Culled From The Point... Good Morning, Mr President Mr. President, we were amazed by your pronouncements in Qatar during your brief stop-over there. At first, we criticised the journalist for failing to be up to the task; he just threw "easy" questions and got you deliberate in the most simplistic manner on some far-reaching issues that needed some expertise. But later, we saw the game of the journalist. Take the solution of the Israeli crisis. You told him that the Ummah should come together and tell Israel that the Palestinians have a right to their land. That easy? Not quite, as you earlier mentioned something like "Israel's military might". And we may add intransigence. So, you think that Bill Clinton didn't want to leave power without a legacy such as a final peace settlement between Israelis and the Palestinians? So, as a young president, it seems you think that you know-it-all when it comes to problems resolution. For Casamance, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Iraq, it seems that you think the world was waiting for your magic wand to send all these problems into thin air. Back to the Qatari journalist, following your call for the unity of the Ummah, do you remember the question he rolled in? It was the one dealing with diplomatic relations with Israel. Do you know why? Maybe your technicians will tell you. Imagine the reactions of the Qatari viewers. Listening to your replies, lack of debriefing sessions with your aides seemed obvious. Before the US elections, and after the elections, the out-going Clinton administration fought tooth and nail to resolve the issue or at least create a framework to further positive exploration without success. But you sounded like the man who could dissipate all the clouds. What is lacking in Gambian diplomacy is the mastering of dossiers, wit and imagination. Our title for this piece is Kula Maag Oppa La Sagarr, knowledge, experience and wit must be sought by young presidents like you. One should not just project oneself as knowing it all. One learns in all humility over the years to make a great difference. We have not seen you take that approach since you took over the reigns of power in this country. What we have always seen is a projection that gives a dreaded picture; a picture that expels trust and confidence. Recently you told the nation: "Nobody knows The Gambia better than me. I can tell you all what is going to happen in the country for the next 10 years." It is not too late to learn that when one governs one is expected to be human in all the sense of the word; to project humility for having been given an honnour many could have performed, an open heart, compassion, a sense of caring, fair-play and justice and eagerness to learn. We hope that the dogmatism you display would become a thing of the past, for, should that be the case, you would be gathering more 'sagarrs' that could help you in your job as president of the people of The Gambia. Dialogue With Students The news that students of Fatima have been expelled is bad news in the present context of students/authorities relations. We are still grappling with the aftermath of the April 10 11 demonstrations with government's claim that it favours a healing process to deal with the matter. And now we are told that State Guards entered Fatima school and used force against the students. It seems that in The Gambia, the rule of law will never obtain in the country. One issue that government must innovate is the way it handles students matters for these are delicate as can be verified in other places. Government needs to engage in a sincere dialogue with students so as to minimise the incidence of conflicts with them. We say minimise because there will always be frictions as it obtains elsewhere in the world as Gambian students cannot be the last of students of the world in terms of enlightenment. One other issue that government needs to urgently deal with is the security aspect. Campuses and schools are never invaded by army personnel. Students are not an invading army. The law provides for the police to deal with the protection of property and law and order; so the army has no place in these matters. The population is also alarmed by the news of the army killing alleged drug pushers at least on two occasions in the last two weeks or so. The news that the parents of the expelled students were invited to a meeting is encouraging in that it provides an avenue to resolve the issue in a amicable manner. The authorities should grab the chance to rescind the decision to expell the students in furtherance of a peaceful atmosphere in our student body. Government has to prove that it values its pronouncements for a healing process for had there not been an April 10 and 11 demonstrations the students of Fatima wouldn't have made the move. That's a simple arithmetic jigsaw. The decision of the board need not be discussed in these columns but suffice it to say a wrong cannot correct a wrong. Reinstate the students of Fatima in the spirit of the great name of the school and the message of peace it gives to the world. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.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 You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------