Sir Coach Thanks for your brilliant rejoinder. We respect your right to your opinion and do not expect that you will like everything that we write. Baba Ebrima Ceesay wrote: > Gambia-L: > > I read the Independent Newspaper's editorial on the Internet this afternoon, > entitled "Time for a Re-think", and in all honesty, I was disappointed by > it, to say the least. The writer of the editorial clearly sat on the fence, > and after reading the editorial twice, it was still not clear to me whether > or not Yahya Jammeh and his regime were good for the Gambia, in the view of > the Independent editorial writer. > > The editorial writer cannot have it both ways: he/she either has to support > and approve or condemn and disapprove. You cannot praise at one moment, and > in the next, vilify. Editorials, I was taught, should not be ambiguous: they > should be clear, direct, frank, honest and unambiguous. They are either > against or in favour. > > The editorial is the view/opinion of the newspaper on a particular issue, > and in it, the paper describes exactly how that particular issue affects the > reader, and why it is important. Good editorials seek to explain/clarify or > comment on complex issues by not only providing the facts, but interpreting > them as well, so that people can make the right choices. > > It is very important that editorial writers have the courage and conviction > to take a standpoint that might not be popular with those in power, but > which is in the public interest. It seems to me that this particular > Independent editorial writer was seeking to serve both the Government and > the main stream of public opinion, which at the moment is clearly > anti-Government. > > For the sake of a healthy debate, I want to take issue with the Independent > editorial, and point out some differences of opinion and facts to the > Gambia-L readers (and hopefully a wider audience, especially in The Gambia) > so that the record can be set straight. > > Firstly, the AFPRC was never "put in place" in July 1994 as indicated by the > editorial: Putting in place implies that other people were proactive in > their rise to power. Rather, the regime itself seized power at the point of > guns: no one put them there except themselves; they were never elected to > take power. There was a military takeover - that is the plain simple fact of > the matter. > > Secondly, it is a farce to say that the APRC set up "a purely civilian > government" after the elections. The truth is that many of these people are > just soldiers with increasing numbers of guns and other weapons at their > disposal: the only difference between now and September 1996, really, is > that they do not wear uniforms. They still lead and manipulate the military > force in our country. They think in a military fashion; act in a military > fashion and rule in a military fashion. > > The fact is that they are still running the country with the same, or even > more, heavy-handedness than before and, of course, with no regard to the > letter and spirit of the Constitution. Do we need to remind ourselves about > the fact that Decrees 45, 57, 70, 71 & 89 are still in place even though > these Decrees are clearly inconsistent with the new Constitution? > > Even as I write this rejoinder, the International Community and Amnesty > International are calling on the Jammeh regime to repeal these draconian > Decrees since they contravene the provisions of the New Constitution. > However, the regime, being a repressive government, shows no intention of > changing the status quo. > > Thirdly, there is some doubt that "the APRC government has registered > tremendous successes, particularly when it comes to infrastructural > development" as the Independent editorial is insinuating. This is a highly > controversial statement. Today, we see new school buildings without teachers > to staff them or equipment to put in them: we see increasing numbers of > parents who are unable to send their children (particularly girls) to school > because they live below the poverty line. > > We see teachers who are struggling to receive their monthly salaries and who > are toiling under tremendous pressure, without the resources necessary to do > their jobs properly. We see classes of more than 60 children, often taught > in two shifts, and we hear of terrible shortages of qualified teachers at > Primary, Secondary and Tertiary levels. The recruitment of high calibre > students to the teaching profession is becoming more and more difficult. > > Fourthly, we see new health centres, which are not fully open or > functioning. We see new and old health centres that do not have the > staffing, equipment or indeed drugs to offer any sort of help to The Gambian > people: we see health centres facing this year's rains with inadequate > supplies of antimalarials: we see pregnant women who are suffering from > anaemia because of poor diet, who cannot afford to buy vitamin B12 or Folic > Acid (even if it were available to them). > > We see people who cannot even receive a paracetamol or aspirin tablet to > alleviate pain or fever: we see infections which run riot because people > cannot afford the antibiotics or they are unavailable. We see so many of our > people who cannot afford the fees charged by the health centres even to > attend an out-patients clinic. > > Fifthly, what about the state of the South Bank main road - the artery of > our nation? From Farefenni to Soma, I am told, the road surface is > non-existent: on other sections of the road, there are more potholes than > shell surface: where tarmac has been laid, the work has been so poorly > undertaken that the repairmen need not have bothered. On the North bank, I > am further informed, the road situation is even more dire. Buses may not > travel from Lamin Koto to Farafenni during the rains (and indeed for most of > the rest of the year). Where is the infrastructural development here? > > Sixthly, what about the supply of electricity? It is erratic, irregular and > the fluctuations in current are damaging expensive equipment. Even Jammeh > himself has said that the situation vis-a-vis electrical supply is > unbearable, and that he was looking forward to the day that things would > improve. How many homes are still without a supply of electricity, even in > the Kombos? If you are lucky enough to have 8 hours supply a day in certain > areas, you thank your lucky stars. > > Seventhly, what about our Judiciary? Where is our impartial, independent > and reliable system of justice available to all people? Judges and > magistrates make decisions against the government, and immediately their > contracts of service are terminated. How many Attorney Generals have we > seen in the last six years? The courts make orders against the state, and > the state does not comply: a case in point is that of Baboucarr Gaye, the > proprietor of Citizen FM Radio Station. Last week, a High Court Judge ruled > that his Radio Station seized illegally by the government over two years > ago, must be returned to him within seven days. The seven days have since > elapsed and, as I write this piece, the government has deliberately refused > to hand back the keys to Mr Gaye. In fact, Jammeh even enquired from his > Attorney General about the possibility of sacking the Judge in question. > > Eighthly, the Independent editorial did not bother to mention the missing > persons, the deported individuals, or the massacred students of the awful > April 10/11th days. Every day, people are fleeing the country, in fear of > their lives or in fear of injustices, which may be done to them and their > families. People are being kidnapped, people are missing, people are being > tortured by puppets of the State: this is the new pattern of The Gambia of > today. > > Ninthly, the inflation rate is steadily rising: in February 2000, the > exchange rate was 19.6 Dalasis to the pound sterling: now it is almost 22 > Dalasis. The unemployment rate is rising rapidly, and more and more people > are having to resort to begging in order to keep their families fed and > sheltered. Of late, because of the inflation and the incompetence of the > government, certain simple basic commodities are now unavailable in the > country. > > Meanwhile, the government continues to take out loans with huge interest on > the repayment mode of the loans, and yet we are not being told anything at > all about these, even though the government claimed transparency and > accountability when it came to power. With the introduction of the BIVAC > scheme, the Gambian economy is in the doldrums; scandal follows scandal and > Yahya himself is implicated in all them. > > Tenthly, the government media, including GRTS, leaves a lot to be desired: > they are incompetent, unprofessional, unproductive and useless: the quality > of programmes is poor to say the least, and the political skew to the > government is heavy. Simply put: the government press is an appendage of the > executive and it only serves one purpose and that is to sing praises to > Yahya Jammeh. Stories which have been fabricated are published regularly in > order to boost Jammeh's massive ego! > > In my view, good infrastructural development is necessary to ensure a > healthy future for The Gambia, but what is happening in our country at the > moment, should not be described as infrastructural development: rather, it > is a series of projects which are used to gloss over reality. > > We are being conned. And in as much as we want infrastructural development, > we also want freedom, justice, dignity and respect: some of us would even > argue that these fundamental key issues are more important than anything > else. > > 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 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------