Hamjatta I think this is an interesting topic to debate with sincerity. I shall definitely give my response to the quesdtions you have posed, they are very definitely food for thought. Expect a reply by tomorrow. Sanusi --- Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > In a message dated 29/08/2001 08:58:49 GMT Daylight > Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > > > > << It was an armed civil conflict brought upon the > Gambia by Kukoi > > Samba Sanyang: an ex-NCP parliamentary candidate > and therefore when the > > attempted dictatorship failed,some members of the > come-back PPP regime > > orchestrasted unjustifiable acts of atrocities > against some NCP militants > > and others who were percieved as supporters of the > attemtpted revolution.But > > for the direct intervention of Sir Dawda, (of whom > i am no admirer but even > > the devil deserves his due)the politics of > retribution that some members of > > the PPP wanted to bear upon their political > opponents would have been > > worst.Sir Dawda always advocated for the due > process of law to brought upon > > all such people which unfortunately was not always > heeded by his supporters. > > Had Yahya been in a similar situation, he would > have ordered extra-judicial > > killings and secret night burials as he did during > November 11, 1994 or even > > ordered a broad daylght massacre as happen to the > students on April 10 & 11, > > 2000. >> > > > > Kanteh, > > Isn't this the exact point we've tirelessly tried to > spell out for our anti- > PPP clerics? Instead of these people taking a pause > and put things in > context, they engage in all kinds of intellectually > dishonest and non > sequitur arguments about the demerits of Jawara or > lack thereof. The vast > majority of these anti- PPP clerics have personal > gripes against Jawara that > still rankle. These gripes, and nothing else, > accounts for their mindless > anti- PPP zealotry. As i keep on saying, i know a > lot of folks who have > suffered one way or the other from the hands of the > PPP. Unlike our anti- PPP > clerics, these people have moved on and know deep in > their hearts that anti- > PPP zealotry serves none save the current > dictatorship. Jawara as a president > had his flaws; as we all are flawed one way or the > other - like all mortals. > But there is no doubt that he is a decent and a very > good man. None can ever > take that away from him. The idea that Jawara is > comparable to Jammeh is the > bane of nauseating hypocrisy. > > As per the whole Kukoi question, in my own opinion, > that ugly episode of > Gambian history is a moral ragbag. That is to say > that it is not as > simplistic as many anti- PPP clerics are positing or > narrating. Kukoi was > wrong to carry out that ill-fated armed insurrection > of July 30th 1981. > Regardless of Kukoi's wrongs, the zealotry and > infingements of liberties that > occurred in some cases, after the putsch was helped > quashed by the > Senegalese, is indefensible. Sentimental anti- PPP > clerics like > Jassey-Conteh, with his usual sentimental and > romantic nonsense, claimed > that after the ill-fated putsch, an anti- "Jola" > witch hunt was officially > sanctioned by the PPP. Can anyone be this silly and > outrageous? Are these > stupid claims not the very ones that are used to > affirm Jammeh's morally > disgusting and divisive affirmative action for > Gambians he termed as "Jolas"? > Where was Jassey-Conteh when the likes of Hatab > Bojang, Musa Babadingding > Ceesay - who was my neighbour in those days - > Sanjally Bojang, SM Dibba and > the numerous individuals who would not normally > categorise themselves as > "Jola" speaking people, who were subsequently > arrested, detained and or > incarcerated at Mile Two prisons? For Jassey-Conteh > to rehearse and > regurgitate this sentimental nonsense shows how low > people can go in their > disgusting anti- PPP bashings. > > Be all that as it may, since a post mortem of > Kukoi's ill-fatedarmed > insurrection is what we are after here, let us start > putting things in > perspective and in the appropriate context. I would > like the anti- PPP > clerics to answer three questions vis-a-vis Kukoi's > ill-fated putsch and the > manner in which it was subsequently quashed: > > 1. How should the PPP regime have reacted to armed > insurrection of the > Marxist oriented coup d'etat of Kukoi? > > 2. Was Kukoi right in the first place to launch an > armed assault on the > Gambian polity to achieve his diabolical Marxist > aims? > > 3. Bar the innocent people who died in the conflict, > what was amoral about > the Senegalese intervention? What was wrong in > Jawara asking Senegal to > intervene and restore order in the country? > > Anti- PPP clerics in their mindless zealotry of PPP > bashing couldn't even > pause for a second and ask themselves these simple > questions; questions, > which if placed in the proper context of what was at > stake and how it > chanced, many who are now busy carrying futile post > mortems of that ill-fated > putsch will be appreciative of the fact that the > Marxist oriented armed > insurrection of Kukoi failed. Had they bothered to > ponder the implications of > a Gambia under the leadership of crack-pot Marxists, > most of these outrageous > claims will not be uttered here incessantly. I > submit that had Kukoi > succeeded with his agenda, Gambia will never be the > relatively quiet, sedate, > tranquil, moderate and peaceful place it was before > Jammeh took over. Gambia > was more likely to have been reduced to another > tragic wreckage as Mengistu - > another crack-pot Marxist - reduced Ethiopia to in > the 80s with that > horrendous famine and a seemingly never-ending > internecine civil strife. I > regret the lives lost in the ill-fated Kukoi putsch; > just as i deplore the > gross Human Rights violations than ensued after it > was quashed by the > Senegalese. But i appreciate the Senegalese > intervention, without which, > arguably, i would have grown up as another African > statistics of a displaced > child of a war torn African country. Forget the > international legal arguments > against the Senegalese intervention. Morally, Jawara > was very right in asking > the Senegalese to intervene. Without the Senegalese > intervention, we can > engage in futile intellectual speculations with > hindsight as per what the > fate of the Gambia would have been had Kukoi in his > bid to force the PPP out > of by the barrel of the gun. One thing is crystal > clear to me: the relative, > but snail pace advancement the Gambia scored post- > Kukoi's ill-fated putsch, > would certainly not have been the case had the > Senegalese not intervened in > the nick of time and quash the ill-fated putsch. No > amount of intellectual > skulduggery and Stalinist rewrite of history will > change that fundamental > moral truth. Basic human decency requires that at > the very least, we admit > the obvious and regard as morally abhorrent any > attempts to falsify history > simply because we have an axe to grind with > individuals involved in such > histories. These days, that just seems to be asking > too much of our anti- PPP > clerics. > > Hamjatta Kanteh > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > 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] > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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