Gambia </west/gambia/index.html> The President And The Presidency, Mark The Difference (Editorial) The Independent <http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html> (Banjul) May 22, 2000 Banjul - It is clear that APRC members of the National Assembly are trying to dodge the thorny question of President Jammeh's alleged involvement in the Nigerian crude oil deal. Over the past several months, the ruling party deputies have been doing everything possible to downplay the seriousness of the issue and thwart all efforts to get to the heart of the matter and lay the truth before the eyes of the nation. The latest attempts at sabotaging the transparent handling of the crude oil deal was the request by APRC deputies last week, that the debate on the issue be postponed to give them time to study the documents. In formal terms this is acceptable, though there is no doubt that all APRC deputies are fully aware of what those documents contain. It is only hoped that come June (26?) when the debate re-opens, the APRC deputies would display their loyalty to the nation and their obligation to God to work for the truth and nothing but the truth, and debate the issue truthfully and objectively. The ill-advised remark by one APRC deputy that Gambian voters are not interested in the crude oil controversy is evidently false. The same deputy, we think, was also quoted as saying that APRC deputies feared offending President Jammeh by doing what should be done in the circumstances. Our question to all APRC deputies is: Do you fear President Jammeh more than you fear God? Or even more than you fear betraying the trust of the people who elected you into office? We perceive that the APRC deputies' problem is that they cannot draw a line between the incumbent president as an individual, a transient public official, and the office of the president as an eternal institution. Presidents come and go, but the Presidency remains. They need to de-focus their minds and attention from Yahya Jammeh, the man, the common citizen and Yahya Jammeh the incumbent president. Yahya Jammeh the citizen is subject, like all the rest of us, to the dictates of the supreme law of the land, the Constitution. They should not therefore fear offending Yahya Jammeh the man, at the expense of abusing both the Presidency and the Constitution, which are impersonal. According to Section 67 of the 1997 Constitution, the President may be removed from office if '(i) he or she has conducted himself in a manner which brings or is likely to bring the office of president into contempt or disrepute; or (ii) he or she has dishonestly done any act which is prejudicial or inimical to the economy of The Gambia or dishonestly omitted to act with similar consequences.' If they assume that President Jammeh is innocent of any impropriety, why not give the nation the benefit of the doubt by facilitating transparent investigations into the crude oil affair? After all, is not the APRC's battlecry Transparency and Accountability? National Assembly members, regardless of political affiliation, are both rightfully mandated and morally obliged to act in line with the provisions of the constitution. They are also expected to act in line with these provisions. If they fail to do so, they are being grossly dishonest and history shall hold them individually responsible. Thus, our final word of advice to them is: Draw a line between Jammeh the man and Jammeh the President. Having done that, act honourably, or risk eternal disgrace. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------