Suntou,
 
I was busy enjoying the Deutche Bank Open when I saw your notes. I will try  
to share some ideas see if I could help allay your concerns. I am pleased to 
see  Davis Love III again after a rather long hiatus. The Deutche Bank open in 
Norton  Mass. is one in a series of playoff matches toward the fedex cup. I 
think the  next stops are in Chicago and Atlanta. Tiger, Veej, and Lefty have 
been paired  yesterday and today. Makes for exhilarating golf.
 
Anyhow, if golf is not your fancy,
 
You had shared your resignation with gambians when it comes to politics and  
gambia. I hasten to add that perhaps you misunderstand gambians and their  
various politics. When I read you, I understood you to want gambians to share  
your own understanding of politics and when that did not happen, you concluded  
they (gambians) misunderstand politics and Gambia. Let us consider more 
specific  items:
 
You met very educated and sober gambians and you shared that when  discussion 
went the way of politics, you understood that pdois/nadd is not the  
alternative to aprc. That statement may be very confusing to begin with. Do  you 
understand pdois to be a synonym for nadd? I think pdois will be the first  to 
share that they are not nadd unless of course you mean differently when you  say 
nadd and NADD. Do you suppose the gambians shared that pdois is not a  better 
alternative to aprc and not pdois/nadd? If they should say that both  pdois and 
or nadd are not good alternatives, that should not concern you.  If you're 
interested, I would make pdois/nadd the alternative that the  gambians desire.
 
From this you concluded that the majority of (the gambians)  misunderstand 
the ideas of pdois. If I was told that pdois was synonymous with  nadd, I would 
be confused too. And if pdois were separated from nadd, I would  agree with 
the gambians you met that pdois is not a desirable alternative to  aprc. Forgive 
me.
 
You asked if the pdois executive is aware of this misunderstanding. The  
pdois executive do not regard there is a misunderstanding. They are concerned  
however in making pdois a more accepted party among gambians and they are  
working hard as they always have done to make it so. They recognize their  
shortcomings but they are also aware of their values and one thing they cannot  alter 
is the raison d'etre of pdois distilled in the manifesto. You charged that  the 
gambians accused pdois of being anti-religious. Nothing could be farther  
from the truth. This is a lie and I do not think any sane person would accuse  
pdois of such. I don't believe the gambians you spoke with accused pdois of  
being anti-religious. This is not a matter of opinion, it is a statement whose  
veracity can be established. And you shared that the gambians are not  
illiterate. You also shared that they believed pdois to be a communist party.  Now 
this one is a matter of opinion and perception. I happen to think pdois is a  
communist party also. Forgive me.
 
Then you said you tried to explain (your understanding) to them but they  
wouldn't listen. Perhaps what you tried to explain, they had read for themselves  
and as far as the anti-religion quip was concerned, maybe they do not hold 
that  view and diddn't think it worthwhile to spend time on it as opposed to not 
 wanting to listen. Besides, I don't believe you are part of the pdois 
executive  are you?
 
Next Suntou, you made a scary quantum leap to theorize that "if pdois is  not 
an alternative and Halifa and Sidia should retire, who is the alternative to  
aprc". I was shocked Suntou because:
 
1. Pdois is an alternative to aprc. Anything is an alternative to aprc. The  
question is is pdois Suntou's preferred alternative to aprc? 
 
2. I did not remmember where you shared that the gambians you spoke with  
suggested that Halifa and or Sidia retire. Is that Suntou's personal suggestion  
or was it the gambians' suggestion? The reason I am confused Suntou is that  
whether Halifa and or Sidia ought to retire, is the purview of PDOIS and no one 
 else. Besides, their constituents' opinions carry more weight than anyone 
else  don't you think? Is the suggestion that they ought to retire from gambian  
politics or retire from representing their constituents in the National  
Assembly?
 
Suntou, as I read further, I realized that you had blamed illiterates for  
aprc's prior electoral victories. I am baffled and I think you ought to ammend  
that notion. Literates and illiterates both have rights to their opinions and  
desires especially for governance. I think you should try to persuade the  
illiterates to share your desires rather than blame them for not sharing your  
desires.
 
"Some agreed with UDP's policies but the majority (of the gambians you  spoke 
with) don't consider Darboe a formidable leader" you continued. Wow!!! You  
shared Suntou that there were a hundred or so educated gambians at this  
gathering. Did you engage the hundred in this politics chat or maybe 5 of the  
hundred educated gambians present????? It makes a big difference you know for  
statistical reasons. I'm sitting here thinking that all the 25 of the  100 agreed 
with the UDP's policies and 75 of them do not think Ousainou is a  formidable 
leader. I would be most appreciative if you could qualify the  numbers.
Be that as it may, did you ask them what makes a formidable leader in  
gambia?? And do you need a "formidable" leader to contest governance of gambia?  Was 
Yahya a formidable leader to be chosen by the Junta to become President? SO  
Halifa and Sidia should retire, Ousainou is not a formidable leader, and  
pdois/nadd is not an alternative to aprc, and Yahya continues to exploit  gambians 
because these conditions keep the door open for Yahya to continue to  abuse 
what you call the "backward way of thinking about our politicians.
 
You must admit that you have prepared the bed of backward way of thinking  
and you, Suntou, are preparing to lay in it but you wish for company. I don't  
think the gambians you spoke with (if more than 5) shared these views you 
assign  to them Suntou. We must be very careful not to require others to adopt our  
personal opinions and desires. I am a bit disappointed Suntou. Thanks for  
sharing your thoughts though. I would advise some clarifications in order  to 
more accurately represent the conversation you had with the  gambians.
 
Haruna. 
 



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