The issue at hand here is Harona's professed neutrality and not about the
incidents of the 10th and 11th April, 2000 and its ugly history.

It is always paramount in a discussion like this to understand the issues
that are being discussed than to rush to judgment based on one's emotional
sentiments.

I want to reiterate, again, that to dismissed Harona's claimed neutrality as
a pinch of salt only because of his previous work with the GRTS is to say
the least, intolarant, prejudicial and uttterly selfish.
Harona has every right to his entitlement ! Also, to campare Harona's
journalistic dispensation at the GRTS to that of Ebrima Ceesay's position
then at the Daily Observer is an unforgiveable travesty of justice and fair
journalistic gradings. Ebrima was editor in Chief who had custody of what
could or could not be printed on the paper at the time and Harona was by all
indication a mere report at the mercy of the high echelon of the GRTS
command and as a matter of fact cannot be compared to Ebrima Ceesay Daily
Observed days. You compare two things that are alike. In this circumstantial
vein, I want to add that if you want to make it your business to compare
them you should start from their respective identical realities today given
the fact that they are all free to express themselves  and also to
associated with political parties if they will without institutional
demands/influences .To me I think, they are fairing very well in the debate.

Please, Mr. Sarr, try to be man enough to discuss with people with a view to
share and exchange information that can breed understanding and cement
respect. The accusations of hyprocrisy or whatever that you discharged from
your fine brain is very unbecoming of a gentleman and growing intellectual
of your calibre and timbre. It make me sick to note that some
would-be-fine-intellectuals like your self can quickly degenerate to this
nauseating level of intellectual arrogance.

How dare you classify me on the same political level as Harona ? I belong to
an organised, respected and venerated political party. I am not neutral and
do not profess neutrality. Do you want to make it your business to classify
every one of us as the same only because we voiced out the truth about
political neutrality ? Your insuniation is based on sheer prejudice and
expressed intellectual inferiority complex which I referred to earlier.
Desist ! And try to be your own . Do not take cover behind others . Be what
you are always and learn to speak your own mind irrespective of political
affiliation or whatever.

I am no better than Harona or anyone else that speak their mind freely and
sincerely.

But the likes of you on the Gambia L really make me want to vomit .

Assalamu Alaikum !

Sallah
>From: Mr Makaveli <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: To Be Or Not To Be? Saul( My final comment (o-:)  )
>Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 11:49:35 -0500
>
>Saul,
>  It looks like we should just suck it up , have a coca-cola and a big
>freaking smile just to so we appear agreeable. That we should just
>acquiesce to the idiosyncrasies of bureaucratic horse-whip just to appear
>less intolerant and recalcitrant. Moving on as they say in gambian style.
>How convenient, ha? To always please others and look agreeable. Yuk!
>
>See, I was asking genuine questions to find some solutions to our present
>dilemma, when 'the defendant' butted in my conversation, told us he is
>neutral and will not contribute nada but was only butting in to distract
>us and dictate what those who are NOT neutral ought to do since they talk
>tough and do nothing. Well, if this is the style of professionalism GRTS
>journalist professed then I am not very impressed. And while I agree that
>we are wasting valuable time and effort on this subject, I will always
>stick to my argument whether others accept it or not because afterall we
>should agree to disagree. Not just to look agreeable to please others when
>we differ in views. First of all, if Harona is neutral and is supposedly a
>professional gambian journalist, how come when one look into the archives
>of Gambia-l that nothing was reported by him that in some way appears to
>befit the gambian public but somewhat detrimental to the APRC? Instead all
>one finds are his confrontations with ONLY members in the opposition and
>him defending his boss Tombong and GRTS. Think about folks, who in his or
>her right mind have the guts to come Gambia-L and say I am a journalist
>who support and work for APRC, openly? Who? So the easy way is to appear
>neutral and offer nothing beneficial to the opposition. I hear some of you
>complained about the lack of fair coverage for the opposition parties by
>GRTS yet that same foul tactic wasn't detected from Harona who reports for
>that same GRTS. Go figure. Ebrima Ceesay, who is a brilliant professional
>journalist is among the opposition but he reports everything of public
>interest whether it's about APRC, UDP or NRP. That's what being neutral
>means to me. Not cherry-picking what to report.The public must be informed.
>What do we get from Harona other that his constant bickering with comrades
>in the opposition and him patting the backs of Tombong and Kebba Jobe. Hey,
>people, get this, he works for them. Are you people telling him that's the
>best he can do when there is so much going on in the Gambia many of which
>never get reported. If people like Ebrima Ceesay and Ebou Colley didn't
>pick up the slacks and have the courage and professionalism to report
>those somewhat sensitive but pertinent issues to the general public, some
>off use would have already unsuscribed from this list if we were to depend
>on GRTS' harona Drammeh for any pertinent information. Just because he did
>not openly said he support the APRC shouldn't mean some of us ought to buy
>his pitch. I am one of those few who just don't buy that baloney and I
>don't care how many times he tells us he is neutral. There is lots of
>circumstantial evidence to prove otherwise.
>
>Anyway, I'll agree that there are more Phi-A-Haronas amongst us and we
>should move on to more pressing issues, but I will not succumb to any
>hypocrisy just because some of you are 90 years old or whatever. While I
>respect other's viewpoints, mine should be respected as well without
>labeling me as intolerant or what not. We must agree to disagree, period.
>But disagree we must do without resorting to stereotypes.
>
>Here are few questions that none of you have been able to offer any
>answers to , but that's not suprising to say the least.
>
>  1. How can anyone convince us that they are comfortable shitting on a
>  damn fence while their fellow gambian brothers and sisters are gruesomely
>  been massacred by our despicable and despotic government?
>
>  2.Could any fence-shitter here tells us how they would have reacted if
>  one of their close relatives(or to put it bluntly their own son or
>  daughter) were among the victims of April 10 & 11 student massacre?
>
>  3.Would they get off the damn fence or still proudly proclaim themselves
>  as fence-shitters( "a political enthusiast, who rides on the ticket of
>  neutrality") as Harona Drammeh japes it?
>
>  4. How many professional gambian journalists publicly acknowledge being a
>  staunch supporter of this despotic APRC regime on this public forum
>  otherwise known as 'The Gambia-L'?
>
>From my recollection, the answer to that is none. Gambia-L's notoriety for
>having very informed and seasoned list members who refuse to tolerate
>mediocrity and hypocrisy makes it very uncomfortable and quite extrinsic.
>Again, I really hate to harangue these folks on the folly of their ways of
>thinking but it is very mindboggling and nerve-wracking to accept such
>irrational thoughts as the norms.
>
>
>                                                   Mr Makaveli
>
>From: saul khan <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: To Be Or Not To Be? Saul.
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Date: May 23, 2001
>
>
>Mr. Sallah,
>
>I'm simply dumb-founded that even after several clarifications, you're
>still
>latching on to the wrong vine! For the last time, get this: this
>controversy
>has got ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with Harona's right to identify, or
>otherwise with any particular political party. It's about INTEGRITY.
>There's
>a difference between saying because of my job, or other connections, I
>can't
>afford to identify publicly with any party, and saying that I'm "neutral"
>when in fact that's not true. Mr. Sidi Sanneh who's elderly and works for
>the ADB has professed such a position on this forum. How many people have
>you seen questioning his integrity? What's special about Harona?
>
>And for the record: I don't know Harona Drammeh from Adam. I've never met
>the fellow. Neither do I know anything about some of the people he worked
>
>
>
>Gambians Online " Designed With The Gambian People In Mind"
>                http://www.gambiansonline.com
>
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