Sanusi, thanks for your post and good to hear you raise your concerns. This way, all stakeholders would resolve the issue through dialogue. You are right, I was amongst the people that cried foul when the UDP announced that they would not be able to attend the conference, and your quote below are my words. However, for you to say that the Mr. Mballow was treated with contempt by the organizers is a bit misguided. Actually, it is the UDP that treated Mr. Mballow with contempt. The UDP knew that Mr. Mballow was in New York and they knew that their last minute change of heart would make it impossible for them to arrive on time for the conference. Why did they not designate Mr. Mballow as their spokes person if that was their wish? Why did they opt for Karamba to read Ousainou's letter to the audience (which was not allowed), instead of Mr. Mballow? In fact, Karamba is not an official of the UDP, but was chosen to say a few words as to Ousainou's whereabouts. You also spoke of people obsessed with hearing party leaders give speeches. Again, I think that is a stretch on your part. All we asked for was an official rep., of which Ousainou is one. Actually, the only presidential candidate that was present was Hamat Bah, and that was his party's choosing.

You stated the following: "Mr Saihou Mballow was elected as an Executive member of the UDP during its first annual congress held at Brikama on 29 May 1998. Moreover, he was a UDP candidate for the last parliamentary/National Assembly elections held on 2 January 1997. The question which one has to ask is why Saihou Mballow was not given the go-ahead to represent UDP at this Symposium?" No, in my opinion, the question you should ask, should be directed to the UDP hierarchy. Knowing all this, why did they not delegate Mr. Mballow to represent them, that is the question. In fact, you recalled when the party announced that they where not sending anyone, was'nt Mr. Mballow around? If so, why was he not asked, or why did Mballow not ask the party, to represent them? So, you see, the burden of proof is on the UDP and not the organizers. All the parties that were contacted sent in reps at the choosing of their governing council. Why was the UDP the exception? People are not interested in heavyweights as you stated, any designated official was sufficient, and Mr. Mballow was clearly not designated by the UDP. If so, bring out the proof.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Mballow and he is clearly a fine individual and could have represented his party well. Why his party did not accord him that trust could only be answered by his party. I hope this clears the air for you, and thanks for your contributions in this matter.