APRC Has Lost War of Words - Waa Juwara The Independent (Banjul) June 22, 2001 Posted to the web June 22, 2001 Sheikh Al-Kinky Sanyang & Lamin Dibba Banjul, the Gambia Lamin Waa Juwara the organising secretary of the opposition UDP has said moves by the "APRC-controlled" management of the Daily Observer showed that the ruling party has lost the war of words between it and the UDP. Mr. Waa Juwara who was reacting for the first time after news of the so-called edict against his statements in the Daily Observer told The Independent that the "decree" against him suggests the desperate nature of the APRC in its attempt to stifle the truth. Mr. Waa Juwara described Observer journalists as a group of young people who in principle are prepared to sacrifice their jobs instead of being used as political tools. He said the situation represents a signal to President Jammeh that Gambians are no longer in a position to "stomach" everything that come their way. "The APRC is so weak that they challenge everything and can resort to such a high-handed way of handling an independent media and its crew of magnificent journalists who have seen great hope for The Gambia's future" he said. "It is a big surprise to me that I carry much weight to warrant APRC bigwigs to make an unnecessary and unwarranted clampdown on the Daily Observer" he added. He said he heard the story about the alleged decree banning anything from him in the Daily Observer on BBC's Focus on Africa and had to cut short his trip to return home after he registered in his village of Niamina Dankunku. He noted that it's very amusing to accept that this is not a democratic government, which he said is in disarray an unable to justify the "dictatorship". Mr. Juwara said he is duty bound to stand by the truth and remain prepared to take on anybody. He said he felt quite honoured when his party selected him as the organising and propaganda secretary at a time when he was in detention at the Mile Two Central Prisons. "My task is to propagate and sell the agenda of the party in order to make sure that democracy is restored in The Gambia", he said. He opined that the APRC is fighting a lost battle against the majority of Gambians who have lost faith in the government. "Their renegades, sycophants and politically naïve supporters are foolish to an extent that they can be used by the regime that has lost political initiatives and directions. They are no match for people who are principled and know what they are doing" he charged. Waa further noted that censuring stories related to him in the Daily Observer was not his challenge but that of the UDP and the Gambian people. He said it suggests the biggest signal to the entire world that the APRC has lost the war or words. He said the APRC despite all the facilities including the state-owned radio and television at their disposal could not stand and defend their ideas. The organising secretary said he could not turn around and lie against the entire establishment of the governing party with all the laws. He said the "hidden controllers" of the Observer have developed cold feet in the war of words between the two parties. He said the decree against his statements showed the desperate actions of a desperate political organisation. "I am overwhelmed to hear that people like Pascal Eze, who is not a Gambian but professionally honest enough to keep the ethics of the profession has resigned" he said. He also commended Pa Kalifa Sanyang whom he said was very close to the regime but behaved professionally. Mr. Juwara said this is a pointer to those working for the GRTS to emulate "these great young people who did not accept to be enslaved but stood by their principles." He urged Tombong Saidy and his team to call it a day and tell President Jammeh that they are not going to be his propaganda mouthpiece, dishing out lies to the Gambian people. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------