My Fellow Gambians !

At the risk of repeating what I have said in previous postings to the
Gambia-L, I feel it important to give an overview of the current situation
in The Gambia.  All messages to the Gambia-L are read widely in the
Diaspora, but more importantly at home, where it is sometimes difficult for
ordinary citizens to have the whole truth of what is happening there.

I therefore make no apologies for the first section of this message.  It is
absolutely vital to review and explain the realities of life in our small,
beautiful country:  to keep Gambians and friends of The Gambia wherever they
are, fully informed and up-to-date with the state of our nation under the
leadership of Yahya Jammeh.

The seriousness of the situation in The Gambia is intensifying daily, to the
point where our very viability as a nation under the current regime is now
questionable.  There is a crisis gripping our country and every Gambian
should therefore be concerned about where our country is heading under
Jammeh.

First, we have a governability crisis:  government offices are paralysed;
the civil service is virtually non-functional; the security forces are at
daggers drawn with each other; our foreign policy is inconsistent and
unethical. For instance, Jammeh on one hand is considering opening an
Embassy in Cuba and at the same time, he is currying favour and seeking
appeasement with the new administration in the USA.

Again, how can he be dealing with both Iran and Iraq at the same time:
playing one against the other and planning to establish fully-fledged
embassies in both countries?  Jammeh’s foreign policy clearly is based on
cheque-book diplomacy at the expense of the sovereignty, the territorial
integrity of The Gambia and the dignity of all Gambians.

The economy is in a diabolical state:  daily life for many of the population
is a terrible struggle.  Malnutrition is the scourge of life for so many
these days – and this in the twenty-first century.  Commodity prices are
hugely expensive and out of reach of many Gambians.

Even the Chamber of Commerce is urging price reduction.  The reality is that
even if you do have money, certain basic commodities are unavailable.
Electricity is unaffordable and bills unpayable.  The unemployment rate is
skyrocketing, and will deteriorate even further when the current tourist
season ends in April.

Foreign hard currency is unavailable (except in Jammeh’s Kanilai mansion).
Business is at a virtual standstill:  Wellington Street, once a hive of
economic activity, is dead.  The taxi drivers are complaining; shop keepers
are complaining; market vendors are complaining; builders and civil
engineers are complaining. There is no cash for ordinary people in The
Gambia.

Public funds (and especially Central Bank Reserves) have been so tampered
with that they are completely depleted.  I hear from a very reliable source
in the heart of government that the government will be unable to pay public
service salaries or bills in the next few months.

My Fellow Gambians, when Jammeh visited Taiwan recently, he made much of the
loans he had been able to organise, despite the huge interest rates being
charged on the loans.  Now it emerges that the loans have not been released
at all:  the whole deal was in the nature of a Public Relations Exercise.

The Taiwanese have finally realised that there is little to gain from
pumping money into The Gambia:  strategically, our nation has lost much of
its appeal since the Gambia’s two-year term on the UN Security Council
expired last year.  The once cosy relationship between Taiwan and The Gambia
is drawing to something of an ignominious close.  Also, countries like the
USA are pressurising nations such as Taiwan, to stop investing in Third
World Countries that have despotic and corrupt regimes.

As for the private sector, it is as usual, dominated by miscreants like
Tarik Musa and Amadou Samba:  apart from these wheeler-dealers, the rest of
the sector has been squeezed out of fair operation.  I am told that Tarik
Musa has Banjul International Airport stitched up in terms of importing
goods at greatly reduced or non-existent import duty.  Likewise Amadou Samba
with the Customs Department.

The unjustified advantages which Jammeh has allowed these brigands to
acquire without question, have pushed so many private businessmen to the
brink of bankruptcy.  Many right-minded Gambian businessmen have curtailed
their import businesses and are engaged in other things.  Customs revenue
has dropped drastically because of the current state of affairs in the
private sector.

The Health Sector is in dire circumstances:  there is lack of qualified and
trained personnel, lack of equipment, lack of medication.  Buildings are in
disrepair and ambulances in the provinces falling to bits.  To add to these
difficulties is the poor state of health of the nation, as people struggle
to eat a decent diet:  malnutrition, as I have already pointed out, is the
latest scourge to attack the health of our nation, and of course the first
to be affected are the very young and the very old.

