Brother Kanteh: Now is not the time to question PDOIS' experience and your subjective evaluation of what it should have done. I believe the word FOROYAA speaks for itself. We are almost at the end of the road. All we need is unity and subjectivity should not take place at this critical moment. Would you subscribe to JONYAAA? I hope not. Please let us report objectively. Naphiyo, Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh Greensboro, NC/Kombo East Constituency Original Message: ----------------- From: Hamjatta Kanteh [log in to unmask] Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 20:49:52 EDT To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: BURNING ISSUES FOROYAA Publication For a paper that has more than a decade's experience in reporting and commenting on topical issues, Foroyaa seriously goofed here by allowing its columns to be reduced to being a mere recycling factory of APRC rumours and conspiratorial innuendoes. Instead of Foroyaa getting first hand information from the individual parties and personalities it reported about, it relied primarily on second hand accounts of events and inferring from them grossly erroneous stuff on the intent, manouevres and actions of some Opposition heavy weights. Foroyaa certainly doesn't help the collective spirit when it tendentiously make conspiratorial what is at best a genuine effort in the preliminary engagements of ironing out wrinkles that have the potential of hindering coalition progress. That is to say that it is perfectly normal that before formal negotiations take public form, backroom horse tradings - that are invariably raucous and having the negative impact of throwing poor light on the collective spirit if conducted in the public eye - have to run their course before the shape and form that the collective spirit will take is announced to the public. Foroyaa's whining or lamenting at this backroom horsetrading denotes and betrays its innocence in political negotiations. Insidiously, and with great literary adroitness, Foroyaa tried to paint a patrimonial picture of Hassan Musa Camara's informal appointment as the 'political fixer' to work on narrowing down the differences between the different Opposition parties. Camara's appointment as a political go between to finesse a common platform of action for the Opposition signally represents the recognition that such a role invariably involves negotiation skills and a lack of direct interest in who heads the Opposition Alliance. Camara, by virtue of decades experience as a public figure who had served all areas of gov't and led a mainstream political party and the fact that he is ineligible to contest the current presidential elections, was better predisposed than anyone else to play this role without any ill-will towards and or fearing or favouring any political grouping. This is the context of Camara's current role. It is not so much the 'patrimonial kingmaker' Foroyaa subtly and deceptively tried to implant in its readerships' minds. Moreso, if Foroyaa was irresponsible and lazy in its reportage and commentary of the Opposition Alliance issue, it was surprisingly sulking and hubristic in the way it expects cooperation to eventually take form and work. For instance, Foroyaa commented that: "UDP has held rallies and invited opposition parties to join them but this had not materialised. Analysts observe that unless the opposition reaches an agreement on a presidential candidate it is not likely to have a joint rally which gives the impression that a particular aspirant's candidature has been endorsed. What is therefore of paramount importance is discussion to determine whether a coalition is to be forged or not." Above all, this passage demonstrates the extent to which, say, the UDP is ready to sell the message of cooperation. Foroyaa's assertion that the UDP's invitation has, as of yet, not materialised is a bit disingenuous. Perhaps, as it applies to the PDOIS, it is true that the UDP's invitation has, as of yet, yielded no dividends. But it is a matter of public record that UDP rallies have and continue to be graced by such PPP heavyweights like OJ and NCP or GPP stalwarts alike. Which takes me to Foroyaa's dissembling argument on why the UDP's invitation has, as of yet, not materialised; i.e., because there has been no agreement on an Opposition Alliance for the presidential elections, such invitations will remain unreturned or never materialise. The fact that PDOIS has been invited to a UDP rally and declined it and wilfilly reports it in its political organ, Foroyaa, does it no favours. PDOIS/Foroyaa also does itself no favours if it willing to sulk rather than proactively engage its Opposition colleagues in what could be the beginning of a fruitful cooperation. For instance, if the UDP invites it to join it in a rally, PDOIS ought to accept the invitation and use it as a basis to explore ways in which it can stamp out misconceptions, mistrusts and misunderstanding that continue to stand between the different parties. Likewise, to see how cooperative the UDP is, PDOIS then can return the UDP's compliments by inviting the UDP to join it in a similar forum. That way, we are no longer talking about parties communicating through third parties; rather, we are beginning to see a whole new mechanism that would greatly help foster common understanding on the way ahead. The collective interest and or spirit is neither served by column inches of regurgitated APRC rumours or inferring from these rumours grossly erroneous stuff about Opposition players and consituents. Mistrusts and misunderstandings feed from such a parlous way of comminucation. And most definitely not the prudent way to build common bridges to cooperate. Foroyaa also lamented that to this day, an agenda or a framework has yet to be worked out to form the basis for an Opposition Alliance. Again, PDOIS should not whine or sulk but seize the initiate and proactively come up with an agenda which it can publicly propose to the other parties. That way, PDOIS would be at the forefront of Opposition thinking and would not be reduced to chipping sulkily at what others have publicly tabled for the Opposition Alliance. PDOIS has the intellectual muscle to come up with a programme that it feels would be the correct basis with which the minimalist programme it favours is workable and acceptable for all parties to publicly consider for endorsement as a framework for an Opposition Alliance. If PDOIS cannot do this, then it makes the task of cooperation no easier if all it could come up with is to sulk about what others are doing or not doing? What is PDOIS practically doing to move forward the Opposition Alliance? Instead of reducing the columns of Foroyaa into a recycling factory of APRC lies, disinformations and rumours, these are the intellectual arguments that Foroyaa ought to be busying itself with. Foroyaa was very right to point out that: "The Opposition Must Not Be Indecisive The Price Of Indecisiveness Is A Weakened Opposition" If Foroyaa believes in its own wiseacres, it was not helping matters either by engaging in intriguing but self-defeatist intellectual arguments or speculations about non-existent Opposition plots or conspiracies. If Foroyaa strongly believes in its own wiseacres, it would have by now published an Opposition Alliance framework paper which can form the basis of mutual cooperation between all the Opposition parties genuinely interested in the democratic health and future of the country. All the best, 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] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail2Web - Check your email from the web at http://www.mail2web.com/ . ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------