which to some extent have been dictated by the realities on
>the ground.
>
>It is very clear to everyone with a sense of history that Dibba has been
>fighting elections in this country since 1976 when he left the PPP. There
>was no proper organisation that was donating any money to his party and
>many Gambian intellectuals who were interested in politics were joining the
>ruling party in order to get ministerial positions even though they new
>quite well that the government was corrupt. The party to some extent was
>being funded by few people and Dibba's personal efforts to a certain
>degree.
>
>Here is a man who sacrificed all kinds of jobs and pleasures that you and I
>would may not want to do today. He was arrested and detained in 1981 for
>almost 9 months for a crime he never committed until he lost his seat in
>Central Baddibou. Many of his supporters were dragged from Baddibous and
>Bakau to various detention camps with the intention of killing his party
>and to demoralise and discredit him as a political figure. A lot of
>innocent peole died in those detention camps. Despite all that mental and
>physical torture, he made a comeback and regained his seat in 1992.
>
>There is no Gambian politician who has been detained for his political
>beliefs to the extent of Dibba, there is no Gambian politician who had
>suffered defeats in the polls than Dibba and there is no Gambian politician
>who sacrificed anything for political opposition than Dibba and yet this is
>the man that the new opposition parties or writers are saying didnot
>sacrifice enough. What do they want him to do?
>
>
>We all agree that there is no violent solution to The Gambian political
>question. If Dibba realised that earlier than you and I , and decided to
>wait for the real democratic process to come and go back to the Gambian
>people to seek their mandate, why should we think that he is wrong in doing
>that. If the decrees were not meant to be obeyed, why did n't we ask Jawara
>to go back home and contest the 1996 elections. He and other politicians
>had the opportunity to defy the decrees and return home.They would have
>sacrificed their lives and be called national heroes by now.
>
>Why did they wait for the political amnesty before they could not return
>home as private individuals? Why did the Gambians go to the polls even
>though the government that organised the elections was described as
>illegitimate? Above all why did the Gambian people respect the verdict of
>the polls in both 1996 and 2001? Why didn't every Gambian boycott the
>elections in 1996 for the reason that decrees were still in place?
>
>It is sad to mention but most of us who are meant to comprehend what
>democracy is all about are the people who unfortunately are more confused
>about democratic process.
>
>The 2001 polls were free and fair and the Gambian people who went to the
>polls decided to renew their confidence in Jammeh government. They have
>their own reasons for giving him the mandate to govern them for another
>five years and by respecting the verdict of over 52% of the electorates is
>what democracy is all about and not about writing high sounding phrases
>about the people and the political players. It is quite difficult to be
>realistic when you are defeated at the polls by such magnitude but unless
>we accept realities at the right time, this small nation will go nowhere in
>terms of development.
>
>Even though Yaya has lot of problems particularly in the area of human
>rights, nobody has the right to tell the Gambian people that they have
>voted for the wrong person and they should take other measures to reverse
>their decision. Are we advocating that all Gambians should keep away from
>anything to do with the government whether developmental or otherwise and
>let Yaya and his supporters do it? If the answer is yes, then we are all
>narrow minded.
>
>The governpment is not Yaya government but a government that represents all
>Gambian people and for that reason whoever feels that despite his or her
>political beliefs, would want to participate in the development process of
>the country, should only be encouraged. The government is not anybody's
>personal property and it should never be seen be allowed to be seen to be
>that. If it clear that this is the attitude that Yaya has , we deserve the
>right to tell him that he is wrong and suggest tangible solutions to him.
>You can still be participating in the government and bring about positive
>changes. The case of Abdoulaye Wade and Co is too recent to forget. He
>served in the government of Joof so many times as a cabinet minister to
>contribute his bit in the national development process and this also
>enabled him to gain the most needed administrative experience. But this did
>not prevent him from contesting and winning the election when the people
>who matter wanted him to rule them instead of Joof.
>
>We can make our country a better place if we should learn how to go by the
>verdict of the people as dictated by the basic tenents of democracy we are
>preaching. It is our responsibility to join hands with whoever is in power
>to develop our country , if we are given the opportunity to so. I do not
>therefore see the need to discourage Dibba to participate in a government
>of his country if the authorities need him. He can only be encouraged.
>
>The country belongs to all of us and it requires the input of everyone.We
>should be around and within to tell Yaya what is wrong and what is correct.
>It is not a law in politics that you should always fight to gain power from
>outside. You can also participate meaningfully in the developement process
>of your country from within. Lenin (the great Russian leader) told us that
>if you cannot defeat them, join them. If you start a journey and the
>realities show you that you cannot complete it, the basic common sense will
>tell you that you should return to where you started.
>
>Yaya needs to be assisted by enlightened and experienced individuals and he
>needs to be told the truth at all times. He should not be left to be
>surrounded by individuals who would only tell him what he wants to hear.
>His pledge for reconciliation and forgiveness is probably a step in this
>direction. He probably wants the much needed people around to help the
>country achieve its target in terms of economic growth and political
>evolution.
>
>There is nothing that prevents us from maintaining our parties and still
>giving helping hand to the government . Any improvement in the Gambia in
>terms of the economy will go into uplifting the living standards of the
>ordinary poor. This is a joint responsibility and history will hold
>responsible if we should turn a blind eye to it for the fact that we hate
>the system. The issue of poverty alleviation and rural development is not a
>concept that came with Yaya and it would continue to be so even after him.
>
>Let us be assessing ourselves as to the contribution we are making to move
>our country forward. Even if you are in opposition, what contributions are
>you making to sustain the party you support. It is sad that most of us who
>write big essays in the net are doing nothing practically to support even
>the party we tend to sympathise with. This does not help.
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