Ousman ceesay, i'm sorry if my words have offended you in anyway. I was not saying that you were a wimp or a coward. You were a great ARO! Cheers Lamin Manneh >From: Ousman Ceesay <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Attn: Mr. Lamin Manneh PF >Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 15:47:44 EDT > >In a message dated 7/13/00 9:48:38 PM Pacific Daylight Time, >[log in to unmask] writes: > > > Mr. Ceesay, i cannot understand why you should allow a station commander >to > > usurp your duty even after the intervention of the PIEC commissioner, >Ms > > Baldeh. I had a big fight with Jai Sowe, station officer in Sibanor and >the > > chief of Foni Bintang Karangnai on how to transport ballot boxes to >Brikama > > during referendum but i completely refused their plans even after the > > intervention of the Returning Officer. Finally they subdued and i drove > > behind the Corporative truck(transporting ballot boxes and election >duty > > officials) up to the counting center. I really appreciate your >resistance > > but you should not yield. > >You misunderstood me when I said the officer commanding asked me to vacate >the premises. I never said anybody interfere with the transportation of the >ballot boxes. >what I said was ... after delivering all the ballot boxes from the various >polling stations >to the commissioner's office [who at the time is a military >officer...capt.jassey] my >colleagues and I were asked to leave the premises. Therefore my contention >is >... >I couldn't account for the discrepancies that we later encounter during the >vote >counting process. >I am not disputing that new security measures were put in place during the >subsequent presidential election. All I am saying is that if what happened >on >referendum day in Mansakonko [forcing AROs to leave the counting premises] >for several hours ..only to allow them in at the start of counting..should >be repeated >in the presidential elections..then there is room for fraud. >I was never a wimp..anybody who worked for the P.I.E.C in mansakonko will >bear witness to that. I stood against modou soma jobe and his group of >July >22 >thugs in LRD. Like I mentioned in my previous piece I did resist the OCR's >command >that I should leave the premises. But you gotta to understand that the PIEC >has >no jurisdiction whatsoever on the property of the commissioner of western >division. >We shouldn't be there in the first place. >I know this is a sensitive issue for the both of us, but the fact remains >that the >PIEC has more resources to be independent during the referendum when the >European money was flowing at its peak into our operations.But despite this >we >depend on the govt.for most of our transport needs.This dependence on the >regime >compounded the issue at hand [their ability to use this dependence to rig] >With regard to the general elections, I made it clear that I was not in the >country >at the time. I have no knowledge of the operations of the PIEC. during that >period. >Lamin ..all I was trying to say is that if events that transpired in >mansakonko on that fateful day should lurk their head into the process >during >the presidential election >then there is room for fraud. Anybody can call me a wimp for not fighting >the >officer commanding mansakonko.But Iam happy that I live to tell the story. > Regards, >ousman > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------