QUESTION NO. 2: ".... has it ever occurred to you that maybe your strategies are too modest to remedy the magnitude of barbarism represented by the callous APRC? Suppose your plan A doesn't work, what is your plan B, or other alternatives if you will?" ANSWER: Our strategy is to empower the people mentally, economically, politically, socially and culturally. The people cannot be empowered economically, politically, socially and culturally until they are enlightened and organised. Our primary task to deal with the APRC is to enlighten and organise the people so that they will be able to put in office a government they are proud to call their own. Our strategy is, therefore, not modest. We conceive it to be indispensable in addressing the Gambian situation. What in fact we consider to be absolutely necessary is the intensification of our strategy of enlightening and organising the people. This plan is the key plan and all other alternatives rest on this plan. An enlightened and organised people can adopt different tactics in imposing their will. An enlightened and organised people can remove a government through the ballot box. An enlightened and organised people can send a government that rigs elections packing. The latter has been seen in Philippines and so on and so forth. It should, however, be borne in mind that enlightening and organising the people is not simply transmitting words to them. It is being involved with the people in all aspects of their life. It may require challenging authority and putting any necessary pressure that addresses the people's concern for each given moment in a manner that will win popular approval. QUESTION NO. 3: "....what is your assessment over these mediation tactics and what in your humble opinion, is the ultimate solution to these besetting dilemma?" ANSWER: I do take note of the fact that petitions are being written by concerned persons. My assessment is that those who send the petitions are of the impression that this can serve as a form of pressure to bring about change in The Gambia. How it will bring about change can best be answered by the petitioners. My assessment is that some people believe that change can best be brought about by isolating the country and turn the head of state into an international prairie. In short, there are some with the notion that if investors and aid are kept away and the regime exposed as a violator of human rights, it may be easy to make it to tumble. This is one conception. The other conception is that deprivation of aid does not harm governments but the people; that it often gives governments excuses of their own policy failures by claiming that they are by-products of sabotage; that isolating a country encourages some form of nationalistic rhetoric among leaders and claims of successes in defying an international community where no pride is due. My humble opinion is that the Gambian people are the basis of change; that their enlightenment and organisation provide them with the means for their ultimate liberation. International solidarity should be sought to expose and isolate institutions and practices that are destructive to the people. Concerted national and international actions should always be taken to create a greater environment of civility so that more work can be done to enlighten and organise the people for change. In short, pressure can serve its chief significance if it is directed at creating the type of environment that will empower the people to take charge of their own destiny. Pressure can never bring change for a people. It is the people themselves who can bring lasting solution to their problems. QUESTION NO. 4: (There is no question 4) QUESTION NO. 5: "Mr Sallah, for some of us who really have lost hope in peaceful negotiations and having a fair election,what reassurance can you instil in our oppressive minds?" ANSWER: Mr Makaveli, election is simply a mechanism for the peaceful transfer of the authority of representation. The most ideal state for elections is where people are totally free from inducement or intimidation and have total access to information from all those who seek representation in order to be able to make informed choices. History, however, has shown that those who are hungry for power hardly create conditions that are ideal for elections to take place. Inducement and intimidation are tools to cling on to power. Notwithstanding, history has made it categorically clear that no amount of inducement or intimidation can bar a people from bringing change when they are determined to do so. Power, therefore, lies with the people. Inducement only works when people do not treasure their liberty. Intimidation only works when people are ignorant of their worth. When people know who they truly are and what they are worth, they will not cower before any human being on the face of the earth. It is our duty to help bring our people to such a level of political maturity. That is the ultimate solution. May I just give you an example. Many people often refer to Baba Jobe when they talk about the July 22nd Movement. However, he conceded defeat when he stood against Kemeseng Jammeh. I guess the lesson is clear. It is not my duty to give reassurance. My duty is to contribute to the development of the political maturity of the Gambian people. It is their emboldening to be the true architects of their own destiny which should give us assurance. QUESTION NO. 6: "Mr Sallah, what exactly is working so well for PDOIS that makes you believe you have the potential to lash out the opposition at the ballot boxes? Where is PDOIS' rank in the polls today? Why not simply form a unified party among others in the opposition against APRC and ensure voter confidence and a subsequent victory for all in the struggle?" ANSWER: We do not have any system of polling voters. The objective of PDOIS is not to lash out the opposition. The objective of PDOIS is to convince the people that our programmes will lead to their mental, political, economic, social and cultural empowerment and development. To win an election requires taking voters from different constituencies, as well as convincing the non-committed voter. Some of the opposition parties do have their own constituencies but will find it very difficult to draw voters from other constituencies because of their method of politicking. There is all indication that PDOIS can draw voters from many constituencies as a symbol of unity. Consequently, in our view in the first round of voting, it will be politically suicidal for PDOIS to work under the umbrella of any political party or front. We want our programmes to be clearly understood by the people so that we can be sure of what policies to formulate if the people were to give us a mandate to represent them. We believe PDOIS is making progress because of the numerical growth of our Committees for the Enlightenment of the People. We started as a small group with very little resources and functioning under a very hostile political climate. You would recall Jawara's call to the electorate in 1992 that even if they did not vote for the PPP, they should not vote for PDOIS. I guess you know what I mean when we assert that we were fighting an uphill battle. We are still fighting an uphill battle. However, the numerical strength of our forces is greater now than before. The commitment is greater now than before. Our confidence is rooted in the fact that we could win the Wuli seat without inducing or intimidating anyone against political parties like APRC which utilised the resources of the State and assimilated all the apparatus of the regime it has overthrown, and the UDP which was a coalition of the political parties Jammeh tried to destroy. In Serrekunda East, in