Well Gassa as an opened minded person I like to give the benefit of the
doubt, eventhough in the past such rhetoric as you have echoed has been
made. I feel that it is about time we draw the line somewhere and engage in
positive criticism which will reflect our maturity as a people and a nation.
But then we can only achieve such with the good will participation  of
Jammeh and his compatriots, after all they are the ones calling the tune.
They hold the rope that wields the NIA and fundamental to any recocilliation
is the reconstitution of that nefarious institution, that is despised even
by the judiciary let alone the ordinary people. I hope this time round
Jammehs pronouncements will be translated into action. If this happens   and
democracy allowed to thrive, it can only bring good, but otherwise it will
only generate hatred and distrust amongst ourselves. I hope as you and
Jammeh make the clarion call for us to work together you also shall play
your part, after all this is not about making fanciful statements to impress
the international media it is about the lives of a people. such commitments
should not be undertaken lightly, because failure to execute what one
promise will only breed contempt and distrust. I hope this  is a new chapter
in which we shall all see the changes for real. I do not expect arbritrary
arrests and detentions, for I expect that instructions from hence, would be
to apply the rule of law. If anyone is suspected of commiting a crime he or
she should be charged and arraigned before a court of law, instead of being
hidden in dark dungeons, hence inviting speculations. In a genuine democracy
such form of treatment is unheard of and that is why the constitution have
stipulated tghe maximum period an alleged accused could be hold without
charge and since Jammeh has taken an oath to defend this constitution before
the eyes of the world he should not renege, for an oath is not a light
commitment. I hope those that detain people without charging them from now
on would realise that they would be flouting the constitution which is being
protected by Jammeh, the judiciary and the parliament and for them to ignore
all these institutions can lead them to being prosecuted. So I hope all law
enforcements will be more mindful now.

Some of us are not opposing Jammeh on any parochial issue but our love for
the country and our desire to see a free people as well as the realisation
of the fact that the issues we fight for are bigger than individuals. This
is the motivation that is why we cannot condone any form of human rights
violations, and am sure you Gassa would concede that Jammeh needs to improve
on human rights this fact was reiterated by not only the EU but also many
well respected international organisations. I hope he will depart from all
those administrative trivialities and consolidate himself by doing good for
all the Gambians instead of just rewarding his praise singers and punishing
the opposers, after all not all of us can be praise singers some of us were
born to live and die for the truth and I HOPE JAMMEH RECOGNISED THIS TRUISM.
A govenment needs opposition to reflect upon itself otherwise the danger of
self conceitment will take over. I hope Jammeh take note this time and
practice what he preaches otherwise they would only remain unfulfilled
sermons.

>From: Jungle Sunrise <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Olly Mboge - This government is moving in the right direction!
>Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 16:14:13 +0000
>
>Kanteh wrote:
>
>"Mr Gassa,
>There is no complete agreement among peoples of different societies
>and cultural backgrounds as to what exacty constitues human rights and
>democracy and will never be. However, it is either as a result of sheer
>ignorance or dishonesty on the part of anyone with the view that what today
>constitutes the inalienable rights of any human beings, otherwise known as
>the fundamental human rights is a Western concept that cannot be applicable
>to non-western societies."
>
>Mr. Kanteh,
>
>I must first of all apologize for the long time it has taken me to respond
>to some of the issues that you raised earlier on last week. Whereas I don’t
>share some of your opinions about this regime and Jammeh in particular, I
>fully understand some of your concerns. You see Mr. Kanteh; this government
>has made some mistakes in the past, still makes some mistakes today and
>will
>perhaps make some more mistakes in the future. Where I differ from some of
>you people who oppose this regime, for whatever reason, is our approach to
>those mistakes.
>
>To understand some of the present day problems facing us, we need to be
>honest with ourselves and try to see them from a wider perspective. This
>may, in some cases, necessitate us going back to our colonial history and
>how that legacy is still haunting us.
