Halifa Sallah wrote: "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." Mr Sallah, Strategies and tactics aside, I agree with your diagnosis (quoted above) of the problem in The Gambia. May I add that Yahya's grip is not only limited to traditional leaders but also the socalled intellectuals with paper PhDs, MScs,MAs etc. Thus removing yahya with force is not going to solve our problem. the same interest groups will soround the new coup leader and create another Yahya. This was the same problem in the Gambia under Jawara. He was removed by force, and many people were elated. Well the same inerest groups have consolidated Yahya's power. Because Yahya is less mature and less educated than Jawara, he is abusing that power more excessively than Jawara did. Thus we have a worse problem. People need to think more seriously about the problems back home. There is no simple fix. We must stop blaming each other and find real and lasting solutions. We must think beyond Yahya. What's there to stop Yahya's replacement from being another Yahya or another Jawara? those who espouse solutions must also address these issues. I agree with PDOIS's strategy of enlightening the people and taking away the ability of leaders and special interest groups to manipulate them. This is a very slow and painstaking process, thus people who want a quick fix are frustrated with PDOIS's pace. However, those who call for Yahya's removal by force (or the quickest possible way) must also explain how thier strategy will not only remove Yahya, but also PREVENT another Yahya. Until then, I will bite my teeth and take the peaceful route. best regards, Modou ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://home.netscape.com/webmail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------