Gambia-L:

The article below is culled from The Point newspaper on the Net dated
Thursday, 30th August 2001. I have found it interesting and as such, I am
forwarding it to the L.

Ebrima Ceesay

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WHY DID JAMMEH THANK SEDAT?

(Reprinted from The Point Newspaper, Thursday, 30th August, 2001)


Foreign Secretary Sedat Jobe, the faithful, the committed and close aide to
Jammeh on Monday resigned from his important position as the country's first
diplomat. Throughout his tenure and more so for the past two years or so,
Jobe clearly indicated that he was translating Jammeh's diplomatic options.
He repeatedly praised those options for the Casamance, Guinea Bissau, and
Libya's diplomatic endeavours. Jobe chaired the Security Council. He became
Jammeh's unconditional and he demonstrated his solidarity in April 2000 when
he offered to speak on the tragic April 10 and 11 incidents to the nation
instead of Jammeh. In the end we all know that it was Jammeh who finally
gave that nationwide TV broadcast. Jobe praised Jammeh's role in the
Casamance, Bissau Guinean conflicts. He also activated Jammeh's crusade in
the Lockerbie imbroglio. Jobe always provided the guidance, the language and
the form for the foreign policy objectives; the rest being of course a
two-way prompting.

Sedat entrenched himself as an unconditional and close adviser. He also made
the big jump as he announced in our columns that he had resigned from UNESCO
to serve Jammeh and country. Now, where was Sedat for nearly one month? Of
course on Jammeh's services. And as a good foreign minister, he was
reporting on a daily basis on his mission to the boss. And the boss was
keeping him abreast with developments at home. One should not be foolhardy
to believe that Jobe would be on special missions in Chad and other places
without being in touch with his boss. Now then, the million dollar question
is why did Jammeh thank Sedat? One observer ventured that he lost his job as
a result of the "revelation" by Ousainou Darboe that they were brothers. Now
come off it! In this small Gambia everyone including Jammeh knows that they
are brothers.

What of the second view? The one that peddles that he was sacked because he
offered the advice that led to Joshi's expulsion. In all fairness there also
the view that he advised that the decision be reversed and resigned when
this was not obtained. As we have attempted to reply to the first view, how
do these last two fit in the Joshi factor? The second view that he gave the
advice that led to Joshi's expulsion seems more plausible taking into his
recent pronouncements on the British, Americans, French on Baba Jobe's
travel ban. One must also add that he summoned these diplomats to blame them
for meddling in the affairs of the country by financing newspapers that
relay, as he put it, negative opposition messages. After his meeting with
the diplomats, he met the press to re-echo the same sentiments blaming us
for carrying brother Ousainou Darboe's message predicting an upheaval in the
country.

Remember we said Jobe was Jammeh's unconditional! So, how can Jobe resign?
The third view is untenable because he didn't resigned for accusing the
British, The Americans and the French. He obviously didn't do the same when
he summoned the same diplomats. His interview tough short with Pap Saine is
also another pointer. How can one say "I have resigned on principles" and in
the same vein allude to a desire to work with the same people whose values
are not yours? We are yet to know all the pieces of this jigsaw as far as
this issue is concerned. What we can say here and now is that Jammeh did
thank Sedat Jobe last Monday. Why and How? We must endeavour to unravel this
enigma in the days, weeks and months to come.

(Culled from The Point Newspaper, 30th August 2001)


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