Am just wondering if they're tick off because these guys(Ebrima Ceesay & Cherno Baba Jallow) write so well or it is because they lack the reliable sources that both Ebrima & Cherno have. I would like to hear more from Ebrima and/or Cherno on this issue and read their side of the story. Because if you ask me, I think these guys are simply whining. Ebrima Ceesay and Cherno Baba, please keep the good work. We tune in to you guys, not these radio kang-kang/'Jammeh Pleasers'. They know you guys are irreplaceable. Besides who wants to work for these morons under the present conditions. I think a missing person hotline might be a lucrative business in the Gambia with the number of people(reporters too of course abducted by the hour, who knows!. THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER WHINED AS FOLLOWS:> Our editorial of July 10 –13, 'Time for a rethink' triggered two very sour rejoinders on Gambia-L from our former colleagues Ebrima Ceesay in Birmingham, UK and Cherno Baba Jallow in Detroit, USA. We have no objection to being criticised or to people expressing their opinions on our paper, as this would keep us on our toes and help us improve on our work. However, we demand that such criticisms be made in good faith. As far as Ebrima Ceesay and Cherno Baba are concerned, we feel that their rejoinders were written and posted in very bad faith. They smack of extreme irrationality and a desire to destroy our credibility. If Ebrima and Cherno Baba feel so strongly about the deeds or misdeeds of the Jammeh regime, why do they not come back home and fight their battle on the ground? Or why do they not delegate someone to establish papers for them in The Gambia to which they could be sending their truthful, hard-hitting and uncompromising editorials, rather than sit out there on their ivory towers casting aspersions on others suffering hell on the ground here? Certainly it is utterly cynical of Cherno and Ebrima to accuse us of cowardice, of entertaining 'fear-induced whims,' of 'playing footsie with the APRC government' or of 'being parsimonious with the truth and wimpish towards Jammeh.' The two of them are certainly more deserving of being accused of cowardice and dishonesty. Any rational and honest reader should be able to appreciate the nature of our editorial policy. We are not here to promote extremism in the Gambian body politic, as Ebrima Ceesay would have us do. We are not interested in 'basking in the limelight' as Cherno Baba suggests we are. We are only interested in transmitting the reality on the ground as we understand it. We refuse to be controlled by either the government or opponents of the government. We condemn as utterly untrue and malicious any suggestion that we are cowards. When we comment on issues, we try to comment as objectively as possible. Coming to the editorial in question and for the benefit of our readers, we had stated, among other things: 'In recent years, no one hears about Transparency, Accountability and Probity, President Jammeh's favourite sing-song in the early days of the coup. Developments, over the past two years in particular, have shown that the government has little regard for transparency and accountability. The dizzying spate of unexplained sackings, arrests and detentions show that the government has little regard for the rule of law or constitutional provisions. The relentless harassment and intimidation of the private press shows that the government cares little about respect for freedom of expression or of the press. While the several cases of alleged harassment of the opposition indicate a worrying level of political intolerance on the part of the government. 'Rather than cudgel the heads of all who dared say something, the government should cudgel the head of its own ego and bow to the dictates of reason and commonsense.' Which honest reader would call these words 'a minimalist commentary on Gambian realities?' or accuse us of being 'parsimonious with the truth?' What would Cherno and Ebrima have us do? Well, we would have them realise that their motives, though carefully couched in the language of healthy debate, are absolutely clear to us. May we indicate, finally, that we shall not enter into any further debate or communication on this matter with the two gentlemen. Let them or anyone else write what they want. We have urgent and serious matters of national concern to attend to. ________________________________________________________________________ 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------