In a message dated 11/11/2001 11:48:42 AM Central Standard Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:


> In myhonest opinion some of the rhetoric is making more harm to the cause of 
> the
> honest opposition members in the Diaspora than good. I know this because of
> the response you get from some of the people living out here, when mention
> to them some names. Some would shrug and say ‘well so and so has to say 
> that
> to continue to qualify for asylum’. 

Gassa,

There is no country in the World where anyone has to continue to say anything 
to continue to qualify for assylum, so please let us put that allegation to 
rest once and for all. All the countries that grant political asylum to 
individuals do have their own information gathering apparatus that allows 
them to write country reports, and they are well aware of what is going on, 
so no need for anyone to continue to say anything to maintain asylum status. 
You make it sound like people who have assylum in these countries have to 
provide a daily quota of information to continue to qualify for assylum, and 
nothing is farther from the truth.

Now your points about constructive criticism are well taken, and the fact 
that the APRC government is there for another 5 years is true although 
unfortunate. Your allegation that lost opportuniyt is what drives some to 
oppose the government is quite simplistic. I think that what a lot of us 
oppose is quite apparent in what we have to say, and that is the rampant 
human rights abuses and the lavish spending of our meager resources, and 
other unsavoury activity that has become the trademark of this regime.

Please do not tell me that a supposedly intelligent person like yourself 
cannot understand that. You and the rest of the Jammeh supporters  also have 
to stop trying to relegate any and all opposition to this regime as driven by 
just pure hatred for inidividuals, lost opportunity and other personalized 
reasons when you witness the arrest and harassment of opposition supporters 
simply because they supported the opposition in the elections, the arrest and 
detention of human rights activists just because they commented on what is 
going on, the arrest and detention of people like George Christenson and Mbye 
Gaye who they said owed some monies? 

Is this a reason for the NIA to get involved or if this is true, is that not 
a domestic matter to be handled by the government department that is 
responsible for the registration of Radio stations or whatever they are 
called? Could he not have been fined, or his permit to operate taken away 
until he is able to pay as opposed to being arrested? 

What about Christenson, why were his premises torched a while back, and why 
was he arrested this time? Perhaps some commentary he made as all news people 
are supposed to do to let the people know what is going on?

These are not normal goings on in any country, and these are the things we 
are talking about for heaven's sake, and no president who is on the straight 
and narrow stands up to issue threats to the citizens of his or her country 
almost daily, or do you consider all of this normal? What about the 
constitutional violations?

Gassa, a government that is doing right by the   people does not have to 
resort to all of these things, and people are afraid to open their mouths in 
our country. You and the rest of the troup come here telling us that this is 
not the case, even as all of these arrests and unlawful detention of people 
and the abuse of their human rights is going on daily. Is this a government 
that is likely to listen to anyone who tells them that these  acts are not 
the parameters that one measures a good government by? 


No matter what else this regime accomplishes, these heavyhanded behaviour 
will cloud it, and make the rest of the World condemn them and call them a 
brutal regime. You cannot say you are improving the quality of life for 
people while at the same time stifling their ability to express themselves 
freely. 

Here on the L, these activities are brought to the forefront and reported for 
the World to see, and this is why people like yourself and others from the 
Jammeh camp have taken the time to try to  come here and put an end to our 
discussion of these atrocities because all of you are well aware that this is 
not good publicity for this regime, but they are the ones who actually bring 
this upon themselves by  continuing to engage in this heavyhandedness upon 
the people, and so long as it is happening, we will continue to talk about 
it. 
I think that those of you who support this regime need to concentrate your 
energies into advicing them to stop the totalitarian behaviour, and good luck 
if you think they will listen to you. From what I have been able to assess, 
the ysemm to have arrived at the conclusion that brutality and threats are 
the way to go, and one cannot reason with people like that.

Jabou Joh

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