>
>We all know that little Gambia, during colonial times, was divided into the
>colony and the protectorate. This in fact had a lot of influence when the
>first political parties were formed in the country. The PPP that started as
>the Protectorate People’s Party was mainly a rural party. It later evolved
>into the People’s Progressive Party and attracted some membership from the
>urban area. During that period, there were many towns thriving in the
>provinces due to the many European trading centers and a vibrant river
>transport system that existed. Towns that quickly come to mind are towns
>like Albreda, Njawara, Kani Kunda, Kudang Tenda, Kuntaur, George Town,
>Karantaba etc, etc. Rather than building on some of the structures that
>existed when we had independence, the former PPP regime totally neglected
>most of these to the detriment of our people. In those days river transport
>enabled traders in the provinces to transport goods from the Banjul area
>cheaply and could sell them relatively cheaply too. The difference in the
>price of commodities between those sold in Banjul and those sold in Kuntaur
>or Basse were not that much. Farmers’ produce could also be easily brought
>to Banjul and cross-border trade thrived. Rural urban drift was not that
>rampant and people lived relatively comfortable lives. However from the 70s
>things started going out of control. River transport began to deteriorate,
>rural business started to dwindle, one of the main source of rural
>employment, the groundnut mill in Kuntaur was relocated to Kaur and all
>hell
>began to get loose. The droughts of that period, explosive population
>growth, low productivity, low agricultural activity, massive corruption in
>the co-operatives, massive corruption in the customs and excise, rampant
>nepotism, the ERP, etc, etc all had the cumulative effect of increasing our
>hopelessness and poverty. In fact some of these contributed very much to
>the
>limited acceptance of the 1981 attempted coupe by many.
>
>Following the crushing of the 1981 coupe attempt by the Senegalese troupes,
>what followed can only be described as a nightmare. The gap between the
>haves and have-nots increased, rural-urban drift escalated, basic
>infrastructure were neglected, our experiment with privatization failed
>abysmally while our population went unchecked.
>
>When the AFPRC came to power in 1994, it was not a surprise that the
>commissions of inquiry that they set up brought many peoples worlds
>crashing
>down. The level of corruption unearthed left many bewildered. They
>announced
>a transition program promising us the earth and the moon. Of course not
>many
>believed them at first and people demanded a shorter transition. When the
>transition ended and the ban on political activity lifted, the former
>parties, with the exception of PDOIS and GDP were all banned, the APRC, NRP
>and UDP were formed and political activity resumed in earnest. After the
>1996 elections, which some members of the international community described
>as not free or fair because the main opposition party (UDP) was not allowed
>access to the public media, but which most Gambians accepted as free and
>fair, the rift between the APRC and UDP increased. The UDP campaigned all
>it
>could to have the government isolated and the government did all it could
>to
>silence them. This unhealthy state of affaires went for a full five years
>and caused deep divisions within our community. The tragic events of April
>10th  & 11th drove us further into potential anarchy and chaos.
>
>The recent elections, described by all as free and fair, should have
>allowed
>us to break away from the past and start a new beginning. This is what I
>believe we should do. When the APRC announced that they were extending an
>olive branch to the opposition and called on all of us to join hands in
>nation building, we witnessed the reaction of many. Some rejected it
>outright, some adopted a wait and see policy, while others took it as a
>positive move. The recent firing and re-hiring of civil servants was most
>unfortunate, but has to be seen in the light of what had always prevailed.
>Jammeh did not start the hiring and firing of civil servants considered to
>be opposed to his government. He merely continued what the colonialists
>did,
>what Jawara did and what Ousainou Darbo, when he thought he was going to
>win, promised to do. These are some of the things we need to get rid off.
>But would insulting the president or his officials do it? Absolutely NOT!
>The government will just turn around and say we run things, finito.
>
>The recent inaugural speech of the president calling for reconciliation,
>asking for forgiveness for past mistakes and saying that he has forgiven
>those who have wronged him should be taken seriously and we should all try
>to find ways of doing just that. That is the only way forward.
>Confrontation
>and promise of revenge or counter revenge will only set us back. I would
>like to end this by quoting Eva Strittmatter, who wrote:
>
>“We have all lost very much, don’t fool yourself; me and you also. We were
>born open to the world, now we keep the doors closed to him and her and
>them”
>
>Have a good day, Gassa.
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
>
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