IT TAKES TWO TO SPEAK TRUTH ? ONE TO SPEAK AND ANOTHER TO HEAR Henry David Thoureau It was with a great sigh of relief that I learnt of Mr.Darboe's admission of defeat and the subsequent Congratulatory Message he had sent to the President-Elect.What better sign for a bright and peaceful democratic future could any farsighted, peace-loving Gambian and friends of the Gambia hope or pray for! Since grace in defeat has never been a forte of and almost always in short supply in African politicians ,Mr.Darboe must therefore be saluted for his courage,dignity, statesmanship and patriotism. Just as the newly elected president must also be sincerely congratulated for the overwhelming manner in which the Gambian people have Renewed their trust in him and his contract and mandate to run their affairs.But having said that, my top accolade goes to the sovereign Gambian people for the patient,dignified and peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves,not only to exercise their democratic right to choose the leader they believe represents their interest best,but also to confound the pundits and the doomsayers that, just as they(the Gambian people) were ominously capable of upping the stakes to the point of pushing our entire nation to the brink of catastrophe just few days before the polls,they were equally capable of deciding at the eleventh hour not to jump off the precipice,thereby miraculously reaffirming the wisdom, good sense and peaceful nature of our tiny country even in one of the most critical and potentially explosive moments of its history This must, without doubt, be Gambia's contribution to Africa's great march towards an era in which peaceful democratic exercise of choosing the continent's leaders is the norm and NOT the exception. Long Live A Peaceful and Democratic Gambia and Long Live A Peaceful And Democratic Africa! And to all of you out there,the members of this great cyber instrument of debate and intellectual exchanges,I say: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK DOWN THERE!! Regards, Basss! _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>