Folks this is culled from the Independent. ....................................................................... Lamin Waa Juwara, the former Propaganda Secretary of the United Democratic Party is now the party's organising secretary. He is one of these Gambians who suffered intimidation, harassment, torture and brutality in the hands of the APRC regime. Mr. Juwara attended Armitage High School where he was head boy. He studied politics at the University of Sophia, Bulgaria, during which, he served as the president of African students there. A year later, he became the secretary general of the Union of African Students in Europe at a congress in Mamaia, Russia. Back home before he joined the political bandwagon he was commissioner in almost all the divisions during the PPP administration. In this interview with Portrait, Mr. Juwara speaks about his legal suits against the state, the coming by-elections, former President Jawara and several other issues. Why was your position changed from propaganda secretary to organising secretary of the UDP? Yes I was the propaganda secretary and my primary role then was to make sure that we propagate the party's standpoint on all major issues, primarily trying to focus on issues, relating to the restoration of democracy in The Gambia. After sometime, we realised that we have achieved quite a lot in that regard and we felt that we should shift our attention to organisational matters of the party at the grassroots level because a stable party is the one that is best organised at the grassroots level. And we have been engaged in the establishment of the party's constituency committees, most of which I oversee to make sure that selections are democratically done. So are they democratically done? Our committees comprise a seventeen-member committee which comprises representatives of elders, the youth and women. They were elected by our village chairmen and women and youth wingers in every constituency. As you may be aware, before the 1996 presidential elections when the ban on political activities was lifted, what we had at the level of UDP was ad-hoc arrangements because there was no time to organise and sell a political agenda to the people. This dispensation was the same as rigging the election. To avoid that, we now have a well-organised party at all levels. Now we're keenly awaiting the proposed constitutional amendments which might increase the constituencies from 45 to 48 and might seriously affect the configuration of the demarcation of constituency boundaries by the IEC. I strongly believe that what the government is trying to do is to give legitimacy to the arbitrariness in the constituency demarcation currently in place which gave Foni five seats and the kombos, which runs contrary to the 1997 constitution. It seems you now have strong mechanisms in place. Does that mean there is no possibility of rigging the forthcoming elections? Yes, we're taking care of everything and with experience, we hope that rigging the elections couldn't be possible. The national organising committee is responsible for all electoral matters of electoral experience in the Gambian context. I had my initiation as an administrative officer, registration officer in various constituencies. I served as presiding officer in some elections and returning officer in the presidential and parliamentary elections. So you can see that I have a wealth of political experience at the grassroots level. I believe you are well prepared for the next elections. It is a tradition now for Juwara to be picked up and detained under custody when elections loom. Don't you think this will happen again? (Laughs) what an interesting question! Well, there's a possibility that this will happen again and nobody can rule out a situation like this, knowing the track record of this government. But the most refreshing part of it is that I belong to one of the most, well-organised political groupings and in which personalities are secondary. It's the party that is primary. It'll be futile for anybody to get rid of me or Ousainou Darboe because the party will win the next presidential and parliamentary elections. Why are you so confident that your party will win the forthcoming elections? I am sure because of the actions of our opponents. You cannot abuse people's rights and expect those people to support you. It's like calling on the black people of South Africa to vote for De Klerk instead of Mandela. It's the UDP that championed the restoration of civic and political rights and we've noted quite recently the contributions unconditionally of the NRP leadership. You have said that it is possible that you will be arrested again. Haven't you in place any protective measures? (Laughs) Safety is the state of mind of an individual and I want to be on record that I'm prepared to die for this country. Infact, security can only be relative. There's nobody who is absolutely secured and I feel very uncomfortable being trailed everywhere I go by at least two bodyguards. The party's youth wing has provided me with security. You have made many legal suits against the government. What are the latest developments as far as these suits are concerned? Yes, there are very interesting developments. What I want is not money but vindication and the story of Fabakary Camara, the defeated July 22 Movement member who apologised to me in person and whose apology I accept in good faith, is the biggest judgement I've ever received in my favour because the government has said that during the Good Governance workshop at Mansakonko, I wanted to show discord and I had mobilised our supporters in Soma to shed blood. And now that the big lie has been nailed, I'm more than gratified. Another verdict is that the restoration of the Brikama Imam to the town's central mosque and the apology is not only to the Imam but also to me as the number one accused in the mosque case. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) continues to examine my case for the numerous human rights abuses that I suffered. What is UDP's chance of winning the by-elections? The forthcoming by-elections are a foregone conclusion. We're relying on the people and the APRC are relying on money that they think they can dish out to the people. It is very naïve on their part not to realise that our people are very proud and like Vikings, will go to any extent to maintain their responsibilities. Kiang and Baddibu are not for sale. At the end of the day what the people want will prevail. But remember that The Gambia is economically dry now and people need money badly. APRC's money-dishing can certainly change their minds. Look, as I told you before, Kiang and Baddibu are not for sale. Gambians have passed that stage when you will use money to fool and exploit them. They have now seen the interest of their country and not their pockets. And let me assure you that we're constantly in touch with our supporters. From the by-elections, on-the spot counting will be done. What is your position on that? Well, we cannot settle for anything less than counting the votes on the spot because this augurs well for transparency. If it can take place in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau and even Museveni's Uganda, why not here? You have always been particular about Decree 89. Why is the government still reluctant to repeal it? Well, the APRC is an embattled government that has lost credibility and feels that they can only stay in power through intimidation primarily of the people, the opposition, the independent press and human rights activists. Your uncle Sir Dawda has predicted an economic crisis for The Gambia. Do you have a similar prediction? The predictions he made already prevail and I have the same predictions. We're seen the depreciation of the Dalasi, the souring prices of essential commodities, the third consecutive year of bad trade season deal for the farmers, the deterioration of the infrastructure especially of the road network both urban and rural and the current increase in fuel prices and the resultant effect on commuters nationwide. The tourism industry is now certified dead. Our present situation is like the Congo scenario where Mobutu was super-rich and his nation poor. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------