Hi Mr. Taylor,
I cannot but respond on this one as a one-time member
of Jammeh's inner circle of military consultants
To say that Yaya harbors sympathy for the MFDC rebels
and gives them all kinds of support in the face of his
pseudo- mediation efforts is the absolute fact as far
as my experience taught me.
Anyway before getting into the very specifics, I would
like to make some real reflections on an incident that
should best show what I am trying to say. If you can
recall, in 1994, immediately after the AFPRC seized
power, Yaya started an unnecessary negative campaign
against former President Joof's government, accusing
the Senegalese of being responsible for the first mass
graves in The Gambia, when in 1981 they illegally
intervened militarily to restore the PPP government
"after Kukoi Samba Sanyang successfully overthrew the
unwanted Jawara Regime". I wonder whether you could
remember that period of Yaya's negative political
campaign against Senegal. The whole thing was so
embarrassing to the Joof government that by early
1996, former President Joof delegated one of his most
trusted aides General Wane to quietly work out a means
of getting Kukoi from exile back to the Gambia. Yaya
accepted and immediately stopped the verbal attack on
Senegal.
For a while, the Senegalese General shuttled back and
forth from Senegal to the Gambia until Kukoi was
smuggled into Senegal with some of his battle-hardened
mercenaries. They were seventeen in number all
mobilized from the battlefields of Liberia
All were Gambians except one Essa Baldeh who
originally came from Kolda Senegal.
Mark you the negotiations were so kept in secret by
Yaya that even Edward Singhateh who was the Defense
Minister at the time was completely kept out of the
picture.
However, in July 1996, the Senegalese Defense
Minister Khan together with General Wane made an
urgent visit to The Gambia to report a major setback
in the negotiation. Yaya was on a political tour of
the provinces. But it was so urgent that the two
messengers after landing at Yundum Airport in their
special plane traveled all the way to the provinces to
deliver the special message they had for Yaya from
Joof.
The message was comprehensive and clear. But to cut a
long story short, the Senegalese delegations simply
came to explain to Yaya their discovery of kukoi"s
intent to use forceful means to overthrow The Gambia
government. Kukoi and eight of his combatants were
arrested at Tambakunda, eastern Senegal where they
were making attempts to acquire arms to launch the
attack. The special Senegalese team therefore met him
to also get his opinion on what to do with Kukoi. But
since Yaya could not explain that to anybody,
Gambians, Senegalese or anyone after talking so well
about the rebel leader for so long, he simply
surrendered everything to the Senegalese government to
cover it up.
The Senegalese government on the other hand could not
allow the Senegalese public to know anything about
their clandestine involvement with Kukoi and Yaya who
were both repulsive in their books. As a result
everything was handled so badly that the Senegalese
missed the presence of the remnants of Kukoi's
fighters in Senegal (Sokone Village) when they allowed
the rebel leader to leave their country in the same
manner that he entered it-silently.
Jammeh also was so foolish in the way he received or
treated the information delivered by the Senegalese
Minister that he even hid the attack blueprint
designed by Kukoi and his men targeting Farafenni
barracks as their first objective of assault.
On the 26th of November, four months after Yaya was
warned of the attack by the Senegalese but kept the
information from the military authorities including
the Defense Department, the eight remaining
mercenaries not jailed by the Senegalese, attacked
Farafenni Barracks under the leadership of one
Abdoulie Sonko. Six soldiers were killed and several
wounded thanks to the idiot's foolishness and
incompetence.
Anyhow for a while after the attack, Yaya put up a
serious pretence of not knowing anything about the
attackers or where they came from, insisting that the
whole matter was masterminded by Abdou Joof's
government to commit the same kind of genocide they
were doing against the people of Cassamance. He had
tried everything in his usual stupid ways to make us
believe that the Senegalese were just maniac when it
came to taking innocent lives.
We had argued with him based on the logic of the
operation, showing him that if Senegal was to
organized anything like such attacks in The Gambia it
would not have been so unprofessional and badly done
and would have certainly been a success. The National
Ignorant Agency NIA was on his side that Senegal was
behind the attack. Even when the Senegalese government
captured the attackers-John Dampha, Sulayman Sarr and
Essa Baldeh- and handed them over within 48hours after
they fled to Senegal, Yaya still insisted that Abdou
Joof was behind the assault against his government.
But when Edward started contemplating a retaliation by
having the GNA attack a part of Senegal, the coward
finally relented producing for the first time the
attack-plan that the Senegalese gave him months ago.
