As Seven-Year Silence Ends, Dibba Gives Verdict On Democracy The Independent (Banjul) August 17, 2001 Posted to the web August 17, 2001 Sheikh Al-Kinky Sanyang Banjul, the Gambia The leader of the formerly banned opposition National Convention Party, Sheriff Mustapha Dibba has contended that democracy in The Gambia is a sham. Speaking for the first time since July 1994 Sheriff Dibba told Citizen FM that it was a pretence on the part of the Jammeh administration to ban three political parties while the transition to democracy was on course. "It is a serious blunder that can hinder the development of this country" he noted, adding that there is a need to create an enabling environment to end the culture of fear and insecurity among Gambians, which he described as development-unfriendly. He questioned whether investors could invest amidst a situation of fear and insecurity. Mr. Dibba who in a BBC interview shortly after the coup had said he was going on a "political vacation" spoke of general disenchantment about the government, whom he said are presiding over a lot of wrongs. Mr. Dibba said the level of displeasure for President Jammeh would be known in October when Gambians go to the polls. He said many people who had voted for the APRC in the last presidential election may never vote for President Jammeh in view of the declining economic situation in the country. The veteran politician said the NCP will support the majority opposition party in order to dislodge the Jammeh government in a coalition but observed that cooperation between the PPP and the UDP alone should not be binding as far as any possible opposition coalition is concerned. He also noted that he would take up the responsibility of leading the coalition if endorsed by the majority of the coalition of parties. Reacting to allegations that he was given millions of Dalasis to create confusion and division among the opposition parties, Mr. Dibba he cannot be bought. Justifying his long silence Dibba said he didn't want to create any problems in the country. "We took a break not because we didn't want to participate or we were intimidated, but we didn't want to create problems. There could have been serious confrontations between us and the military regime, but we deliberately avoided it in the national interest," he said. Quizzed whether he is not too old to handle the job of the presidency as a 64 year old man, Dibba claimed that he is probably a more mature person at his age. He cited Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade and Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo who are 70 and 60 years respectively as mature and able to rule. "At this age you are in a better position to handle the affairs of this country than younger people". He accused some of his former MPs who joined the UDP as more concerned with their own financial gains. Mr. Dibba believes that the chances for UDP to win elections are even much smaller now than they were five years ago when the NCP and other parties were under the ban. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------