Joe ,
        once again I will try to discuss the issue of participation in the
elections. As I said before the coalition had no choice having seen for
themselves the very apparent contours of a totally rigged election. It is
akin to expecting a victim to commit suicide to avoid a planned execution.
Dembo Bojang would be doing the good folks of Bakau a monumental disservice
if he knowingly enters into an electoral contest in which hundreds of people
would be bused in to defeat him and his constituents in a manner that is
specifically proscribed by the laws of the country. This is true countrywide.
The purpose was to have legitimately elected members of parliament
unwittingly participate in a fraudulent scheme whose sole purpose is to
subvert the will of the people. There is no argument that all opposition
members of parliament are very much needed in the house and record of the
coalition MPs speak for themselves. They worked very hard and served their
nation honorably. All the party wants is a contest based on the laws of the
country and they have never asked for anything outside those confines. While
I perfectly understand your desire to see them in the house and doing the
people's business, it is the government and it's allies in crime that have
denied the people their rights to representation. When you are dealing with a
thuggish regime that has no desire to respect the will of the people, good
people must take a stand and refuse to be accessories to these crimes against
the people. It was impossible for them to participate and that is the only
reason they did not. If we go by the typical Gambian penchant for tolerating
bad behavior and crimes as you mentioned with regard to the different
categories of people murdered by this regime from the soldiers, to the kids
and insist that the UDP should go ahead  and participate despite these grave
violations, what would have been the outcome? You will still not get these
honorable members you rightly believe should be in the House and it won't be
because their constituents don't want them. They would have lost their seats
to the criminal enterprise hatched by the I.E.C and gov't. Elections are
about winning and loosing but they must always be on a fair basis.Afterall
you will not find anyone who would dispute the very fundamental issues that
underlie the boycott. Once we agree on the reason as being genuine and
critical to democracy, there is no question about the need for an established
party to stand up and say no to these obvious shenanigans.
        On the issue of the international perception, I will tell you for the
record that the coalition has met and discussed with all friends of Gambia.
Unanimously they have all said they agreed and understood why the boycott was
undertaken. Granted these same countries have not packed up and left. They
will continue to conduct their businesses in our country and that includes
interaction with a regime they annually characterize as brutal and inhuman.
Relationships among countries endure a lot of disagreements and don't mistake
this regimes dealings with the civilized world as anything remotely
resembling a seal of approval. This is a pariah regime that that illicit a
lot of contempt primarily because of the way they treat the Gambian people.
The battle for reshaping the destiny of country has to be fought primarily in
The Gambia and the coalition has a very robust and comprehensive strategy for
that. We are glad that friends of Gambia in the international community agree
with us and ensuing events would validate the strong yearnings of our people.
Don't despair.
Karamba

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