I believe that everyone has the inalienable right to freedom of opinion and of association as enshrined in numerous human rights instruments. I am quite sure that the erudite Dr. Scattered-Janneh is no exception here. Whatever prompted his decision, nobody can dismiss the fact that the APRC human rights record is dismal and President Jammeh's government is yet to show any signs of improvement in this area. This news has just made me re-read a chapter in Prof. George Ayittey's controversial book, 'Africa in Chaos', where he unsuccessfully attempts to explain the reasons why some African intellectuals associate themselves with governments that violate human rights with impunity. Dr. Scattred-Janneh has mentioned the new Kombo coastal road and President Jammeh's recent pronouncement on peace. President Jammeh's committment to peace has, first of all, to start with tolerance on the home front: the bringing to justice of people who have been charged with heinous crimes such as the random shooting of school children, the immediate release of all political prisoners, and a stop to all arbitrary arrests and detentions, etc, etc. The new coastal road is no doubt a long overdue development for Kombonkas and tourism alike. However, could we sacrifice civil and political rights for economic rights? Are these rights not interdependent? Could the building of roads and hospitals over-ride the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of association and assembly, etc.? The success of future African governments lies principally on the ability and willingness of their leaders to see themselves as servants of their people and not the other way round. Without much ado, I wish Dr. Scattred-Janneh success in his new political career. Hamadi. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.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 To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~