OJ is the man! It's about time too... _____________________________________________________ The former Agriculture Minister in the deposed PPP administration Amadou Omar Jallow, alias OJ has vowed to defy the controversial Decree 89, describing the ban as a joke and a gross infringement on his fundamental human rights. The former Serrekunda East representative in the National Assembly told The Point in an interview that he will participate fully in the coming October presidential elections. OJ who described himself as a political animal, accused the APRC administration of violating Decree 89, which banned all former politicians from participating in politics. "The ban has become a joke because we have seen former ministers who are affected by the ban participating effectively not only in the political campaign of the APRC but even in elections, during by elections to campaigns for candidates of APRC. For me, I am a political animal I cannot do no other job than politics", said the banned politician. OJ said his primary objective is to restore democracy, the rule of law, human rights and good governance in the country when he returns to the political arena. OJ added that there will be serious consultations between the former members of the PPP, NCP, GPP, NRP, UDP and PDOIS on how to formulate a formidable action to flush out the Jammeh's administration from power come next elections. OJ suggested that the system that was used in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Ghana should be adopted by the Gambian opposition to un-sit the dictatorial APRC regime through the ballot box. OJ accused the APRC goverment of rampant corruption, claiming that President Jammeh is living beyond his earnings. "We know from the salary of the Head of State that it is not possible for him to have saved the amount of money that he has been dishing out in the last few months. About seven million Dalasis, just to pay for people going to pilgrimage. D150,000 to rap groups, one hundred and something thousand Dalasis to the Students Union and one hundred and something thousands to other organisations and institutions. And these are all personal gifts of the Head of State", said OJ adding that President Jammeh is also bent on donating fleet of vehicles to people. He cited in an instance in which, he said, President Jammeh used to brag that he is so wealthy that his grand children will benefit from his wealth. OJ said President Jammeh always travels with special flights and high powered delegation, when former President Jawara in 30 years used the scheduled passenger airlines. The banned politician therefore called for judicious management of state resources further aexpressing dissatisfaction at the way the country is being governed. According to OJ, democracy is dead in the country following the passage of the unpopular indemnity bill. He argued that the bill is meant to cripple the opposition as members of the security forces are empowered to disperse opposition meetings and other social functions if controversial statements are made against the government. He added that if anybody is killed or hurt during the process by the security forces on the ground there is an indemnity bill to protect them from prosecution. OJ argued that if Pinochie, Mobutu and the Germans involved in the massacre of the Jews didn't escape justice, nobody will escape justice. He reminded those responsible for the killing of unarmed school children that one day they must face the full force of the law. For OJ, human rights violation cannot go unpunished. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------