I had speculated here about 3 weeks ago that the death of Decree 89 could lead to a splintering of the Opposition. I had further asked if the First Republic parties would maintain their structures or join the existing opposition parties. With the plethora of parties, I had also said that the Gambian electorate is bound to be split along ethnic, family, and interest lines as each party tries to win the hearts of the voters. The schism is already apparent if we are to go by reports on the UDP/PPP meeting posted to the List by Adama Bah and Ebrima Sillah. I wonder why the NRP, PDOIS, and the UDP could not hold such a meeting prior to the repealing of Decree 89. Why would it take the resurgence of the PPP to convene an Opposition meeting from which PDOIS was allegedly sidelined? Why did Bureh Jawo, Musa Ngaado or any other NRP official not attend the said meeting? If the PPP shares the ideals of the UDP why the need to re-register the party that has led us to the situation that we’re in today and not join the existing UDP structures? What is the reason behind Sheriff Dibba’s walk-out from yesterday’s discussions? Finally, since most former NCP members and officials are currently registered with the UDP what’s the wisdom behind Sheriff’s decision to revive his party? It is becoming clear that the Opposition has a lot of work to do in order to improve their mutual respect and trust even in the absence of a coalition. It is also apparent that PDOIS is being unfairly used as the whipping boy of the Opposition whenever the party differs in opinion. One does not have to be a PDOIS supporter to note that this party has single-handedly been fighting against the very issues for which the APRC and PPP governments have been criticized. The ideal would have been to have a coalition either in the first or second (if there’ll be any) round of voting after serious consultations between all parties on the modalities of such a coalition. We might get caught in the obsession of removing Yahya Jammeh only to realize that we have replaced him with his alter ego. What will happen if the APRC loses the presidential, but retains a majority in the National Assembly? What Gambians should fight for is the end of ignorance and poverty and all the accompanying ills. We cannot continue to have leaders that sell us nothing but big talk and falsehood, who are just interested in becoming rulers to fill their pockets. As Amilcar Cabral, the Bissau-Guinean freedom fighter, once put it: “Always remember that the people are not fighting for ideas, nor for what’s in men’s minds. The people fight and accept the sacrifices demanded by the struggle in order to gain material advantages, to live better and in peace, to benefit from progress, and for the better future of their children.” Hamadi. _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------