Gambia-L: The unedited e-mail below came from a source in The Gambia. Ebrima _______________________________________________________________ >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Cassamance Rebels seek refuge in Kanilai >Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 > >Ebrima, >As Abdoulaye WADE takes the war with the Cassamance rebels with renewed >intensification, the rebels are finding it hard to respond militarily >because of their inferior arms. They are thus left with little option but >to retreat, and the only natural place for them to seek refuge are in the >Fonis. There are, at least 100 rebels, as at Sunday 20th, seeking refuge >in Kanilai. The Senegalese obviously are aware of the situation in Kanilai >and are closely monitoring it from their forward base located at the >Senegalese border with Kanilai. As a result of the Senegalese surveillance >of the border, including Kanilai proper, Yahya Jammeh has in fact ordered >that the "refugees"/rebels be moved to Sintet. These rebels will soon be >transformed into Gambians, issued with Gambian identity cards and >registered to vote in the October elections. The Opposition is aware of >the presence of these characters in Kanilai and around the Fonis and every >effort is being made to ensure that they are not transformed into instant >Gambians. Already, the Opposition have challenged the registration of >numerous characters who are definitely non-Gambians. > >Ebrima, on a slightly different note, I notice that there are some who are >not happy that the UDP has decided to postpone (not cancelled) their trip >to the US for the reason I cited. There may be other reasons as well, but >the over-riding one is the pressing voter registration process currently >underway. And as you can see from above, the Opposition is extremely >vigilant and is determined to monitor and scrutinise the process every step >of the way. In my view, and in the view and those UDP party militants that >I was able to talk to, the postponement was necessary to ensure that all >hands are on deck for the exercise. I am sorry that one or two of the >Gambia-L membership do not share this view. To them, I wish to assure them >that UDP will reschedule the trip at the earliest possible period so that >they can meet with Gambians in the US who have been solidly behind the >effort to return The Gambia to its democratic roots. The UDP attaches great >importance to the efforts of Gambians in the diaspora in seeing that the >dictatorial and corrupt regime we have in The Gambia is replaced >democratically and peacefully as recently witnessed in Senegal and Ghana. > _________________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------