Katim, thanks for your valuable information. The folks at the University got the sense that many disapproved of their guestlist and have decided to suppress info. about guest confirmations. I like the idea of us coming up with a fact sheet about Croc Jammeh. That is all I need and the rest is all action. I think someone, maybe Ebou Colley had once put up a list. So, Ebou, if that's the case please confirm. We can start from there. I urge all Gambians in the Chicagoland area to participate in this noble cause. This is not the time to talk but to act. Chi Jaama Joe Sambou >From: "Katim S. Touray" <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: President Jammeh's trip to Chicago State Univ >Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 22:19:05 -0800 > >Hi folks, > >I am writing to bring you up to speed on some leg work I've been doing >about the >reported visit by President Jammeh, and also ask if anyone can help with >information about whether the trip is indeed confirmed. > >As you might recall, we received information that President Jammeh was >going to >visit Chicago State Univ. (CSU - http://www.csu.edu) later this month. >However, >to the best of my knowledge, we are yet to receive any confirmation of the >trip. >Be that as it may, I thought I should see what I could find on the Web, and >using the plain old phone. > >I visited the CSU a number of times in the past few days, and found that >they >have the first in the Adulsalami A. Abubakar Distinguished Lecture Series >(http://www.csu.edu/SpEvents/) coming up next week, Fri. Feb. 23. The >series is >in honor of the former President of Nigeria, and the Keynote Speaker for >this >first lecture will be Prof. Ali A. Mazrui, the well-known Kenyan, and >presently >teaching at the State University of New York, Binghamton, NY >(http://africana.binghamton.edu/). Prof. Mazrui's lecture is entitled >""Pan-African, Democracy and Leadership in Africa: The Continuing Legacy >for the >New Millennium.", and will be free and open to the public. The lecture >will be >followed in the evening by a dinner later in the evening. > >I called CSU last Fri (Feb. 9) to find out if President Jammeh's attendance >was >confirmed, and also to inform them of plans to protest his presence there >in the >event he shows up. I called their Public Affairs office, but was >transferred to >their Office of International Programs (OIP). I could not get the person I >was >supposed to talk to, and left a message. My call was returned by Dr. >Hassan >Wahab, who incidentally is from Ghana. He asked me what I wanted, and I >started >telling him the background to my call: namely information sent to Gambia-L >that >Jammeh was going to be visiting their school. > >I must say our conversation started a bit rocky, and rough given that, in >my >mind, he was talking to me in the rather condescending manner that God >gave >only to Africans with Ph.Ds. At any rate, this settled down a bit, after I >informed him that I, too, have a Ph.D. And we then went on to have a nice >conversation, and ended with no feelings bruised. > >In essence, our conversation went thus: I explained to him that many >Gambians >are upset at President Jammeh's rule, and would not appreciate his being a >guest >at CSU. For this reason, I wanted information about whether Jammeh's >attendance >was confirmed or not, and if so, if it would be possible for CSU to >consider >cancelling the invitation. Dr. Wahab explained to me that they would not >know >whether or not President Jammeh would be coming at all because of the sheer >number of invitations they sent out. Furthermore, he said, they had a >right to >invite whoever they wanted to their school, especially given all the rights >that >people have in this country (something along those lines). > >I told him that I totally agreed with all that. However, what I was trying >to >point out that in the event they were going to have Jammeh as their guest, >that >we wanted to provide them with information about what kind of a President >they >are inviting to attend a lecture that honors a champion of democracy, and >will >be discussing democracy and leadership in Africa. I made it clear to him >that >as far as I am concerned, no one was planning to, or had the right to deny >them >their rights of association, we just wanted to make sure that President >Jammeh >was exposed for the person his record shows that he is: an undemocratic, >autocratic, and corrupt leader. Precisely the kind that sets Africa back, >rather than forward. We ended our conversation in an agreable manner. I >thanked him for his time, and wished him well. > >My next call was to Binghamton, NY, to Prof. Mazrui's office. I called >their >last year, and indeed exchanged e-mail with their Secretary about >interviewing >Prof. Mazrui (along with Prof. Henry Louis Gates of Harvard Univ.) on my >call-in >talk radio program I hosted then. The interview never materialized (they >were >travelling or in meetings all the time), but at least the exchange of >e-mail >made it much easier for me to find what I was looking for. > >It was their Secretary, Barbara I talked with again, and explained to her >why I >called, namely, to contact Prof. Mazrui