X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 14:55:06 -0500 From: Abdoulaye Saine <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: [log in to unmask] Organization: Miami University X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.5 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: COFFET-GAMBIA LETTER and LIST Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit G-L Community, Greetings To You All: As we prepare for the 2001 Presidential elections, I have been heartened by many of the initiatives on the Bantaba, including the participation of Gambians abroad in the voting process, supporting political parties and candidates, etc. I believe that these initiatives( including COFFET-GAMBIA's), by Karamba Touray, Matarr Sejaw and others, must be supported and pursued simultaneously. Since the founding of COFFET-GAMBIA, I have received numerous calls and email messages of support and offers of assistance. For all those who offered, I am grateful for your input. CONSEQUENTLY, COFFET's current agenda is: A LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN to President Jammeh, international Governmental/non-Governmental Organizations, and all individuals who may be interested IN FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN THE GAMBIA. It is recommended that those of us interested in the latter, write letters to those on the list below. The list is only a beginning and can be added to. In some cases the information provided is incomplete. Again, feel free to update the information. In the end, a comprehensive list can be generated and letters sent to all. A sample letter is also provided, feel free to modify it, but be sure to send it. I thank Ebrima Ceesay, my T.A. and many others on the list for providing me with some of this information. Our first target(s) in The Gambia are: President Jammeh, the American Ambassador, British High Commissioner, The Charge d'Affaires of the European Union, the UNDP Resident Representative and others. Except for President Jammeh, we should send email messages if available) to the above, out of fear that regular mail could be intercepted by the NIA. President Yahya Jammeh, The Quadrangle, Banjul(no email or phone number. Please provide more details). Malika Akrouf, UNDP REP., [log in to unmask] Ambassador Hailey, U.S. Embassy, The Gambia(Provide details). Goerge-Marc Andre Charge d'Affaires, EU REP. Gambia, Tel.(220)49 51 46; Fax: 49 78 48 ( No email address available). British High Commissioner?(Please provide relevant information). Banjul INTERNATIONAL CONTACTS Dr. Moses Anafu, Assistant Director, Political Affairs Division Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London, SW1Y 5HX, UK The British Government(African Affairs) No contact name(please provide) Foreign & Commonwealth Office London King Charles Street, London SW1 2AH The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20433 Richard Uku- [log in to unmask] Eric Chinje- [log in to unmask] (Need contact person). International Monetary Fund 700 19th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20431 External Relations Department, Email: [log in to unmask] Dr. Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs U.S. State Department. Washington D.C. 20520 House International Relations Committee Africa Subcommittee(Please provide information) The Black Caucus of the U.S. Congress (Provide names and addresses). Mr. Randolph Robinson TransAfrica Forum 1744 R. Street NW Washington D.C.20009 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Africa Policy Institute (Please provide information) The Carter Center(Please Provide information). The Reverend Jesse Jackson, President Rainbow Coalition (Please provide Information). The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Fifth Floor Washington, D.C. 20036 E-mail: [log in to unmask] (No contact person, please provide information). Mr. Pierre Sanne, President Amnesty International 99-119 Rosebery Avenue London EC1R 4RE [log in to unmask] Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary General, The Organization of African Unity P.O.Box 3243 Adis Ababa, Ethiopia Email: [log in to unmask] Mr. Omar Kabbaj, President Africa Development Bank Rue Joseph Anoma 01 BP 1387, Abidjan 01 Cote d'Ivoire Email: [log in to unmask] Economic Community of West African States 60 Yakibu Gowan Crescent Asokoro District Abuja, Nigeria (Please provide contact person). LETTER(Draft) Date: Ms./Mr./Mrs./Sir,/Dr. 1234 Tatiperreh Road City, Country, Zip Dear.... The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections in The Gambia(COFFET), a non-partisan,and non-profit Organization of Gambians and People Interested in The Gambia, is committed to the principle of free and fair Presidential elections in The Gambia in October, 2001. We believe that Gambians must maintain the right to choose their rulers under conditions that are free of intimidation, violence, and election engineering as was the case in the 1996 Presidential election. We solicit your support to prevent a repeat of this in 2001. COFFET-GAMBIA also believes that The Gambia's current political arrangement is not one that is conducive for free and fair elections. Accordingly, we again solicit your support in: * lifting the ban on all political parties and politicians; * Equal access to media outlets such that all political parties have their platform(s) known to the public; * That all parties obey the electoral laws and regulations set by the Electoral Commission so as to ensure a level playing field for all parties and their candidates; * Create an atmosphere in which fear of retribution is not a constraint to the free expression of one's beliefs, in print and /or verbally; and * Support International Observers to help determine the fairness of the 2001 Presidential elections. We call upon the international community, you, The Gambia's development partners and all those interested in the restoration of democracy in The Gambia to support our efforts for 2001. Thank you. Sincerely, .............. (signed) Please take the time to write all those listed, at least three times before the elections are held. A letter writing mbahal/party, a letter writing drive at the ADL celebrations in D.C., and July 4th in Atlanta could be a major boost to this effort. A letter writing campaign by Gambians at home would be great as well. Also, please update the list and send in others to the forum or to my private address. Thanks. Abdoulaye No justice, no peace!