What facilities are available, are often out of reach for ordinary people:
there is no money to spare to pay attendance fees at clinics or the costs
for medication.  In the rural areas, the situation is acute:  the regional
hospitals are particularly poorly equipped – non-functioning X-Ray
equipment, no heart monitors, no nebulisers, not even decent mattresses and
bed sheets.

Agriculture remains in a terrible state:  there is no government
encouragement of diversification, and we continue to import eggs, rice, even
ordinary tomatoes which grow so well in our climate.  Companies like
Radville Farms, I am informed, are making a good business internationally,
exporting a good range of high quality Gambian produced fruit and
vegetables.  It is vital that the government should be encouraging local
farmers to diversify and grow for the domestic market as well as for export.

There is a huge, untapped potential for agricultural development in our
country, and such a waste of golden opportunities to develop.  It is
incumbent on the government to help farmers to help themselves and thereby
help the nation.  This miserable regime does not have the vision or
foresight to push for ways to exploit the few resources we do have in
plenty.  Tragically, farmers are still not being paid for their crops, and
people are expected to pay to use the "Jammeh tractors", which as we all
know were a gift to the people of The Gambia from the people of Taiwan.

Tourism is creaking its way towards failure:  despite the hard work of all
those in the sector, without active government encouragement the future is
gloomy in the extreme.  We have a wonderful country to offer to would-be
visitors, and we have the goodwill and hardwork of all those people making a
livelihood from tourism.

What we do not have is government initiative to move the sector onwards into
a brighter future:  lots of talk maybe, but no action at all from the
corridors of power.  Travel out of the country for our so-called leaders is
first class all the way, at the expense of the public purse.

Our children’s futures are being put at risk because of the chronic state of
the education sector:  again this is characterised by lack of qualified
staff, lack of equipment, lack of even the most basic of resources and
materials.  Hardworking but dispirited Teachers struggle to cope with double
shifts and poor levels of remuneration.  Some fine new buildings have been
erected, but many lie empty for lack of adequate funding.

The University of The Gambia is begging for typewriters in this
technological age; it suffers from a deficit of well-qualified lecturers,
and even from a lack of a decent library.  More and more children are being
forced out of the educational system, simply because their parents cannot
afford to pay school fees, exam fees, book fees, even uniform fees.

Infrastructural development is limited:  one English colleague who visited
The Gambia as a tourist for the first time in January, came back absolutely
horrified that so many Gambians live in a twilight world:  no money to pay
electricity bills, in many areas no electricity to be had anyway, load
shedding increasing by the week.  He could not believe his eyes.  Road
repairs throughout the country, which are so desperately needed, are
piecemeal.

Again, my English colleague who travelled to Jangjangbureh by the south bank
road commented on how bad the road is:  even the once good section between
Soma and Sankuley Kunda is deteriorating rapidly.  This summer’s rains will
add to further deterioration.  Like all Gambians living abroad, I struggle
to get a telephone connection to my family and friends in The Gambia – and
this in a country where Gamtel once had such a high reputation in the whole
of Africa.

In matters of religion, The Gambia has always been a secular state where
many religious groups have coexisted in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance
and respect for difference.  How times are changing for the worse:  because
of Jammeh’s "divide and rule" policy, the man is trying his very best to
foment religious hostility in our land.  Jammeh has his own ends in mind:
he tampers with our peaceful coexistence for his own nefarious political
ambitions.

Our religious leaders need to be mindful of Jammeh’s real motives:  two
Islamic scholars whom I had previously thought to be moderates, let us down
by their support of Jammeh’s intentions to introduce Shariah law.  One of
these scholars even wanted an audience with Jammeh in order to advise him on
the modalities of the introduction of Shariah in The Gambia.

Some of our Islamic elders need to be spending their time on the wrongs that
typify our society and its current leadership.  Fourteen children killed
last April; a report from a Commission of Inquiry rejected by the
government!  How can these religious leaders let this go by without comment
or criticism?  Where is their moral and ethical intervention into this and
similar issues (arbitrary arrest; illegal detention; murder; kidnappings),
remarked a friend recently.

