Gambia-L: This is an old e-mail from one of my sources in the Gambia. It is already stale, but I thought I should nonetheless send it to the L. Take note that I am sending it unedited. Ebrima ____________________________________________________________________ >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Is it worth the pain and agony? >Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 14:35:29 GMT > >Ebrima, >Well here we are again, trying to keep Gambians abreast of developments in >our dear country and to show the sufferings of our people in the hands of >an inhumane, corrupt and undemocratic regime. For almost a year, your >sources have been providing information which even the regular newspapers >do not have access to and thus turning the Gambia-L as a major source of >reliable information for the local press. I do not need to tell you the >risks involved in our endeavours because we have discussed them at great >length over the past months. But as I said before these are risks worth >taking. One cannot attach a price tag to FREEDOM. But in order gain >freedom, one must be prepared to sacrifice, including one's own life. But >how many of us are prepared to sacrifice even one's time to follow-up on >the issues forwarded to the Gambia-L. Very few indeed.(Please note that >Mr. Massry committed suicide last month because of his involvement in the >oil deal I mentioned here-more on this story next week). In fact, I >sometimes have the sneaky feeling that some members of the L see these >messages from your sources as entertainment pieces rather than a valuable >piece of information provided to the membership to act upon in various >ways. To illustrate my point, take the issue of the resumption of Military >Assistance by the UK. This to me is an extremely important matter which >has serious implications if Gambians do not register their opposition to >the British Government. Dr Saine urged members to petition the British >Government which fell on deaf ears. Hamjatta Kanteh tried pleading with >memebers without success. Ms Sigga Jagne went to the extent of posting her >own petition to the British Government which I thought might trigger our >sense of duty to our people and country; yet to no avail. Thank you, Sigga >for your commitment and determination to ridding Gambia of Jammeh and his >henchmen. Kebba Dampha's attempt to provide the L with the implications of >the British decision to resume their military assistance seems to have >pushed the rest of us into deep slumber. To KB, I say, keep on the fight >for the cause is right and just. Those kids who were murdered in cold >blood on the 10 and 11 April shall never be forgotten and I can assure you >that all those responsible will one day account for their actions in a >court of law. Am I frustrated with recent performance of the L? Most >certainly. I know what we can achieve if we act in unison as it has been >ampting demonstrated on several occasions in the past such as the effective >Dumo petition drive and the coordinated efforts of the L during Yahya's >visit to the UN. Yahya never thought that Gambians had the courage to >confront him until after his UN visit. He has not yet fully recovered from >it. So why allow him to recover when we already had him on the ropes? For >your information, the few petitions received by the Foreign and >Commonwealth Office (FCO) is already having an impact which has resulted in >the British High Commissioner responding directly to our opposition to it. >I have received a reply from CFO and so has Ebrima and a few others who >bothered to petition to register their disgust at and hypocricy of the >change in policy. I have very little doudt in my mind that the policy will >be reviewed. > >As I write this message, Yahya Jammeh and his henchmen have left Kerewan >heading for Farafenni to face the wrath of the farmers who have been denied >their livelihood for two consecutive years. This year will not be >different because the Alimenta issue has not been resolved. Instaed of >concentrating on finding a solution to the problem, Cheyassin Secka is busy >lining up, yet again, another Swiss firm to purchase the farmers groundnut >produce. We are already in October and still nothing on the ground to show >that this session will be different from the two previous ones. Yahya has >been playing with the lifes of Gambians for far too long and it is time for >him to go. And GO he must. The rural population who bore the brunt of the >economic hardship under Jammeh, continue to tell him enough is enough. The >turn out at his meetings are embarrassingly low and will continue to be >that way throughout his so-called Meet the People's Tour. We must have >read last week's papers concerning the ESCOM deal falling apart after so >much broohaha early in the year. There will be no improvement in the >electricity supply situation in the near future. Our parastatals, >GAMTEL,GPA,GCAA,NAWEC are all banckcrupt thanks to Yahya Jammeh and those >corrupt henchmen of his. Fellow Gambians, it is time to resist this regime >at all cost. I therefore appeal to all to resume our agitation in order to >apply more pressure on this trecherous governement. It is worth the pain >and agony afterall. Thank you > _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. 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