Hi folks,

I'd like to suggest that we postpone delivery of our petition to the Mr. Jackson
McDonald, recently nominated by President Bush as the US Ambassador to The Gambia.
As has been mentioned on this list, Mr. McDonald's nomination is yet to be confirmed
by the Senate, even though almost everyone agrees that it's already a done deal.  But
you should not take anything for granted, especially in Washington, DC.

Just a few years ago, William Weld of Massachusetts resigned as Governor to pursue
his nomination as US Ambassador to Mexico by then President Clinton.  The nomination
never got anywhere because it was killed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by
the then Chairman (and still member), Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carlina.
The lesson here is that it is not prudent, and definitely not in keeping with
protocol to petition Mr. McDonald before his nomination is confirmed.

I suggest we complete drafting the petition, and deliver it as soon as he arrives in
The Gambia as the US Ambassador. In the meantime, we can work on the petition and/or
gathering signatures.  Given that Ebrima Ceesay has said that he would not be able to
coordinate the collection of signatures, I'd like to hear from anybody who would like
to volunteer to collect the signatures.  I'll work with whoever wants to lead the
drive, and help out any way I can.

While I was chasing the above chicken (so to speak), I thought I should use the
opportunity to comment briefly on the Jammeh government's reaction to the inclusion
of Baba Jobe in the list of people banned by UN Resolution 1343 (2001) on Liberia
from entering and/or transiting through UN member states.  The reaction of the Jammeh
government is, to say the least, pathetic, and evidence of their incompetence, and
self-centeredness.

A statement addressed to the UN Security Council's Sanctions Committeee by Dr. Jobe,
the Foreign Secretary said, in part:

"When I consulted with the British, French and American Missions in The Gambia, they
did not seem to
know about the origin of the inclusion of The Gambian national."

In response to the above, the Deputy Chief of Mission, Brian Browne, at the US
Embassy in The Gambia told the "The Indpendent" newspaper:

"One thing that I can tell you for certain is that, as of the date of that letter,
Secretary of State Jobe had never met nor consulted with the Ambassador, myself, nor
any member of our diplomatic staff on this issue."

I strongly suggest to Dr. Jobe that he produce evidence that he infact consulted with
the US, and other embassies, as he claims in his public statement.  Otherwise, the
denial by the US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission will be considered to stand, thus
indicating that Dr. Jobe was infact lying when he claimed to have consulted their
embassy.

Another point by Mr. Browne also caught my attention.  In the same "Independent"
newspaper interview I mentioned above, Mr. Browne said (and please pardon the long
quote):

"Notwithstanding the news articles, it seems that attention has shifted away from the
issue of utmost importance. The resolution represents the work and collective will of
the United Nations and the international community to put an end to the fighting and
violence in Sierra Leone. As such, the resolution not only has a noble purpose, it
carries the weight of law. We should all be mindful of the hundreds of thousands of
innocent people whose lives have been hijacked due to the unrest. To help bring
peace, the rule of law and development to these battered people, my country will do
its utmost to implement the resolution and to honour its spirit. Any individuals and
any nations who aspire to be responsible members of the international community
should seek to implement to the best of their ability this and all other resolutions
pertaining to Sierra Leone."

It is indeed pathetic that a foreigner would point out the obvious to Dr. Jobe and
the Jammeh government.  Even more sad is the fact that these people are putting the
interests of Baba Jobe ahead of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions in the
sub-region that have suffered the consequences of wars provoked and prolonged by the
likes of Charles Taylor, and his supporters.  Dr. Jobe should know better than to
spend his precious time and effort in defending Baba Jobe.

One last thing on this Baba Jobe thing.  Mr. Jobe is an Assistant Secretary at the
President's Office, and an adviser to President Jammeh.  Why not have him come out
and defend himself?  Why can't he call a press conference and explain to the whole
world why he should not be on the UN's list?  My feeling (and I suspect many of you
would share it) is that President Jammeh and Mr. Jobe have shared a lot of loot and
deals and for this reason, Mr. Jobe must be protected at all costs, to ensure that
President Jammeh is also protected.  But as the Milesovic case proves, they can run
but they can't hide.

And now on to Tombong Saidy.  I must say that I was troubled (but not surprised) by
Mr. Saidy's recent (July 2) posting "Health for All" on Gambia-L.  I have no problems
with whatever political party Mr. Saidy, or any other Gambian supports. However, it
is troubling that even though he is the Director of Gambia Radio and TV Services, he
would so openly be a mouthpiece of the APRC.  I'm probably being too naive and
foolish to expect nothing less than total and zealous support from Mr. Saidy (a
President Jammeh appointee) for the APRC.

However, I would like to say that in this we have a problem because it is totally
wrong for the APRC or any other political party for that matter, to monopolize
publicly-owned media outlets like GRTS.  Mr. Saidy should know that the head of our
national broadcast agency should not be openly supportive of this or that party.
This is especially so given that he has claimed on numerous occasions on this list
that he always provides equal access and coverage to all political parties.  The
reality is at odds with Mr. Saidy's claims for neutrality and fairness, and for this
reason, I sincerely hope that he spares us such talk of fairness in the future.

That's about it!  Have a great week(end) and/or 4th of July Holidays (those of you in
the US or celebrating the holiday).

Katim

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------