American Envoy Urges Politicians to Take the High Road Mr. Brian Brown, the outgoing American envoy to the Gambia, has urged politicians to try diffuse the political tension as The Gambia approaches the October elections. All Gambians should value the general peace and stability the country enjoys and that everyone work hard to ensure that these traits continue to prevail. Mr. Brown was talking to The Point in an exclusive interview on Thursday before he completed his tenure to take on another assignment in Abuja, Nigeria. He said that good elections usually beget good governance. If Gambia treats itself to a healthy electoral diet, the country will be poised to better address its extand political and social challenges. He recalled ex-Ambassador Haley's farewell statement in which he urged the key organs of the body politic - civic society, the media, the opposition and the government/ruling party to make objective appraisals of the roles they should play in society. Gambian civil society should be more proactive in raising the substantive issues of the day and in helping the political class define and refine the informal, but highly important, rules by which the game of politics should be played. If you don't draw these parameters, some people will do and say things that should have been recognized as being out of bounds. For the media, Browne urged them to be more objective and professional. He urged the independent media give objective coverage to the government, reporting positively on its achievements and offering constructive criticism when it errs. He said the public media should grant equitable access to both the ruling party and opposition. He, like, Haley, called on politicians to downplay high-octane rhetoric and finger pointing while concentrating more on dialogue and principled compromise. Politics should be limited to healthy competition. "It should not degenerate into a from of verbal combat," Mr. Browne emphasized. He urged opposition politicians not to be reckless but sober and prudent in criticizing government. They should also be sufficiently gracious to give credit where credit is due. While stating the social institutions have roles to play in ensuring good elections, the American diplomat said the government has the most important role. Mr. Browne expressed his government's positive reaction to the repeal of Decree 89, viewing it as a positive step on the road to free and fair elections. As a statement of general policy, he affirmed that any government actually moving toward genuine democratization can expect nothing but encouragement from the United States. He called on all politicians to choose tolerance and dialogue as the watchwords by which they should live. On rumors surrounding American visa policies, the outgoing envoy clarified that U.S. visa policy does not target nationalities. "No one is favored or disfavored because of his/her race or nationality or other incidents of birth." Under their law, he continued, the consular office is required to presume that a visa applicant is an intending immigrant unless the applicant proves otherwise. Consequently, the burden is on the applicant to prove that he/she will return home at the end of his/her legitimate period of stay in the U.S. between The Gambia and US. Mr. Brown finally spoke well of Gambians' inherent goodness and kindness and the country's cultural richness and traditions. He stated that during his two-year mission to The Gambia, he met many wonderful people whose friendship he has come to value. "On a professional note, I can look back over my tenure here and say I have done my humble best to advance the bilateral relationship between the Gambia and the United States," he concluded. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------