Brother Lamin,

That Sheriff M Dibba does not have the luxury of sentiment makes an
impeachment procedure set in motion by him even more sensational than else.
He could hardly have hoped for anything better than getting jettisoned as
flotsam after a seamy semester at the Mile 2 Hilton. If he had been that
much opportunistic he cannot now be this much comatose.

The balance of terror in the NA is decidedly in favour of the APRC. The
logic of it all, plus that of the threat to put in motion similar procedure
by Hon Sallah months ago condenses into psychological implications with
probabale political effects.
Of the thirty five US officials who suffered impeachment proceedings, only
nine went through public trials. Many simply resign rather than endure the
weight of public humiliation of attempting to ride the storm. A clinical
example is Nixon. In our backwater kind of parliamentary tradition, it might
never get that far. But the mere act of feeding the public and media domain
with a catalogue of "high crimes and misdemeanours" against Jammeh may just
be the stuff sensational enough for CNN and the BBC to highlight our case.

In Malawi (2005) and Zambia (2003) impeachment proceedings were initiated
against sitting presidents to no political effects, largely because public
sentiment - and therefore parliament - was supportive of  their
anti-corruption campaigns against their predecessors. Obasanjo himself
narrowly escaped impeachment proceedings because of last minute diplomatic
interventions on behalf of national reconciliation.

But here we have a president who desreves worse than mere shame in a climate
were public sentiment is apparently aligned with the opposition. Yet the man
purported to have masterminded the idea to give the president the boot is
being banished into a gulag by sentinels of the Opposition.
That is a problem for our collective judicious imagination.

cheers,
momodou


----- Original Message -----
From: "Lamin Darbo" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 3:46 AM
Subject: Re: BREAKING NEWS:SPEAKER MUSTAPHA DIBBA, NIA'S NGORR SECAKA,
MARIAM DENTON A...


> Brother Sidibeh:
>
>   Halifa as opposition NAM could afford to be sentimental with the
impeachment notion.
>
>   Dibba does not have that luxury. As a nominated member of the National
Assembly, he serves at the absolute pleasure of Jammeh. Ramzia Diab is
precedent for that contention. Dibba presided over that disgrace!
>
>   A cursory look at the relevant consitutional section demonstrates beyond
doubt that any impeachment  attempt would be still born in the sense that
Jammeh has the constitutional mandate to invalidate the tenure of any, and
all, sitting APRC members of the National Assembly, elected or nominated.
The only precondition is expulsion from APRC.
>
>   I accept your contention that initiating impeachment proceedings is not
illegal. However, on purely partisan considerations, it is generally viewed
as extremely disloyal. The United States gave humanity its most celebrated
precedents at attempts to invalidate the public mandate through the
impeachment procedure: Andrew Johnson (1868) (survived); Richard Nixon
(1974) (resigned); and William Jefferson Clinton (1998) (survived).
>
>   Even whereas none of the above precedents were initiated by the affected
President's  party, but to be a member of that party, and to vote for the
Articles of Impeachment (House of Representatives), or for actual removal
(Senate), would almost certainly guarantee some sentence in the political
wilderness unless the procedure succeeded. Stated differently, a President
you voted against, and who ultimately prevailed, would never consider you
for an invitation to the Cabinet, or for an ambassadorship. The merits of
the system leaves intact our essential nature as humans
>
>   In the Gambian system, an APRC NAM who even made a passing reference to
impeaching Jammeh would be viewed as having declared war on the state
itself. Our constitution calls that treason, but to Jammeh that is the
equivalent of a violent attempt on his life, with tanks, AK47s, and whatever
else is in the armoury.
>
>   As Speaker of the National Assembly,  Mr Dibba is too close to the
center of power not to be acutely sensitive to the character of the system
he freely chose to associate with. If this were a criminal trial on which I
sat as juror - assuming of course that the issue is Mr Dibba's change of
heart - your argument is charming enough to secure my vote for acquittal.
>
>   If there is any grain of truth in the impeachment rumour, what probably
transpired was that in a moment of hallucinatory bravado, Dibba uttered an
unguarded statement about impeaching Jammeh before the country is flushed
down the toilet. Or may be some sycophant fabricated that statement, had it
corroborated by another of similar ilk, and then ascribed it to Mr Dibba.
>
>   That our 1997 Constitution is schizophrenic on the question of
impeachment would not matter to Jammeh one bit. Clearly the procedure is
available, but Jammeh has the legal power to always prevent its activation.
Any resulting constitutional crisis would be resolved in Jammeh's favour as
the party with the balance of terror.
>
>   Mr Dibba did not suddenly discover his political conscience. The most
charitable gloss on his saga may be that some member of the Gambia's
burgeoning sycophantic army fabricated an anti-Jammeh statement in Dibba's
esteemed name.
>
>   In the climate of the times, would it matter that it was a fabrication?
>
>
>
>
>   LJDarbo
>
> Momodou S Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>   Sister Jabou Joh,
>
> Your Message To The Gambian People is timely and a powerful piece of
> agitational writing. Besides, your analysis, as L J Darbo put it, is
astute.
>
> Having said that, I think that Brother Lang Tunkara has a very valid point
> on this question of impeachment.
> That Sheriff M Dibba should instigate it carries with it all the trappings
> of political doublespeak. But let us for a moment forget about the
> politician behind the initiative, and study the implications of what he is
> purported to have been orchestrating. Even with a hopeless parliamentary
> situation, it is not at all ridiculous. I think it is in fact, genial!
>
> Just three months ago, Hon. Halifa Sallah, then NADD coordinator,
threatened
> to initiate impeachment proceedings against our dictator extraordinaire,
> should he fail to retract statements he made claiming the Opposition's
> complicity in clandestinely fuelling violent confrontation between Gambia
> and Senegal. Hon. Sallah not only threatened impeachment. He even gave Mr.
> Jammeh an ultimatum. Shortly after this, Mr. Jammeh sent his village goons
> to arrest Hon. Sallah, Omar Jallow (OJ), and Hamat Bah. Of course, then as
> now, the balance of power in the National Assembly remains the same.
>
> We must ask then, why did our honourable Halifa threaten to use this
> instrument, given that a constitutional coup d'etat could hardly be
> procured?
> Firstly, it was of utmost weight for Sallah and the NADD leadership to
> defend their integrity; to show the entire country, and indeed the whole
> world that the president's allegations were nothing more than
irresponsible
> fabrications; a fact that would have been established irrespective of the
> outcome of the impeachment procedure.
>
> Secondly, I believe that Hon. Sallah and the NADD leaders were acutely
aware
> that Mr. Jammeh needs to be CHALLENGED at all levels; that despite his
> policy of intimidation, there are Gambians who will stand up to him;
> Gambians who will not be cowed by his threats; Gambians who will speak
truth
> to power.
>
> In our current circumstances, it is important that Gambians continue to
> challenge Jammeh. In this heavy climate of fear, it is vital that now and
> again a public figure - nevermind how dubious the character - publicly
> overcomes this fear and stands up against tyranny. That is what S M Dibba
> has done. And besides, (paraphrasing Dr. Ebrima Sall when we discussed
Imam
> Fatty and Mr. Jammeh) having done regrettable things in the past should
not
> preclude one from making better ones in the future. We need not embrace
Mr.
> Dibba. But I think we need to give him credit for summoning courage at
this
> hour. If indeed it all is true.
>
> Cheers,
> momodou s sidibeh
>
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