Make no mistake about it, this Jammeh2001.com website is there for two
purposes: get APRC's campaign agenda out there and also to give the them a
presence in Cyberspace, where they have traditionally taken an old fashioned
battering.  Fatou Jahumpa, the forum moderator, actually writes theirs will
be more tolerant than other Gambian Listservs and forums.  To top it off, AJJ
himself has finally posted on the forum and invited a whole bunch of us to
come engage his camp in a dialog about his atrocious record, a fact which
only seems oblivious to him. Let's post on this site and state the raw facts
about this regime even if this means using aliases. In saying this, it is
also important to note that their forum is infested with maniacal morons who
are willing to pose fickle challenges to any criticism of the regime.  Here
is the direct link to the forum:

http://www.jammeh2001.org/wwwboard/index.html

The website itself is quite comical, being about AJJ, the man, the myth, the
international peacemaker etc. -- while a portion is devoted to their campaign
agenda on topics like Gender Equality, Poverty Alleviation plus all the usual
campaign issues usually associated with presidential elections.  The UDP or
preferably a united opposition should use their site to further a campaign
agenda and also discuss governance issues relevant to The Gambia.  It goes
without saying that the APRC has gained ground on other political parties in
this respect, but their frightful record in bringing any of these plans too
fruition means it is not too late for the opposition to make up the lost
ground.  The "APRC Manifesto" link is their way of selling a governance plan
which is based on grandiose theories rather than achievable goals.  Seven
years of rule and many millions of dollars in foreign loans has seen minimal
or negative headway in most economic sectors per their manifesto.  In lieu of
this, the opposition should seize the opportunity to challenge this failing
record plus also formulate practical achievable goals for our country,
something which Ousainou Darboe has talked about but never really explained
in detail.  This is a chance to get this done, most importantly on the
ground, but also online.

On the lighter side though, Jammeh2001 is an extremely comical site.  It
really shows how shallow and out of touch these people really are. His
biography is so long and contrived, a person non-educated to Gambian current
affairs would surely believe this is a man of near mythical status.  His "Pan
Africanist Humanitarian Of The Year" title, one of many other bogus ones, is
particularly insulting when one considers our country's human rights record.
How in God's name are these titles awarded to African dictators to whom
murder and mayhem is nothing but a buzzword?!  Also under the biography
section, is his list of hobbies such as hunting in the forest, which, as we
have been made to understand lately, includes includes herding people up and
shooting them in these same forests..

The most despicable Jammeh propaganda is located under the International
Peacemaker link.  Stay there for a minute and your senses will suddenly be
assaulted by a steam of pictures where he poses in various "sultan-esque"
regalia with Kofi Annan, Abdoulie Wad, Mommar Ghaddafi and many others.  His
photos with the just deceased Laurent Kabilla are particularly eerie and most
definitely have a righteous place on dictator's row. This is megalomania and
ignorance at its peak and this arrogant display of pictures is extremely
unnecessary.  But this should not be surprising because as in the case of
most dictators this is a one man show.  Kid's Corner is another indication of
the two-faced nature of this regime.  These people defy all logic by having
AJJ pose with a bunch of kids of varying ages.  What does this section really
do for kids themselves?! This selfish move really shows the twisted nature of
this regime.

On a final and more serious note, it is particularly disconcerting to note
the amount of space GRTS has been given on this site.  In the GRTS section,
our own Tombong Saidy's picture is posted giving the impression that he is a
direct crony of the regime, a fact which he does not deny.  However, this is
a serious problem for in order to have a fair media campaign for each party,
the press must be fair.  The IEC must be called in to make sure that GRTS
implicitly understands the importance of giving equal media access to all
political parties.  An argument should also be made for the removal of the
GRTS section from the Jammeh2001.com website.  The APRC does not encompass
the instruments of the Gambian media.  A failure to make this distinction
will mean the upcoming elections will be unfair from the very start.  Let
them show videos of tractors plowing groundnut fields and such.  This, as if
tractors are a new invention. But they should not be allowed to flaunt the
Gambian TV and Radio as something of their own making and in the process use
these instruments to further their propaganda campaign.


Anyway, this should have covered most relevant sections.  Lets visit en masse
and give them a piece of our collective minds.

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