Thankfully, people in The Gambia are becoming more enlightened:  they can
listen and watch in amazement as Jammeh derives enjoyment from the heated
debates that have accompanied his drive to introduce Shariah in The Gambia.

Anyway, the Gambian people note his insincerity, his dishonesty and his
corrupt ways.  They are watching, and taking note for the future.  They see
for themselves how Jammeh is going about dividing families: for instance,
Hawa Sisay Sabally, who was removed from her position as Attorney General,
went into practice with Joseph Joof (married to Hawa’s elder sister).  Now
Jammeh has appointed Joseph Joof as his latest in a long line of Attorney
Generals, and put these two interconnected families at risk.

Recently, the Gambia Government, in an attempt to defend itself on the Blood
Diamond allegations at a UN forum, instead accused the Sarahulay people of
being active in and responsible for the Blood Diamond trade in The Gambia.
Here you can see that Jammeh is blaming a whole tribe, when we all know that
the true lead players in this awful trade are Jammeh and his cohort
themselves.

So, Jammeh is obviously inciting trouble and divisiveness at every
opportunity, in order to deflect attention from his own inadequacies and his
own wrongdoings.  The UN Report on the Blood Diamond trade clearly and
unequivocally made it plain that the Gambian government is directly and
strongly implicated:  Jammeh’s personal gains from it (and from the hard
drugs trade) are no secret, but instead he is blaming a whole tribe.

Recently, when Bishop Cleary made comments about the deteriorating human
rights conditions in The Gambia, he was threatened with deportation.  For
over thirty years, Bishop Cleary has made huge contributions to Gambian
life:  what a way for this man to be treated, and by Jammeh who was himself
brought up in a Christian home and family.

Kebba Dampha has just sent a brilliant posting to the Gambia-L reminding us
of the number of months that Dumo Saho, Ebrima Yarboe, Lt Lalo Jaiteh,
Momodou Mareneh and many more have been incarcerated since their illegal
abductions.  Our constitution which allows for freedom from arbitrary
arrest, for freedom of speech and for freedom of association is openly
flouted by Jammeh and his thugs.



My Fellow Gambians!

This is the picture of the reality of life in The Gambia today.  It is
gloomy, but it IS reality As a nation state, we are fast approaching
collapse and ruin.  All of us who love our country should be taking events
there very seriously, and involving ourselves in the struggle to see the
back of Jammeh and the APRC.

The other day, I was travelling in a bus and a Gambian was asking me why I
bothered myself with Gambian matters now that I was resident in the UK.  He
asked why I did not get on with my life, and forget about the state of
affairs at home.  This gave me some pause for thought, particularly in view
of some of the invective and threats that have been hurled at me recently on
the Gambia L.

The truth of the matter is that some of us on the Gambia-L, love our country
and we feel that we have a moral obligation to struggle to save it from a
tyrannical miscreant like Jammeh; and when mayhem descends on The Gambia,
there will be no boundaries to it:  it will touch all families and involve
all Gambians wherever they live.

All of us have to fight for what we believe in, wherever we are, and do our
best to end the misery in our country.  Each and every one of us, whether at
home in The Gambia or living abroad, need to make whatever impact we can on
the situation in our beloved nation.

We have brainstormed, discussed and debated the issues affecting our
country:  the time for talk is coming to an end, and the time for action is
NOW.  The talking has not gone in vain however:  what Gambia L, other
Gambian web pages and the media outlets in The Gambia have done is not only
to highlight the problem, but to pinpoint the source of it.

By virtue of what we have all been doing by exposing what is happening, we
have changed public opinion in The Gambia considerably.  Gambians are now
aware of the corruption of the current regime:  there are no secrets.  The
public consciousness has been raised, and contributors to Gambia L and other
outlets will continue in their efforts.

One Gambian scholar I know, will be undertaking research in The Gambia this
coming summer to assess the impact of the Internet and of the Gambia L in
particular, on public opinion.  Information is crucial in enabling people to
make accurate judgements and wise decisions.  I do believe that the pen is
mightier than the sword in the long run:  that information is a liberator.

