Knowing fully well that they are on the inevitable road to an unprecedented
electoral routing come October 18, the APRC is reportedly contemplating what
amounts to the last card rolled up their sleeves: declaring a state of
emergency under the specious pretext of uncovering a coup d'etat plot to
overthrow the APRC regime. That the APRC will resort to lock, stock and
barrel tactics to overturn the democratic wishes of the Gambian peoples has
always been discerned by us and highlighted on several occasions in this very
forum. We always knew that a cornered APRC will in the final analysis even
contemplate torching the country down to a heap of ashes. So the report that
they are now contemplating a declaration of state of emergency - on specious
grounds, of course - comes as no surprise.

But declaring a state of emergency is easier said than done, and fraught with
the exact opposite of what the APRC seeks to achieve, i.e., postpone the
elections until such a time when they feel confident of "winning" an
election. The dangers associated with all of this is that it will only
cultivate runaway crises, that will most definitely paralyse the whole
country, and arguably bring the country to brink of civil strife and
ungovernability. In the event that the APRC declares a state of emergency,
the first crisis it will be helping to fuel is one of governance. Therewith,
the regime will be perceived of as embarking on an illegitimate foot path
that will place it at odds with the letter and spirit of democratic
governance it professed to abide by. Not only would there be a governance
crisis, but such a declaration of a state of emergency will help feed more
frenetic agitation to the already volatile political environment to take a
more confrontational and violent form. Opposition parties, especially those
that end up being unfairly accused and arrested as a result of the specious
coup d'etat plot, might be literally forced to take matters into their own
hands as they challenge the legitimacy of the state of emergency.

More to the point, a declaration of a state of emergency at a time when the
Gambian peoples are on their last reserve of patience with what amounts to
nothing more than a deliberate underhanded tactic to sleight their democratic
wishes, will not be taken very lightly. People are simply not going to let
Jammeh use his unethical shenanigans to subvert their democratic wishes
another time . The regime is advised to rescind any such plans of illegally
declaring a state of emergency and let the electoral process run its course
fully without any undue attempts to influence its outcome. This is the surest
way of ensuring of peace and stability in this great country of ours. People
are not going to be blackmailed and intimidated against their wishes to
consent to terroristic tactics to usurp their inviolable Human Rights to
decide who govern their state of affairs. If the APRC doubts this truism,
then let it declare a state of emergency. A state of emergency cannot stop
this great momentum building up rapidly against the APRC. The people must not
be obstructed - in any form or shape - to freely express who lead them after
October 18 2001. The is the safest bet we have for a peaceful democratic
transfer of power from one party to another.

Hamjatta Kanteh

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>