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I'm writing to express my deep disappointment with George Sarr for sending in a posting that purportedly was from Tombong Saidy. I am especially disappointed and saddened by the whole episode for a variety of reasons: a) it was un-called for; b) it is unethical and distracting; c) it came from I guy that I think should have known better. Already, a number of subscribers have written to express their outrage, and rightly so. The practice of spoofing (as computer geeks call it) has no place on Gambia-L, and will not be tolerated.

After reviewing diverse reactions to Mr. Sarr's postings, I called him on the phone to discuss the issue with him. I told him that I was disappointed that he would indulge in such a practice, and was especially saddened given that I was really looking forward to working with him on setting up the Free Gambia Web site. He offered his apologies, and expressed his remorse, as he has done on the list. I told him that in view of the gravity of what he has done, along with the fact that his act threatened the credibility and health of the dialog and debate on the list, I have decided to side with Dr. Amadou Janneh, and Momodou Camara (two of the Managers of the list) and terminate his subscription to Gambia-L. I also told him that Sarian Loum (another Gambia-L Manager) had asked that he should not be expelled, but suspended for a "couple of weeks" from the list. I told him the other remaining Manager to be heard from is Mr. Tony Loum, whom I haven't heard from for months, since he moved from Seattle, Washington.

In the circumstances, I would like to announce that I will immediately be unsubscribing Mr. Sarr from Gambia-L. I have explained to Mr. Sarr that the decision is personally very painful for me, but at the same time, one that must be taken in the best interest of Gambia-L, and indeed, The Gambia. It's not a question of our personal relationships, or whether or not it is the right or wrong decision. As I explained to Mr. Sarr, who knows, maybe time would prove me wrong. But at the end of the day, I want to make it clear to all that the decision to formally terminate Mr. Sarr's subscription to Gambia-L was a considered one, done in good faith, and in the hope that it is what's best for the list.

Already, comparisons have been made between Mr. Sarr, and Matarr Njie. I also explained the issues to Mr. Sarr. Briefly, I told him that there are two major issues to consider when comparing his case to Mr. Njie's. First, they both impersonated people in sending e-mail to the list. However, I explained to Mr. Sarr, Matarr Njie's offense in this regard is far more tolerable because he (Matarr) assumed a fictitious name (Burama Manjang) rather than assuming someone else's identity like he (Mr. Sarr) did.

The other issue worth considering in comparing Mr. Sarr's case to Mr. Njie's is that Mr. Sarr, to his credit, admitted to what he did, and apologized for it. In contrast, Mr. Njie decided to not only deny ever impersonating anyone, but also engaged in a vicious campaign of hurling insults at people, on and off the list. To make matters worse, he insulted peoples parents, even when they had nothing to do with what he was complaining about. For example, I have been the recipient of his insults by e-mail whenever someone says something he doesn't like on Gambia-L, whether or not I said a word on the issue. These insults have been going on since we took him off Gambia-L, and although they have died down once in a while, there's no telling when he's going to fire off his next volley. The last came just a few days ago, May 21, to be exact.

In light of the above facts, I think there is no point in keeping Mr. Sarr on the list, and re-instating Mr. Njie's subscription, as Malafy Jarju suggests. In my mind, such an action will amount to race to the bottom of our moral ladder. As far as I'm concerned, the debate (or shouting match sometimes) we are in is one about morality and ethics. There is absolutely no point in cutting corners here and there just because it would be the most comfortable thing to do. As tough as the decision to end Mr. Sarr's subscription is for me, both personally, and because of the inherent risk in alienating some, it simply had to be taken and gotten over with because we have make sure that the atmosphere of dialog and debate is not poisoned by deceit, and unethical behavior.

I should also mention that I told Mr. Sarr that as far as I am concerned the only circumstance under which I will consider his re-admission to Gambia-L is if and when I receive an e-mail from Tombong Saidy (who was impersonated) asking that he has forgiven Mr. Sarr, and that we should consider re-subscribing him. Mr. Sarr told me that such a decision was unfortunate, because it will mean that once again, Tombong has won. I would add that it is in fact The Gambia that has won, and even if it is Tombong that has won, I would say that if only Mr. Sarr had not started the war, there would not have been anything to win. Not even for Tombong.

On that note, I would like to encourage all of us to move forward and leave this behind. The incident was unfortunate, and I'm sure we're all mature enough to have learned well from it. Like I heard someone say or I read somewhere, the important thing is that we are making new mistakes, meaning that we are learning. After all, that's what it's all about.

I think this e-mail also offers an opportunity to comment on two other issues. First, Seedy Saidy Khan asked in an e-mail of a few days ago, whether I was going to ban obituaries on Gambia-L! Just like I objected to religious postings. I would like to assure Mr. Saidy Khan that I certainly do not have such intentions, although I'll be honest with you to say that all those condolence messages that I think should have been sent privately, but end up on the list, make me worry about how much bandwidth and disk-space we are consuming! I know, you might be saying what a bean counter! But you know, somebody has to worry about these things. On the other hand, I also feel that these public condolence messages also paint a true picture of a very caring and loving people, and for this reason, help set the record of our debates straight: that even though we might be on each other's throats once in a while, at the end of the day, we all are of one nation.

" ...you tried to make a distinction between the use of force and the treat of force in Yaya's overthrow of Jawara. I think that was just semantics. The truth of the matter is, Yaya used unconstitutional means to overthrow a democratically elected government at a time when Gambians had a better opportunity to get rid of the government through a free and fair election."

Well, Mr. Dampha, I did not intend to play any game of semantics there. The fact of the matter is that Jawara was overthrown not by force, but by the threat of it's use. Remember, the military rulers always prided themselves in pulling off a bloodless coup. And may I also add that before you get the impression that I was at any one time a supporter of the coup against Jawara, those who were on Gambia-L back then would recall my saying that the coup was nothing but lawlessness, and that we had replaced Jawara with a younger Jawara. What I didn't know then, was that the new Jawara was also more ruthless.

And finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to members of the Gambian media, especially those that speak up, and continue to share their opinions with Gambia-L subscribers. Foroyaa staffers (Halifa Sallah and Sheikh Tijan Nyang) are outstanding in this regard, and despite the fact that I do have some deep philosophical differences with their Party, I will for ever hold them in the highest esteem. The Independent has also stood their ground, and I do commend them for that. Keep up the great work!