It is simply Sir Dawda's prerogative whether to accept or decline President Jammeh's so-called offer of amnesty to return home from exile in Britain. Should he decide to return to the Gambia as widely expected, whatever he opts to do within the confines of the law would also be within his rights. If he opts to endorse the military-cum-civilian dictatorship which deposed him, the people are a witness and history shall judge him. Alternatively, Sir Dawda could opt to retire from active participation in politics but certainly under the political status-quo in the Gambia, it would be totally unacceptable to the intolerant and vicious APRC regime for Sir Dawda to attempt to bolster the UDP-led alliance. Sir Dawda's return to the Gambia, the restoration of his assets and and grant to him of a priviledged life befitting a retired head of State would have been made conditional by President Jammeh upon Sir Dawda's agreement to withdraw public contact with or endorsement of the UDP-led opposition alliance. When Sir Dawda returns home as expected, he must have already agreed to this inevitable condition of his return. But then, Gambians will be interested to see whether Sir Dawda will just distance himself from the UDP as required of him by the APRC regime and stay aloof from politics by retiring or whether he will board the APRC bandwagon as did both some of his former political supporters and arch-political opponents. I mean the Buba Baldehs, Nafa Sahos, FJCs as well as the SM Dibbas and co. Any person who knows the real Sir Dawda should not be surprised if Sir Dawda decides to hail the current dictatorship that threw him out of power into exile as saviours of the Gambia. After all, Wasn't Sir Dawda the very man who changed his religion between Christianity and Islam to suit his convenience and political aspirations? Most politicians don't have life-long principles, they thrive on outright opportunism and Sir Dawda is one of them. On the the other hand, Sir Dawda could decide to completely retire from politics by surrendering his civic duties but this option would be incompatible with his status as an elder Statesman. It would for instance mean that he has made himself oblivious to all maladministrative acts and human right abuses that will continue to define the APRC regime. Under this scenario, Sir would be acting DEAF, BLIND and DUMB in every sense of the meanings of these words while in actuality, he is not. In my view, this would tantamount to an abdication of his responsibilities to the Gambia as an elder Statesman. Upon his return, Will Sir Dawda fall into the trap of trying to salvage his record in govrnment by pleading to have been misled by those around him and attributing the mistakes in his thirty-year rule on everybody else in the former PPP but himself. Doing so will be a disaster for his final image! What then should Sir Dawda do in his role as an elder-Statesman upon his return to the Gambia? It is ultimately for him to decide but he is best advised of the following: ********************************************** Campaign for the amnesty of return to the Gambia to be extended to other officials of his regime in exile with the guarantee that their fundamerntal rights would also be guaranteed by the regime. ******************************************** Stay above partisan politics but criticise and commend the regime, when necessary. *****************************************88 He must never allow himself to be used as President Jammeh's blind praise-singer. The story is that of the crafty old fox and the ruthless and hungry young hyena and let us follow to see where it ends. The yoke of oppression must be shattered! BMK _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>