WONDERFUL SUGGESTIONS MR KATIM. KUDOS TO A JOB WELL DONE. KEEP IT UP!
                                                George Sarr.



Hi folks,

First, I would like to apologize for my long period of silence in the
aftermath of the senseless killing of 14 people, and the wounding of tens of
others, by our very own Gambian security forces.  The events of this past
April 10 and 11 are a shame that will haunt us forever.  I join the many
people on and off this list, and the world over in condemning these
killings, and expressing my condolences to the bereaved families.

As we've all seen over the past couple of days, there has been an outpouring
of rage never before seen in The Gambia.  It is indeed the least many can
do, at least for now, while we gather our strengths again, and prepare for
the battles ahead.  I'd like to contribute one or two ideas to already
bulging collection of brilliant efforts underway.  But before that, I'd like
to take the opportunity to touch on a few house-keeping issues, as regards
the list.

Earlier in the week, Ambassador Sey in France sent in his perspective on the
killings, and we all are aware of the wrath that brought him.  In response,
he requested that I take him off the list, not knowing that I do not spend
my whole day in front of my computer waiting for just such requests.
Unfortunately for him, it was much later that day that I saw his appeals.
Needless to say, I did not make any efforts to unsubscribe Ambassador Sey.
This was for no reason other than the fact that every posting sent out on
Gambia-L includes instructions on how to unsubscribe from the list and view
archives of postings.  I saw no reason why Ambassador Sey should have failed
to see those instructions, and had problems following them, if he did see
them.

The second house-keeping issue I'd like to touch on is the request received
from Tombong Saidy regarding insults hurled at him by Madiba Saidy.  I will
have to agree with Mr. Saidy on this one.  This will then be the second time
(the first was in 1996) that I'm standing up for Mr. Saidy when insulted on
the list.  But the issue is not Tombong Saidy, who I've never met in my
life.  Rather, it's the principle that EVERYONE on the list deserves to be
treated with dignity, even if the person in question has been shown or known
to be probably undeserving of the dignity.  I will say this, and it might
sound counter-intuitive, or even crazy, but folks, if there ever was a good
time to treat President Jammeh and his officials with respect, this is it.

I'll explain shortly, but please assume for a moment that the above
assertion is true.  In that case, it would follow that what is expected of
all of us is that we exercise restraint in the words we hurl at President
Jammeh and his officials.  While it is entirely up to each of us to decide
what words to trade in private, I would advice that we be as forceful as is
possible, without being insulting or vulgar, in our public dialogs with the
Jammeh government.  Besides, I'm of the opinion that if you have to insult
people to make your point, you really have nothing to say.

House-keeping chores aside, I'd now like to contribute a few suggestions to
those that have been sent in about how to react to the killings earlier this
week.  At the end of the day, I propose that all efforts should be aimed at
3-word objective:  Jammeh Must Go!  Folks, these killings are ample evidence
that we are at cross-roads in our nation's history.  Either we make a
whole-hearted effort to make sure that President Jammeh's rules ends sooner,
rather than later, or we prepare to deal with what might be even worse
things to come.

Toward this end, and along the lines of suggestions coming in, I would like
to add to the proposed action plan.  In essence, my proposals are based on a
CARROT or STICK approach to get rid of the Jammeh government.  Here's how:

1.  THE CARROT:
It's been a while that I've been thinking about reaching a compromise with
President Jammeh and his government for them to hand-over power, in exchange
for a number of concessions.  Briefly, the deal would be along these lines:
    i)  President Jammeh and his cabinet agrees to resign, and hand-over
power to a National Unity government, comprised of different political
parties, and interest groups
    ii)  The head of the National Unity Government will agree to step-down
after the Presidential elections next year; and by implication, will not
contest the elections him or herself
    iii) In exchange for handing over power, President Jammeh and his
Cabinet will be accorded the following:
            a). Immunity from prosecution for any and all crimes committed
while in office
            b). A life-time pension, based on their current salaries
    iv) The above immunities and pension-plans shall be contingent on:
            a). An agreement by President Jammeh, his Cabinet, and past
associates to participate in a truth-and-reconciliation commission to
investigate crimes they allegedly committed
            b). An agreement by President Jammeh and his Cabinet to refrain
from committing any further crimes AFTER the ratification of the amnesty
agreement
            c). An agreement by President Jammeh and his Cabinet to return
any state monies deemed to have been illegally acquired while in office
            d). It's legislation into effect by an Act of the Gambian
Parliament
    v) Families of all victims of violent incidents during President Jammeh'
s reign will be given benefits based on the salaries the victims were
drawing, or will have earned had they lived.

