Sherrif Dibba uttering absolute rubbish here. What does he mean by his call to do away with legality? BTW, did anyone see the pictures of him with that ridiculous 14th century "admiral style" hat at the swearing in of NAMs. If you have not seen it, please check the statehouse site. Oooh, it is so funny. The poor chap, while a great politician in his own right, is clearly out of his element & maybe a bit senile. How else can one explain that silly looking hat! Anyway, the following is from The Point" Mr. Speaker Sir! Ours is today a message to the Speaker, a fine gentleman as we used to know him. We were really disturbed by his recent utterances at the National Assembly. Mr. Dibba was one of the first Ambassadors to the ACP countries in Brussels where procedures and legality prevail in difficult negotiations. He witnessed the difficult days of the making of Europe. Therefore, Sheriff Dibba’s call to do away with legality is a matter of great concern. The reason why a member of Parliament cannot be taken to court for his/her utterances speaks volume as far as the freedom of expression is regarded in parliamentary practice. In fact, in other countries that immunity extends to the streets and all other places. In those countries, if a parliamentarian commits a crime in his or her dealing outside the assembly, he or she can only be tried if his or her colleagues agree to dispossess him or her of that immunity. So, free expression is a sine qua non for any assembly. Dissent was even allowed in Moscow’s Duma during the totalitarian regime of Soviets. We all remember Dibba’s ‘sortie’ as a former outspoken member of Parliament when he moved a motion of non confidence against the then PPP government. Dibba has been an effective opposition member in Parliament as the leader of the NCP and he is very conversant with all that goes with such a role. Therefore, let the debate be free at the Assembly. Let the people receive what they paid for with their sweat and tears under the sun of the 18th October and the 17th January. They leave you with your salaries and other emoluments, give them their due; explain clearly what is being done in their name at the assembly. Free expression must flow so that people identify with one shade or another in the market of ideas and vision the Assembly must always be. Take it easy brother...Take it easy brother... Mr. Speaker Sir, the ball is in your court! <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> 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] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>