Culled from the Daily Observer Baba Jobe, an assistant secretary at the Office of the President, formerly head of defunct July 22 Movement, yesterday summoned a press briefing at the old cabinet room, State House, to react to criticisms levelled against him and his alleged involvement in the recent fatal political clashes in Basse. Refuting popular "misconceptions" about himself, Mr Jobe said he was not a terrorist and that he has never been brought before any law court on terrorism or related charges. He said the ousted Jawara government had interrogated and detained him on several occasions when he entered The Gambia from overseas trips and that a section of the same "oligarchy" now in the UDP still feel uncomfortable with him and accuse him of being a terrorist devoted to intimidating anti-government groups and individuals. Mr Jobe said as a civil servant who ran for political office in the last legislative elections, he has the right to be absorbed into the civil service as well as to defend the interest of the government. He also disputed the notion that he is 'co-president' with exceptional powers, saying he is not immune to the law. "I will answer to any court, even on terrorism charges." Basse clash Mr Jobe further denied claims that he orchestrated the UDP-APRC confrontation at Basse and that he was hiding in the bushes during the fatal incident. He said he heard of the incident "when everything was over," adding that he led the APRC youth wing delegation to Basse to pay condolences to the bereaved family and ensure that the APRC supporters in the area "do not take the law into their own hands by attempting to revenge which would have been more catastrophic." Mr Jobe also refuted tearing some statements obtained by the Basse police from persons involved in the encounter, saying, "Who am I to do that? I don't have that supreme power at all." He went on to state that recent upheavals have indicated that elements within the UDP are "the real terrorists" instead of him because "they brutally butchered" an individual to death. He accused the UDP of being "a photocopy" of the former PPP regime, citing Lamin Waa Juwara as the man who troubled district authorities in divisions as a commissioner in the deposed Jawara administration. Mr Jobe referred to the APRC as "The most democratic government The Gambia ever had" in that it separates the executive, the judiciary and the legislative arms of government and conducted nationwide consultations during the transition, seeking the consent of Gambians on how they wanted to be ruled. He said "President Jammeh is a highly democratic leader whom we are ready to sacrifice our lives for." He argued that the UDP national president, Sam Silla, should now be facing a war crimes tribunal in The Hague rather than heading a 'so-called' democratic party. Present at the press briefing were Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay and the deputy British high commissioner, Bharat Joshi. Mori ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------