The above is a broad outline of a compromise between having to get President
Jammeh out of office as soon as possible, and making sure that it's done in
a manner that will ensure stability and peace.  The devil, as the saying
goes, could be in the details, but it should be quite possible to accomplish
this compromise if there's a will to do so.  And if for some reason or the
other the compromise route does not work, we'll resort to the stick.

2.  THE STICK:

It just might be possible that President Jammeh and/or his Cabinet would not
agree to a compromise by handing over power before their his present term is
up.  In that case, we'll use the stick, which in fact will consist of the
following action plan:  PLAN, ORGANIZE, and ACT.

 i)  PLAN
The first step in dealing with President Jammeh if he refuse to a compromise
plan would be to plan on what to do.  In many respects, present efforts on
the list will be immensely helpful in this regard.  Along those lines, I
would like to suggest the following as contingency plans for action toward
getting Jammeh out of office before his term is up, in the event he refuses
to compromise.

First, the overall premise of the plans would be that the fight is between
President Jammeh's might and bullets, and our rights and pens (or
keyboards).  It is a new game-plan in which we set the rules, and not
President Jammeh.  In other words, it will be fought on the basis of rules
that he has either no knowledge of, or has chosen to totally ignore.  I'm
talking here about decency, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
And herein is the reason why, earlier, I said that now is the time to show
maximum respect to the Jammeh government.  The fact is that the only way we
can build a credible case is when we have shown a level of maturity that the
position we are taking deserves.  Thus, we should be careful not to set-back
our cause  stoop down to their level and start trading insults with them, or
worse, start insulting them.

Plans for bringing about a speedy end to President Jammeh's rule should
include the following:

    a). A global campaign to educate the world about the atrocities and
incompetence of the Jammeh government
    b). A global campaign to deny the Jammeh government support from
governments and organizations they currently associate with
    c). A campaign to educate Gambians (in The Gambia and abroad; educated
or illiterate in English) about their rights, expectations, and what they
can do about to bring down the Jammeh government by peaceful means
    d). Support for the Gambian independent media groups to ensure the
adequacy of their facilities, and a political and legal environment for them
to do their work.
    e). Setting up an umbrella organization with autonomous regional and
local branches around the world, and aimed at building and fostering
democracy and freedom in The Gambia.
    f). Collaborating with other African and international organizations and
associations to work toward common objectives.

 ii)  ORGANIZE
The main vehicle toward the above plans will be an umbrella organization
that will be global in form, but with autonomous local and regional
branches.  There already exist a number of Gambian organizations around the
world and aimed at different objectives.  Furthermore, Dr. Abdoulie Saine
has recently proposed the formation of COFFET (The Coalition for Free and
Fair Elections in The Gambia), to work toward free and fair elections in The
Gambia in 2001.  Also, efforts are well underway to coordinate the response
to the killings, and provide help to the needy families.  In short, there's
no shortage of effort in trying to mobilize and organize people.

What we now need, I believe, is a formal umbrella organization that will be
purposely created to work toward not only the speedy end of the Jammeh
government, but also to help maintain an atmosphere of democracy, human
rights, and respect for the rule of law in The Gambia.  As I indicated
before, the organization will be global, because it will have branches in
all parts of the world with Gambians interested in working toward the
organizations objectives.

The local and regional branches of the organization will be autonomous, in
the sense that they will run their own finances, and be responsible to
coordinating main organizations local activities, and/or initiating their
own programs as long as they are consistent with those of the main
organization.  The benefit of having autonomous local branches include
flexibility in running the organizations program, and at the same time
making it easy to build the organizations brand, and name-recognition.