Truly, history shows us that in the past, the African electorate have voted
in the wrong people to positions of power:  but history also teaches us that
the people can become instruments of change, if they have full access to the
truth.  Therefore, the clarification of complex issues such as that
undertaken by contributors to the Gambia L and other media outlets in The
Gambia is crucial in enabling the Gambian people to make an informed choice
in the future.

So, what are the ways forward?

Well, there is violent confrontation where people take to the streets to
demonstrate their dissatisfactions and desire for immediate change, or there
is peaceful change through the ballot box.

My own preference is for a peaceful transition to true democracy through the
ballot box, rather than violent conflict.  At the same time, I recognise
that elections can only be effectively held if we have a neutral Independent
Electoral Commission which can guarantee that the elections are both free
and fair.

It does not bode well when Jammeh wrongfully dismisses the IEC Chairman and
replaces him with a man of his own choice.

Elections cannot be free or fair when Jammeh is interfering in the mechanics
of the IEC.  It is highly disturbing to hear from one of my sources today
that the by-election in Baddibu may be rigged (and by someone in the IEC at
that).

We in the opposition should not rule out elections, since this is the best
option for our nation.

BUT, we have to go into the whole electoral process with certain demands:

1. That political parties can hold rallies in any part of the country
without the need to apply for permits from any government body.

2. There should be equal access to the national media for all political
parties.

3. There should be no misuse of government finances, transport etc, which
could give an unfair advantage to the incumbent group or leader.

4. There should be immediate cessation of harassment and intimidation of
opposition people.

5. All directives relating to the elections should emanate from the IEC and
not from the office of the president.

6. International observers should be invited to monitor the electoral
process from start to finish.

7. The international media should be invited to cover the whole electoral
process.

8. There should be effective methods in place to ensure free and fair
voting.

9. Counting of votes should be open and transparent.

10. There should be guarantees of one person/one vote by the use of
indelible stamping to rule out re-voting.

11. The results should be held and announced by the IEC and NOT the office
of the president.


If the opposition can be certain that these demands will be met in full,
then it makes sense to contest the elections.  Naturally, there will need to
be constant vigilance and constant monitoring to ensure fairness and
probity.

If the government is unwilling to meet these demands, then the opposition
groups should consider a boycott of the elections and use all means to
ensure that the regime is isolated, nationally and internationally.  There
is no point participating in elections which are glaringly unfair, because
taking part in them would only legitimise Jammeh.

In case there are justifiable grounds for boycotting the elections, leaders
of the opposition parties in The Gambia would need to be talking to the
international community and building up the case against Jammeh.  They
should be contacting Human Rights Institutions throughout the world; they
should be talking with international financial institutions; they should be
talking with Donor countries; they should be making representations to the
USA and the Commonwealth in particular.

We Gambians in the Diaspora should have to enable the opposition leaders to
travel from The Gambia to spread the word against this barbaric Jammeh
regime, in the international arena, and we Gambians and friends of The
Gambia living abroad, should be willing to sponsor these travels.

Movements for the Restoration of Democracy in The Gambia both in the USA and
in the UK can in fact, play a leading role:  explaining the case of our
country to our development partners in the world.

The independent media in The Gambia would also need to explain the Gambian
case, not only to the world but also to Gambians themselves.

If we are in any doubt that the forthcoming elections are going to be
subject to government manipulation in any regard, then the opposition must
think twice before going into the elections.

One thing is clear:  our world is becoming smaller and smaller by the day:
countries are becoming increasingly interdependent.  Jammeh certainly needs
other countries to bolster his regime, and I am convinced that international
and local pressure will eventually work to dislodge the tyrant.

It is really a question of each and every one of us keeping up the pressure
on the regime:  we have to be relentless in our battle for genuine democracy
and justice.

The case of Nigeria gives us all hope.  Following the demise of Abacha, the
consciousness of Nigerians was raised by just these sorts of pressure:
General Abubacarr who took over leadership of the country after Abacha’s
death, recognised these, and as such, facilitated the smooth transfer of
power through the presidential elections.

I shall end by restating my case:

The opposition has to be working with the IEC to ensure that all safeguards
to keep the elections impartial are in place, and being constantly
monitored.  Without these guarantees, there really is no point in holding
the elections.



Ebrima Ceesay, E.B.A.L (!!)
Birmingham, UK

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