With that special information, we made it clear to him
that a great deal of what led to the death of our
innocent soldiers should be blamed on why that
document was hidden from the military authorities. But
with all that clear evidence, he was still blaming
Senegal. And for that reason, he vetoed the press
release that was written on the case thanking Senegal
for their cooperation.
He in fact seized that opportunity to condemn
Senegal's barbaric tendencies in Cassamance, swearing
that when next time he spoke to Nkrumah Sanneh the
fanatical Cassamance rebel based in France then, he
would give him a program of retaliation for the MFDC
to carry out in Senegal. Whether he was only bluffing
or not Jammeh had always maintained that he is in
direct contact with the armed wing of the MFDC the
only organization he found worthwhile in the struggle
for independence of Senegal. Take it from me Yaya's
support for the Cassamance Rebels bent on fighting for
their own state is deeply rooted in his unfair mind.
The ordinary person may not know but for some of us
who were around him during his natural or "artificial"
moods, we knew he was only playing the fool with poor
Abdou Joof.
Having made that reflection, I want to now give you
some specific evidences that I talked about in the
past. On several occasions Cassamance rebels wounded
in action have been quietly treated at the RVH on
Yaya's knowledge and blessing. Yaya with all his
pretence in championing the Cassamance peace process,
he has never been heard saying anything about his
solution plan on the issue. This conflict is one with
two uncompromising antagonists in the ultimate
solution they each desire. The Senegalese government
would not in anyway let go of Cassamance for
independence, while Jammeh's friend Nkrumah Sanneh
with his fighters calls for nothing less than total
independence. That is why Yaya had never been heard in
public saying where he stands on the issue. Yaya could
be on any side depending on whether he was speaking to
Abdou Joof or Nkrumah Sanneh.
The peaceful negotiators who used to converge in The
Gambia were the Seedy Badgie group. Yaya hates this
group with serious bitterness calling them puppets of
Abdou Joof in his private moments. That was why the
peace process could not achieve anything with Yaya
handling it in the Gambia. Every time a meeting was
held in the Gambia an armed attack by the MFDC would
follow a day after the meeting was ended.
MFDC rebels have been captured with Gambian ID cards
thanks to Yaya's tricks. The Atlantic Hotel in Banjul
is virtually an MFDC administrative headquarters. They
give press conference there and plan whatever they
want there.
Abdou Joof may have chosen to accept Yaya's elementary
manipulative tendencies but Wadda might not. After all
Joof's downfall has a lot to do with his naïve
relationship with Yaya.
Just look at it this way: since Wadda kept Yaya away
from the Cassamance issue, the rebel's military
activities have been virtually contained. So Wadda
should be glad that Yaya's meddling hand in the
Cassamance business has been cut at last .It was a
filthy hand after all.
Ebou Colly
--- Mark Taylor <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> "CORRECTION"
>
> Dampha Kebba,
> Thanks for your note.You have indeed
> shown your sincere
> concern for peace in the Senegambian soil.But your
> last few lines doesn't
> help much to create peace.You are coming up with
> interesting and substantial
> allegations that The Gambian government harbors the
> MFDC rebels and give
> them all kinds of moral support.If these are
> allegations can be proven to be
> true then the smooth tie that existed between The
> Gambia and Senegal will be
> SOILED.It is very essential for one to avoid relying
> too much on hear say
> without having conduct a concrete
> investigation.Facts without proof can
> yield to misleading CONCLUSIONS.I think it is much
> better to let the other
> party to prove that The Gambian government harbors
> their rebels.If this
> other party should buy such allegations and decides
> to retaliate then none
> of us will stand to benefit from this.Well,this is
> just a contribution.
>
> MARK
> >
> >
> >>From: Dampha Kebba <[log in to unmask]>
> >>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing
> list
> >><[log in to unmask]>
> >>To: [log in to unmask]
> >>Subject: GAMBIA WITHDRAWS FROM CASAMANCE PEACE
> PROCESS
> >>Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 09:18:12 EDT
> >>
> >>The article below was culled from the Gambian
> Daily Observer. Reading
> >>between the lines of a demoralized Sedat Jobe
> press conference, I detected
> >>that the Senegalese finally smelt the coffee and
> kick Yaya out of the
> >>negotiations. The Senegalese have fine soldiers
> like Ebou Colly to thank
> >>for
> >>their government's decision to send Yaya packing.
