I was under the impression that Jammeh APRC not Jawara PPP is the current president. NCP need not tell us what happened in 1900. Their opponent in this election is Jammeh not PPP. This is the same guy who was part of of coalition discussions before decree 89 was uplifted. Now he is taking a pass at PPP.Taking a swipe at PPP and in essence the coalition show Dibba's drive to be president. I say very selfish, Gutless and cowardly of Sheriff Mustapha Dibba. I pray this this guy(whose time has came and gone) lose badly in his personal quest of being president. MJohnson The Independent (Banjul) September 21, 2001 Posted to the web September 21, 2001 Malick Kijera Banjul, the Gambia Sheriff Dibba a co-founder of the People's Progressive Party has defended his decision to resign from the party twenty-six years ago, saying it was done on principle. He told a teeming crowd of NCP supporters at a Bundung rally recently that it wasn't possible to continue with the PPP whose idea of ruling the country was different from his own. He said he had resigned to form a new party that would usher a new epoch of hope after then President Jawara had mismanaged the country's affairs. He said the formation of the NCP in 1975 was to restore confidence in a people de-empowered by Jawara's style of leadership. Mr. Dibba selfish considerations to enrich himself did not fuel his drive to establish the NCP. Hw said thus his party's manifesto was markedly different from that of the PPP. He said despite their political differences, he was in good relations with members of the PPP. Mr. Dibba said his party is an organization for compromise among parties posing as fierce rivals in a thorny political climate. The NCP leader also said that if he were selfish he would have joined the APRC bandwagon just like some politicians of the first republic who were staunches of the PPP, citing Buba Baldeh, Lamin Nafa Saho and Nyimasata Sanneh-Bojang as examples. Mr. Dibba said he is a foremost critic of military rule in Africa, whose exponents he said drain the coffers of their countries dry and render their population as destitute. He said such a situation had often led to civil strife. Mr. Dibba blamed President Jammeh for what he called the serious economic depression obtaining in the country and referred to the depletion of our foreign exchange as the reason for the Dalasi's devaluation and the increase in the price of basic consumer goods. He said the worst scenario caused by the government is the groundnut crisis in which farmers are left unpaid for their effort. Other speakers also blamed the PPP for what they called the politics of separation and enmity, which they believe still obtains today. _________________________________________________________________ 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------