Having an umbrella organization will also be immensely helpful in getting
funds and grant from organizations and associations that fund activities
that the planned organization will engage in.  There are a number of groups
and Foundations out there that might be easier to solicit funds from if we
have a formal organization.  Furthermore, giving this organization a legal,
non-profit status in many countries will open even more opportunities for
raising funds needed to carry on it's work.

I would further suggest that such an organization have an annual membership
fee that is set in the local currency of the affiliate organizations.  In
addition, we can decide a proportion of each local affiliates membership
dues or funds be set-aside for the overall organization toward it's upkeep,
and the implementation of it's programs.

>From an organizational perspective, and given the potential logistical
problems of running an organization across time zones, and continents, I
would further suggest that in drafting the charters of both the umbrella
organization, and local affiliates, provision be made for the use of the
Internet communication tools (e-mail, chat, bulletin boards, etc) to
expedite the decision-making process, and enhance the governance of the
organization.

For now, that's about it with regards the organizational framework for a
plan of action to bring about an early end to President Jammeh's government.
And now, suggestions on actions that we can take to bring about our
objectives

iii) ACT
There already have been many suggestions about what can and should be done
to respond to the killings perpetrated by the Gambian security forces.
Alpha Robinson and Co. have done an excellent job of summarizing the
suggestions, and I would not belabor the issue any further.  Suffice it is
for me to add a few more items, and perhaps elaborate on those that could
use some more detail.

First, the idea of a Web site is great, and Dr. Amadou Janneh's donation of
a site most welcome.  In particular, I was also thinking along the lines of
getting pictures of the victims and putting them on the Web site.  May I
also add that the main purpose of the Web site should be to serve as the
official depository of, and destination for information regarding the case
against the Jammeh government.  Thus, the Web site should be organized along
the following subject matters:

    a).  A history of the Jammeh administration
    b).  Economic facts and figures about the Gambian economy under Jammeh
    c).  Human Rights and Political Freedom (or lack thereof) under Jammeh
    d).  Jammeh's Foreign policy
    e).  Outstanding and/or Pending allegations against the Jammeh
government

I would like to emphasize that the Web site should make maximum use of facts
and figures provided by none other than Jammeh himself, and his officials.
In other words, the best case we can build will be one based on facts and
figures found in the publications and utterances of the Jammeh government.
In this regard, I would read them my version of their Miranda rights:  they
have a right to remain silent (or do nothing), because anything they say (or
do) can, and will be used against them.

It is particularly important that we present a historical perspective of the
Jammeh administration's record.  This will be especially helpful to build a
case that not only has his government been inept and incompetent, but that
it has been consistently so.  Furthermore, the recent killing that so
outrage so many of us, do have precedents, which might or might not have
been related to a persistent tendency of the Jammeh administration toward
the illegal and brutal use of force against it's enemies, real and imagined.

Alpha Robinson has also mentioned the power of putting pictures on the Web
site.  As the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words."  For this
reason, I suggest we post pictures of ALL those who have died under violent
and/or suspicious circumstances during Jammeh's rule.  In addition, we
should include brief biographies of these victims to further drive home the
point that like you and me, they too, had their dreams.  And we, as a
nation, failed them miserably.

The Web site should also be an integral part of a global effort to educate
people the world over about the Jammeh administration's record.  Toward this
end, the propose umbrella organization will embark on a campaign aimed
making sure that whenever and where ever President Jammeh travels, we would
have sent out advance e-mail messages to government officials,
organizations, and news organizations to pointing them to our Web site, and
alerting them to the kind of person they will be receiving.  These e-mail
messages will be followed-up, where possible, by phone calls, and personal
visits by members of our organization in the event we have them on the
ground.

