THE GAMBIA AT THE CROSSROADS: My personal 6-year anniversary greeting for Yahya Jammeh!! ********************************************************************* My fellow Gambians: As Yahya Jammeh celebrates six years in public office today Saturday, it is clear to us all that our nation is indeed rapidly approaching crisis point because of his actions and his gross mismanagement of the country's affairs. Already, there are distinct and worrying signs that the total collapse of our society could be imminent, unless we, as a people, can unite to avert disaster. Therefore, from now on, we can no longer afford to leave the administration of our beloved country to Jammeh alone, if we don't want The Gambia to slide into anarchy and chaos. It should now be clear to every Gambian that Jammeh's very name only spells ruin for our country, and is synonymous with despair, lawlessness, depression and despondency. Consequently, if we allow Jammeh to continue in his role as a tyrant, then instability of a previously unknown level will follow in our motherland as surely as night follows day. Indeed, the signs apparent in our country are worrying to say the least. From a human rights standpoint, the situation is calamitous: repression is the catchword of the regime, and illegal detention is the strategy adopted by Jammeh and his thugs for managing any sign of opposition. Dumo Saho is still held incommunicado, despite the recent Court rulings calling for his immediate release. In fact, his Lawyers have even failed in all attempts to make any contact with their client. When the State does not bother to comply with Court judgements and the rule of law, then the situation is really serious. With his total lack of regard for the due process of the law, Yahya Jammeh is incurring the anger and indignation of citizens and the international community: his record over the last few years speaks for itself. Let us, for a moment, contemplate the names of just some of those who have been illegally detained just last month: Lalo Jaiteh, Omar Darboe, Ebrima Yarbo, Modou Marenah and Dumo Saho, who even with the court ruling in his favour, is still held against his will at the behest of our autocratic leader. Clearly, the situation in the country has reached a crisis point and we should be looking for solutions but Jammeh's actions in dealing with the deteriorating political situation in the country are not helping at all. That is why I insist that all he wants really is for the country to slide into chaos and mayhem because he is aware that he is a drowning man! And a drowning man, as we all know, clutches at straws. Gambians should do everything to steer clear of his death throes. For instance, for the sake of the continued peace and stability of The Gambia, Jammeh could have at least demonstrated his willingness to compromise in the case of Dumo Saho following Mam Yassin Sey's ruling, but he has become so entrenched in his own self-importance and self-preservation, that compromise is a totally unknown concept to him. He shows deliberate and perverse disrespect for the rule of law. Therefore, his actions are inviting trouble and instability in the country. This is why it is important that the Gambian people be extra vigilant not to fall into Jammeh's trouble-inviting trap. Just witness the case of Buba Baldeh: as you will recall, Buba Baldeh was the former Minister of Youth and Sports under Jawara. The AFPRC's Decree 89 banned former politicians from participating in Gambian politics, so we now wonder why Jammeh has felt free to appoint this man as Deputy National Mobiliser of the APRC. There is no doubt that he is a banned politician according to Decree 89, but Jammeh cares nothing for that: his will, he believes, is supreme and he is accountable to no-one for his actions, not even the highest court in our land. So, my fellow Gambians, it is very apparent that Jammeh's handling of the current crisis situation is not helping matters: he is rarely seen in public nowadays and all his motives are questionable. The question to be asked therefore is this: what precisely does Yahya Jammeh want? Trouble? Instability? War? Frankly speaking, given the volatility of the situation gripping our beloved country today, what good measures or compromising actions is Jammeh taking to manage the unfolding crisis/events? In fact, his repressive techniques have continued unabated, to the extent that ordinary Gambians are now becoming openly defiant. Our very streets are alive with conjecture, rumour and intense resentment of the man supposedly in charge of the nation. My fellow Gambians, it is now an opportune moment for Gambians to assert themselves and to teach Jammeh and his ilk a lesson they will never forget. Jammeh MUST GO come the next elections. But the way things are going in the country; he may not even go up to the next elections for the simple fact that he is the very one inviting unwarranted and unnecessary trouble and instability in the country. He had better be warned that if and when trouble erupts in the country, he will not escape the hands of the Gambian people given their current angry mood. So Jammeh should know that by his actions, he is certainly playing with fire. This is what makes it all the more urgent and pressing for Gambians to vote the butcher of Kanilai out of office come the next elections. He cannot be allowed to hang on to power. Jammeh is synonymous with a dodo and is fast becoming as dead as one. As the poet Stevie Smith put it, Jammeh is "not waving, but drowning". So let us watch the malevolent man drown, and celebrate his downfall: let not one of us reach out a single finger to save him. Each of us has to avoid contact with the man and all those closely associated with him; do not allow yourself to be tainted by him and his like. I have to say that when a country reaches a certain level of instability as The Gambia is fast doing, then trouble could well follow. And the sad thing to observe is that our Security Forces, particularly the Police and the Army, are no longer defending the public: as a result there is a total lack of public confidence in them. People can no longer trust that their lives or property will be defended or their human and civil rights upheld. May God forbid, but when and if trouble erupts in our small country, we can be assured that it will be severe - and it would be all down to Jammeh. So Jammeh should not fool himself; he should be warned that he MUST STOP playing his games. The repression must end! Certainly, if trouble were to erupt in the country, and clearly all the signs in the country point to