Hamjatta, You wrote > For starters it is plainly > dishonest to imply that there is no such thing as an Opposition Alliance: > what would you call agreement of the PPP, UDP and GPP to fight the elections > under the leadership of Mr Darbo? The fact that Mr Darbo heads the different > You conveniently left out the most important fact, and that is, this opposition allinace was proposed to bring all opposition parties under one fold to help eject the dictator. However, these three parties you mention underhandedly colluded to exclude the other parties by "floating ideas between people with similar objectives" as someone called it. They then called a meeting by verbal invitation, and most amazing of all, they decided to nominate a leader for the opposition alliance when half of the opposition parties were not present. One party, that of Mr S.M Dibba walked out due to his disagreement with the nomination, and PDOIS called to have the meeting delayed so they could attend, and Hamat Bah was out of the country. Despite all of this, and despite the fact that a coalition of opposition parties is something that needs careful negotiation betrween all the players and compromises made if there is to be a situation that is truely a colaition and not an attemopted take over, you still want to argue that there is a colaition. Hamjatta, at least have the decency to admit that there is a merger of the PPP and UDP only, and no true colaition. The way this whole affair was orchestrated is what I take issue with, and it was shamelessly underhanded. Please, let us try to stick to the truth because it is the truth that will set us free. This is an allinace that has placed the UDP into another league, far different from the one that others including myself had placed them in. You also wrote: This merely reflects your own personal weakness; i.e., how you easily become a victim of your own herd instincts of following popular and fashionable opinion rather than research issues and make the appropriate comments. Hamjatta, I made no excuses for not having done my homework. You, on the other hand, ought to have the courage at last to do yourself a favour by admitting that you are a PPP/UDP supporter. You say you do not support PDOIS any longer, this is your choice and mine is also mine to make and truth, fairness and transparency should be what we pursue in our attempts to moveforward. One cannot acuse the present regime of lack of transparency, which is quite true, and then turn around and engage in the same underhandedness. This is not a way forward, but merly a chnge of one conspirator for another. If the truth be told, I think even you know that I am no follower of crowds and popular opinion, unless that opinion happens to be the truth. This situation cannot be so easily relegated to such a simplistic explanation. Rather, I think the UDP should tell us just how they can call themselves a fresh new party and still allign with the PPP, but most important of all, why it was that this allinace should have been so deviously organized. These two parties should have had the decency to just tell Gambians that they want to allign, rather that saying that they are joining an opposition when the planning of this so called allince was nothing short of a conspiracy to merge these two parties, while finding convenient excuses to leave the other parties out. I also happen to think that it was a most unwise decision.. What is the explanation as to why they refused to delay the meeting so PDOIS can attend if they had good intentions of forming a true coalition that included everyone? What is the reason a meeting was so poorly planned with only verbal invitations? What is the reason that despite the fact that one of the parties walked out, they still went ahead with the meeting as if nothing else mattered? What is the reason that they went ahead with the meeting when Hamat Bah was out of the country? What is the reason these so called "balloons between people of similar objectives" were not floated to the other parties like PDOIS etc? The answer I got on that one was that they thought that PDOIS would not be receptive to them, so this was based on a perception by supposedly well meaning ad neutral elements who were suposedly organizing this meeting for one and all. Why was it that politicians who have a lot of experience, and had even run a government before did not take into account that a colaition of political parties with different ideas had to be something that willl take a lot of negotiation and concesions on the part of all if the intention to form a true coalition is genuine? Why was it that every avenue to eliminate all the objections of the other parties like PDOIS and NRP were not pursued if the intentions to include every opposition party without prejudice was genuine? What about the legacy of the PPP, and how UDP will reconcile that even as they say they are a fresh party with new ideas.? I think the issues that need to be addresed are being passed over because the answers are too obvious. This is about truth, fairness and a way to move us forward that has been railroaded, and let the newly merged UDP/PPP allinace answer the important questions that are raised instead of beating about the bush and asuming that people are stupid. Jabou Joh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------