"We have been communicating on issues pertaining to the party and there was
never a time when any member of the party has been critical of his return’
said. OJ believes that instead of criticizing him, individual members of the
PPP should show a more accommodating spirit by excusing the ‘old man’ for
the time being. ‘It is necessary for the people to be patient and allow Sir
Dawda to sort out his domestic and family affairs after being away for eight
years’ he suggested."

If everything is going well with the PPP members and their party, why on
earth would OJ plead for accommodation and to excuse Jawara for the time
being, for what?  Why should Jawara's welfare be put ahead and over all the
hundreds that are out there suffering?  Like I said every Gambian has a
right to see Jawara for what he is to them.  If OJ wants to accommodate and
excuse the "old man" that's fine by me.  However, other PPP "bigwigs"
whoever they are felt betrayed and it does not take a rocket scientist to
see the act for what it is.  Did OJ err when he said in the papers that he
was not informed of a date for Jawara's arrival, just days before Jawara
arrived?  Or is this politics as usual?  What on earth is wrong with our
people?  Why can't we call a spade a spade.  How many days has it been since
Jawara arrived home?  Has he seen or spoken to any current PPP/UDP opinion
leaders, including OJ?  I think not.

Chi Jaama

Joe Sambou







>From: Beran jeng <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: FWD:OJ responds to Sir Dawda’s 'unfair' critics
>Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 14:00:21 -0400
>
>The Independent Published Monday, June 10, 2002
>
>
>OJ responds to Sir Dawda’s 'unfair' critics
>
>
>
>
>Omar Jallow commonly called OJ has dismissed as unfounded reports
>suggesting
>a rift between Sir Dawda Jawara and other members of the Peoples’
>Progressive Party who criticised the erstwhile leader for allegedly failing
>to seek a blanket amnesty that would have covered other members of his
>ousted government still living in exile. OJ who has built a reputation as
>one of the staunchest loyalists of the PPP during the entire length of Sir
>Dawda’s eight years in exile in the United Kingdom, was reacting to
>unidentified PPP malcontents who vehemently criticised the ex Gambian
>leader
>over what they called his hands-off attitude to the fate of other members
>of
>his administration who were ‘selectively excluded’ from benefiting from
>President Jammeh’s amnesty to him.
>
>They charged that Jawara had acted selfishly by ‘springing to the amnesty
>offer’ without considering what should become of other members of his
>erstwhile administration who were being allegedly victimised for his own
>sake. OJ in turn vehemently denied that there was any genuine member of the
>PPP who is disaffected with the turn of events for Sir Dawda particularly
>over the amnesty and his subsequent return to the country. He said The
>Independent had carried comments by some unidentified individuals unfairly
>critical of Sir Dawda, who OJ said is poised to steer the destiny of the
>PPP. OJ vilified the criticism of Sir Dawda as a ‘cruel act of black
>painting the good’ emphasising that the entire leadership of the party had
>been quick to register its ‘overwhelming pleasure’ for the return of their
>leader from whom they will take their directives as the secretary-general
>of
>the PPP.
>
>OJ said while Jawara was in exile there have been constant consultations
>between the PPP elites and the ex-president and that no situation had arose
>that would have prompted the PPP to criticise and complain against Sir
>Dawda. ‘We have been communicating on issues pertaining to the party and
>there was never a time when any member of the party has been critical of
>his
>return’ said. OJ believes that instead of criticising him, individual
>members of the PPP should show a more accommodating spirit by excusing the
>‘old man’ for the time being. ‘It is necessary for the people to be patient
>and allow Sir Dawda to sort out his domestic and family affairs after being
>away for eight years’ he suggested.
>
>He said as home-based members of the party who have been advocating for
>President Jammeh to allow Sir Dawda to return, it would be ludicrous to
>imagine that some members of the party would oppose the turn of events. He
>said the campaign for Sir Dawda’s homecoming was conducted locally and
>internationally and it mustered enough pressure on President Jammeh to
>decide on that effect. ‘I was one of the first if not the first to support
>the proclamation by the president and categorically declared in reports
>that
>Sir Dawda’s return is the only lasting means to true peace and genuine
>reconciliation’ OJ claimed. He said it was ‘more than disappointing’ that
>reports of a ‘silent protest’ against Sir Dawda had made the rounds from
>so-called bigwigs of the party who are deliberately out to tarnish the
>image
>of otherwise honest and sincere members of the PPP among them Jawara.
>
>He said far from rocking the PPP apart, Sir Dawda’s return has provided a
>refreshing start to the party, which had dominated Gambian politics for
>three decades. He also said that the homecoming is the positive beginning
>to
>the reconciliation process, which will eventually lead to a vibrant
>democracy in The Gambia. On whether Sir Dawda will be actively involved
>with
>the PPP considering his declared retirement from politics, OJ said ‘Jawara
>is a fatherly figure to the nation and should be expected to use his
>position to facilitate national reconciliation and influence issues that
>could promote democracy, respect for the rule of law and human rights, just
>like what Nyerere was doing in Tanzania’.
>
>However, in the same breath he emphasised that Sir Dawda would not be
>expected to participate in any process to make The Gambia a one-party state
>since this does not sit comfortably with his pioneering role in steering
>The
>Gambia to multi-partyism during his tenure as president. He said this was
>happening at a time when a majority of African states were taking the path
>to either one party rule or military dictatorship. ‘If Sir Dawda retires as
>the PPP secretary-general we will call an emergency congress to select a
>new
>leadership cadre’ he explained. ‘Party leadership come and go, but parties
>stay to pursue their programmes’ he added, citing the Labour Party in the
>United Kingdom as an example of a political organisation that has outlived
>its founding fathers.
>
>
>
>
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