that, then the people will search him out to lay the blame fairly and squarely on his doorstep and at his feet. Anyway, we can only pray, as Jammeh celebrates six years of mis-rule today, that The Gambia does not go down the route of other countries in the sub-region: that we do not become another Liberia or Sierra Leone. In my view, it must be said that our only hope lies in our people and their political will. It is therefore imperative that we, as a people, start wrestling the lead away from Yahya Jammeh and his minions and assuming the mantle of power for ourselves. We have to start taking collective action and responsibility for our nation's future. Certainly, any government, which like the APRC regime constantly resorts to repression, is a government that should not be acceptable and one that should be doomed to failure. This regime's continual violation of people's unassailable rights on a daily basis cannot last. Tyrants will always ultimately be defeated: the people will have the last laugh and the last word. In fact, I may sound too over optimistic, but in my view, Jammeh is living out the final days of power; clearly, his sphere of influence is in total decline. He has now developed an "I don't care" attitude, and put himself on a pedestal at several removes from reality. It is evident that he has now proved beyond refute that he does not care two figs for his country or his fellow citizens. However, I can bet that he is on course to receive everything that he deserves. Currently, he is like a cornered rat: he attacks with his teeth from a dark corner. Word is out from my irreproachable sources that he has several times been on the verge of physically attacking some of his ministers and advisers: the man's mental state is perilous, and it seems that he has totally "lost the plot". Gambians should be in no doubt about this: the man is no longer trusted or respected by even his closest colleagues: he is fast becoming psychotic. So, my fellow Gambians, be warned: all of us should be aware of Jammeh's tactics and his current precarious state. He is a man on the edge of a precipice, and we should take great care and vigilance that he does not pull a single decent Gambian over with him. We need to be looking for ways to avoid being a part of his downfall, and we should be looking to protect ourselves against him. It is absolutely vital that we all keep up the pressure on this declining so-called president of the Gambia: the more pressure we exert, then the faster will be his demise. There can be no doubt that Jammeh may not even contest the next election if we increase and sustain the pressures. His current actions, attitudes and uncertainties demonstrate the extent to which he has lost grip on the country and on himself. I heard that last week that when Edward Singhateh (Secretary of State for Presidential Affairs, Fisheries and Natural Resources) travelled to Kanilai to consult with his chief, Jammeh, he, the Kanilai dictator, refused point-blank to see him (Edward) because he "did not have a prior appointment". Can you believe it? Jammeh is also now refusing to accept even phone calls from Senegalese Ministers: he now perceives everyone to be his enemy, and of course, in this he is quite right. He has become a friendless, social and political isolate. Worst of all, Jammeh's domestic circumstances are certainly not conducive to any sort of good mental state: he is the head of an empty household. His wife has been shipped off to America to give birth to who knows whose baby, while he remains quite alone in his bunker. He even refuses to meet with the country's religious leaders who have been calling to offer congratulations and prayers to the new father and "his" baby daughter. What a state of affairs! My fellow Gambians, Jammeh is recognised as a nonentity, a waster of opportunity and resources; a man who is now totally out of his depth. His meteoric rise from Lieutenant to Colonel (Retired!) has made him a worldwide laughing stock: he is universally recognised as being politically inept and ham-fisted - and much worse, because given his current state of mind, he is fast becoming an extremely dangerous man. All of us need to see him off on OUR own terms, not his. Although it is clear that Jammeh wants trouble in our country, we must, all the same, do all in our power to avoid the disasters which overtook Liberia and other West African states. There is no doubt that the warning signs in present-day Gambia are ominous: without proper management, the developing crisis will overtake us all and could spell downfall and ruin. But the one ray of light on the situation as it is developing is that Jammeh is withdrawing into a hermit-like state and is increasingly secluded in his boltholes, which is a good sign for the Gambian people. Yahya is a traitor who is feeling the pinch of democracy and national condemnation. Meanwhile, the external pressures on the regime continue. Just yesterday, the European Union issued a statement lamenting the deteriorating political situation in The Gambia; the swiftness of the response of Foreign Minister Dr Sedat Jobe took everyone by surprise. Why? Because under normal circumstances or in the past, the Gambia government would have ignored such international criticism. There can be no doubt that the regime is aware of public opinion and international displeasure, and increasingly mindful of it. So the EU, Senegal, America and the UK are all starting to exert pressure on the crumbling regime. Let us then give the International Community every assistance that we possibly can! It is also encouraging to hear that people are now speaking out in The Gambia; and it is not just the journalists, the politicians, and the intellectuals. Even ordinary men and women are demonstrating that they have reached the end of the line with Jammeh and his gang. They are recognising their strength and ability to oppose the cruel and unjust regime, and to take control of The Gambia's destiny once again. They are reassuming their rights to freedom of speech and assembly, and they will be using their power as voters to put our country back on track again. Despite all the gloom, there are signs that ordinary citizens can play a part in bringing light and hope back into our wonderful land. We Gambians have cause to celebrate, because in the final analysis, victory is going to be ours! But we send our commiserations to Jammeh, the man with no future. Ebrima Ceesay, Birmingham, UK. ________________________________________________________________________ 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------