the National Assembly election, we again had the largest number of votes among the opposition even though we did not intimidate or induce anyone. Since we could make headway without much resources and organisational expansion, we believe that with the organisational expansion we have made now we will be able to perform remarkably well as we gain more material and human resources to perform our tasks. QUESTION NO. 7: "Mr Sallah, in very simple term, do you think Yahya will lose this election or do you believe like the rest of us that he should be taken out by force? Yes/ No and Why?" ANSWER: My humble opinion is that many Gambians want change. How that change is to be brought about cannot be determined by one person or group. Whether we know it or not, some people will be plotting to overthrow a government; some will be organising the people for electoral change; some will even have one foot in one and another foot in another. PDOIS' strategic objective is to empower the people. This means that we are opposed to any form of taking over power in isolation from the people. Hence in our view, the task is to build up our support base among the people so that they can effect change. There is no doubt that the people who put those votes in Sidia's ballot box in Wuli to ensure his victory can also do so in any other part of the country to ensure his victory in a presidential election. In that respect, we see it as our task to ensure that what happened in Wuli has a multiplying effect throughout the country. In our view, if PDOIS wins an election no one dares to stand and say that we have not won the elections and not face the eviction order of the people like Marcus and the rest. Whether others will use force or not is their prerogative. In our view, we will never represent the people without their mandate. This is our principle. QUESTION NO. 8: "Mr Sallah, the events of the tragic death of the student demonstrators, the death of Ebrima Barry, the alleged rape of the young school girl, the abduction of Dumo and others,the murders of Koro Ceesay & Co. and the recent attack on Radio FM,to name a few are all master-minded by this despotic regime. Could you possibly tell me if any form of justice has yet been served on any of these cases? No one from my knowledge have been held accountable for these heinous crimes yet the Govt. assured no stones will be left unturned. 'Same Yahya Jammeh = Same Judicial System' per se?" ANSWER: Mr Makaveli, the fundamental reason why we have established a political party is because of our conviction that this government is not capable of enlarging the liberties and prosperity of the Gambian people. Governments can represent a people satisfactorily but can also misrepresent them. Our duty is to keep a file of the records of a government. It is these records that should help the people to make informed choices. What is important is to ensure that governments are held accountable for their deeds.We, as a people, must become more alert in the face of government excesses. Such excesses can only lead to the consolidation of a government if it leads to a culture of silence. I must say, Makaveli, that despite the excesses, Gambian society is more vocal than it has ever been. People are more alert and more informed that they have ever been. The government will ignore the pressures put by the people only at its own peril. I am convinced that the more mature we, in the opposition, become the more impossible will it be for the government to compensate for its excesses by providing tractors, etc. and other amenities. It is also important for Gambians to establish different centres of power to monitor the governance environment in the country. A fact-finding mission from a committee of concerned Gambians from abroad could throw light on some of the happenings you have mentioned and give independent assessment of what had been done. QUESTION NO. 9: "Mr Sallah , even as I mention before that the debate between you and Hamjatta was to me very intellectually enticing, what if any do you think would come out of the debate that will help us remove Yahya out of office? Are you still pursuing the challenge/debate or are you presently more concerned about issues of higher priorities since the elections are almost here?" ANSWER: Debates are meant to expose contradictions in policies, programmes, tactics and strategies. Of course, they can serve to broaden the horizons of our minds. My debate with Hamjatta was not simply designed to be an intellectual exercise. There is a constituency abroad which is very significant in explaining what goes on in The Gambia and in providing material and human resources to facilitate the development of political parties. The debate would have simply served to help explain PDOIS' external personality and expand our constituency abroad which is so vital for our work at home. Herein lies its significance. QUESTION NO. 10: Mr Sallah, Does the fact that not you, but Sidia Jatta running for the presidency, sort of limited your zeal to find aggressive and feasible means to do everything necessarily to make sure Yahya didn't last this long or is it simply PDOIS' philosophy of it's up to the people to lead themselves?Enlighten me, Sir." ANSWER: Mr Makaveli, as far as principles, strategies, tactics, programmes, policies and practices are concerned, there is no division between Sam Sarr, Sidia Jatta, Halifa Sallah, Dr Omar Touray and so on and so forth. We have always done what is necessary and are still doing what is necessary for the Gambian to realise that no extravagant leadership can ever ensure the progress and prosperity of our people, including Yahya's. Sidia has done this by giving example in the way he utilises his income from the National Assembly. Leadership is to provide examples and PDOIS has been providing such examples in practice. Not a single event has ever taken place in this society where PDOIS is found to be twiddling its thumb. We are always up and about to deal with all concerns of the people. Leadership means not falling behind the people and not marching too far ahead but to be with the people and showing the pitfalls of actions while being ready to engage in any action that serves the interest of the people. Finally, it is important to indicate to you that what kept Yahya here is his capacity to assimilate all the institutions, people and practices that he has found when he took over power. He still has grip over the opinion leaders, the traditional rulers and many other sectors of Gambian society. He has learnt to accumulate and take bags of sugar to mosques, dish out money to opinion leaders in order to maintain his control. Unless we acknowledge the fact that there are forces in Gambian society which have been manipulated from the very beginning to have vested interests in preserving Yahya in power, we will be thinking that we are combating a giant oppressing Liliputs rather than interests which come together when they are confronted with situations which could lead to a threat in pursuing those interests. We are battling social forces which keep personalities in power and not just those personalities in isolation from those social forces. Greetings. Halifa ----- Original Message ----- From: Mr Makaveli <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 3:52 AM Subject: 10 Questions To Halifa > Mr Sallah, > > Knowing that time may not allow you to respond to every issue,I nonetheless > would like to cease a moment or two from your busy work load and see if you > could elaborate your views on issues of concern to me and am sure to many > Gambians ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface ----------------------------------------------------------------------------