> I look forward to
> >>Colly's
> >>reaction to this pivotal news. I hope and pray
> that the Senegalese
> >>government will not ascribe Yaya's illegal and
> slimy actions to the
> >>peace-loving Gambian people. We have no quarrel
> with Senegal. People like
> >>Sedat Jobe are gutless vermin that will follow a
> moron like Yaya to Hell
> >>if
> >>need be. We will hold Yaya and MFDC responsible if
> they make it necessary
> >>for Senegalese soldiers to pursue them into
> Gambian territory and put
> >>Gambian villagers in jeopardy. The reckless
> government we have back home
> >>should cease all contact with and support for the
> MFDC. The Yaya
> >>government
> >>should stop harboring rebels in Gambian hotels and
> treating them at
> >>Gambian
> >>hospitals. The government should also stop being a
> conduit for supplying
> >>arms to the rebels. In other words, Gambians
> should stay out of a war that
> >>does not concern us.
> >>KB
> >>
>
>>________________________________________________________________________
> >>
> >>GAMBIA WITHDRAWS FROM CASAMANCE PEACE PROCESS Mfdc
> Calls For Sanctions On
> >>Senegal
> >>The Gambia government yesterday announced its
> withdrawal from the
> >>mediation
> >>role in the Casamance conflict. Following
> instructions from President
> >>Jammeh, the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs
> called a press
> >>conference
> >>to brief the media on the development.
> >>Before the press conference, Foreign Affairs
> secretary, Dr ML Sedat Jobe,
> >>held a 52 minute closed door meeting with the
> diplomats, including UN's
> >>Malika Akrouf, USA's George Haley, Britain's John
> Perrott, Nigeria's Jacob
> >>Ngbako, Sierra's Leone's EM Fofana, Unicef's
> Teresa Hevia, WHO Mwanzia,
> >>FAO's Mikkola and Mauritania's Mohamed. At the
> press conference, SoS Jobe
> >>told journalists, "We are withdrawing to avoid
> indecent atmosphere in
> >>which
> >>our role has been misunderstood."
> >>He explained that following his inauguration as
> president of Senegal,
> >>Abdoulaye Wade had pleaded with the Gambia
> government to continue to play
> >>a
> >>pro-active role in the Casamance peace process
> begun during President
> >>Abdou
> >>Diouf's regime, but that Wade has neither created
> a new mediation team nor
> >>other enabling factors for the negotiations. "When
> we first mediated, our
> >>intention was to withdraw but there were a lot of
> reactions in Senegal by
> >>the people who think that The Gambia should
> continue with her role," Jobe
> >>recalled. Dr Jobe said The Gambia has been
> marginalised in all the recent
> >>meetings on Casamance and that Wade's government
> does not recognise the
> >>Abidjan code nor The Gambia's mediation role in
> the peace process.
> >>However, Dr Jobe said "withdrawal (from the peace
> process) does not mean
> >>hostility (to Senegal). I do not think this will
> pose any negative impact
> >>in
> >>The Gambia's relationship with Senegal." Asked
> about the reaction of the
> >>diplomats to the Gambia government's decision, Dr
> Jobe said they expressed
> >>sadness over the incident "but they understand The
> Gambia's situation."
> >>Gambia, he added, does not derive any monetary
> gains from the peace
> >>process,
> >>"instead, the country is spending from its meagre
> resources, still that is
> >>not moral...to the government of Wade." Dr Jobe
> passionately appealed to
> >>the
> >>media to stress that the withdrawal has no
> negative connotation.
> >>Sanctions on Senegal Meanwhile, Alexandre Djiba,
> the MFDC spokesman, has
> >>called on the international community to freeze
> all financial assistance
> >>to
> >>the government of Mr Wade "until he decides to
> engage effectively and
> >>concretely in the search for peaceful settlement
> towards lasting and just
> >>peace in Casamance." Mr Djiba told Daily Observer
> yesterday, "the silence
> >>of
> >>all democrats of the world does nothing but
> reinforce the feeling of
> >>impunity of the Senegalese policy in Casamance.
> >>He (Wade) tries to undermine the war in Casamance
> which has been going on
> >>for nearly 20 years by saying the crisis is
> internal and should be solved
> >>among Senegalese. Wade is preparing for the
> restart of hostilities in
> >>Casamance. The Movement of Democratic Forces in
> Casamance is appealing to
> >>the International Community to renounce the crime,
> which Mr Wade is
> >>willing
> >>to foster in Casamance," he concluded.
> >>
>
>>_________________________________________________________________________
> >>Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at
> http://www.hotmail.com.
> >>
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> >>http://profiles.msn.com.
> >>
>
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