Still on the Web site, I suggest we start trying to put a team together to
build it.  Toward this end, I suggest that people volunteer for the
following:

    a). A Producer - responsible for the overall content and production of
the site
    b). Graphics designers - to design the Umbrella organization's logo, and
Web site templates
    c). Webmaster -  overall administration and programming (CGI scripts,
HTML, etc.) of the site
    d). Editors - Responsible for developing and writing content in
specialist areas (e.g. human rights, economic data and reports, etc.)
    e). Researchers  -- To work with Editors to research and develop
content; also to ensure that data is valid, current, and relevant.
    f). Others - to take on duties as assigned

Besides the Web site, our action plan should include activities geared
toward keeping the heat on the Jammeh administration.  Toward this end,
efforts should be made to contact various governments, development agencies,
and other organizations that Jammeh's officials have dealings with.  Thus,
efforts should be made to ensure that:

    a).  as many governments as possible deny Jammeh and his Cabinet members
permits to visit
    b).  as many organizations as possible stop dealing with the Jammeh
administration, and by refuse them invitations to international meetings
    c).  no more financial assistance forthcoming to The Gambia unless and
until outstanding allegations of the misappropriation of public funds (e.g.
money from Taiwan, the Nigerian oil deal) are resolved

Our efforts must also be aimed at effecting a campaign of political
education for Gambians.  While the Internet might be a wonderful tool for
communicating with those who have access to it, it still does us no good if
we want to reach someone in Sare Gubu Muntaga.  In that case, we have to try
some alternate means.  Thus, I suggest that we plan on making sure that as
many Gambians as possible have access to information other than what they
hear from official Gambian media.  In this regard, I suggest we take a leaf
from the late Ayatollah Khomenei's book.  We should seriously consider the
use of cassette tapes to get the word out, if need be.  What I have in mind
is a regular publication, in cassette form, of developments of concern to
Gambians.  The tapes might include discussions on topical issues, interviews
with political leaders denied access to the media, and educational material
for special interest groups (e.g. women, business people), or different
ethnic groups.

Furthermore, we can also look into the possibility of renting a shortwave
transmitter to broadcast regularly to The Gambia.  Remember that Radio Free
Europe was created for a similar purpose, and I think if we setup a proper
non-profit organization dedicated toward the development of democracy in the
Gambia, and indeed West Africa in general, we just might be able to come up
with a grant to have at least weekly broadcasts.  For example, World Harvest
Radio (http://www.whr.org) has a transmitter (WHRA -  Angel 5) in Maine that
is targeted to Africa and the Middle East (see http://www.whr.org/tech.htm)
You can find their transmitter rental information at
(http://www.whr.org/advert.htm).  I'm not saying the WHRI will agree to rent
us their transmitters, but I just wanted to give you an idea about what's
possible, and might well be achievable, if we work toward it.

Another important activity we must NOT neglect is support for Gambian media.
We've all heard of the heroics of George Christensen of Radio 1 FM, and we'
re all grateful to him for his interventions during last Monday's incidents.
Mr. Christensen's experiences, coupled with the killing of Mr. Omar Barrow,
the journalist, and Red Cross/Red Crescent volunteer are ample demonstration
of the risks and hazards they face on a daily basis.  For this reason, I
suggest we start thinking about ways and means of helping them out.  For
example, I have seen a number of postings from some of them about not being
able to send in their responses or postings because of this or that computer
problem.  We should try to work toward helping them with their computer
problems by either helping them get new ones, or functional refurbished
ones.  Furthermore, I've been thinking about helping them setup their own
Web sites, but I will have to work on this not only with them, but also with
Quantum who presently provides them some space.

And finally, I would like to say that we should also plan to coordinate and
collaborate with other African and international groups toward common
objectives.  If I'm not mistaken, I believe a number of Gambia-L subscribers
are already active in international human rights circles and democracy
movements (e.g. Ndey Jobarteh), and I think they might be able to provide us
some valuable hand-holding.  And by the way, I would like to ask Ndey
Jobarteh and Saiks Samateh if we might be allowed to use their slogan "For
Freedom" as the motto of the umbrella organization I am proposing.  What do
you think?

I'll leave it that until later.  And with up-coming meetings in DC and other
places, I would suggest that we start building a coordinating team to work
with Soffie Ceesay and Alpha Robinson to get the umbrella organization and
other activities off the ground.  Please keep the positive dialog flowing,
and God willing, we shall overcome.  Best wishes in your endeavors.

Katim

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