about the lecture he will be giving >next >week in Chicago. She told me that he was not in, but she would be happy to >pass >on any information I send to Prof. Mazrui. I told her that essentially, >the >idea was to inform Prof. Mazrui about President Jammeh's record, especially >so >he can bear that in mind as he prepares his lecture, and also if President >Jammeh is going to be at the lecture. I told her that I was not sure >whether or >not President Jammeh would attend the lecture, but if he did, I would send >her >an e-mail on the matter. > >I called CSU again today, again the Public Affairs Office, to find out if >they >had received any word on President Jammeh's visit. Again, I was >transferred to >their OIP because the lady at Public Affairs told me that her list of >attendants >might not be up-to-date. I was again transferred to Dr. Wahab at OIP, and >I >identified myself as the one who called him last week. I asked him if he >had >any update on whether or not President Jammeh was going to attend, but he >told >me that he would not know. He told me that my best bet would be the >Gambian >embassy in DC. > >I also asked him about the dinner later that evening following the lecture, >and >he told me that the ticket for that would be $150.00 (one hundred and fifty >dollars per person). The dinner by the way will be held at the Hyatt >Regency >Hotel (a hotel I stayed in when I first visited Chicago way back in 1985). >While that might be a bit expensive for many I know (including myself), I >would >recommend it for those who can afford it because it's all for a good cause >(check out more information on that at >http://www.csu.edu/SpEvents/page4.htm) > >In light of the above information, here's what I suggest we do: > >1. Get someone to get us a confirmation on whether or not President Jammeh >will >attend the lecture and dinner. > >2. If he will attend, then I suggest we proceed thus: > >a) draft a one page flier on President Jammeh's record, and distribute this >without any fanfare at both the lecture and the dinner. The idea would be >that >those who attend both functions should know exactly what The Gambia has >suffered >under Jammeh's rule. > >b) prepare an e-mail petition to Prof. Mazrui to brief him about President >Jammeh's rule, and express our wish that he in his lecture and/or thoughts >consider the plight of Gambians who have suffered under Jammeh, and how >detrimental the Jammeh years have been to democracry and good governance in >The >Gambia. > >c) copy the e-mail to the CSU President, the Public Affairs Office, and >also >OIP. > >d) if possible, send a press release to Chicago area media outlets (we can >work >on drafting the PR once we have confirmed that President Jammeh will be >coming >to Chicago. > >3) If President Jammeh would not attend, I contact Barbara at Prof. >Mazrui's >office, and tell her that we are calling off the e-mail I said I was going >to >send her. I had told her that I would draft a petition and have people >sign it >before I send it out, but if President Jammeh is not going to attend, then >there >is no need to spend our capital now. We can always contact Prof. Mazrui at >some >other time. > >Please note that nowhere in the above e-mail do I suggest that we have a >massive >demonstration or protest in Chicago. This time I think we can be just as >effective with a few strategically placed messages. I suggest we try >speaking >up smart, by which I mean that we try to be heard not by screaming, but by >choosing to speak when people are listening. For this reason, we will >probably >need no more than 3 or so people to hand out fliers at both the lecture and >the >dinner (if at all Jammeh makes it to town). > >The plan would be to have a few people at the door to the lecture hall, >and/or >hotel handing out the fliers to attendants as they walk in. This way, we >would >excercise our basic rights to free speech, and at the same time respect >other >people's rights to assembly. And we would not ruin their lecture or dinner >for >them. > >I will try to contact CSU again to enquire about rules they have for people >who >want to hand out fliers at public meetings. In addition, I will contact >Hyatt >Regency to find out if they have any rules for people being at or near >their >premises handing out fliers. By the way, if we have any one in the Chicago >area >and/or at CSU who would like to contact Hyatt and CSU, please let me know. > >I will leave it at that for now. Please let's hear what other ideas and >opinions there are about how to handle the Jammeh trip, if indeed it >happens. >Also, I would like to endorse the posting from Saul Mbenga or whoever it >was >that sent the MRDG posting, as well as what Jabou Joh and others have said: >let's stay focused and not get distracted. I realize this Alieu Keita thing >is >becoming very irritating, and have been thinking maybe we should try other >alternatives, but for now, I think we should work on these more >time-sensitive >issues. > >Have a great week, and best wishes. > >Sincerely, > >Katim > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >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. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------