Mr Saidy, As an attempt to provoke discussion, I admire your write-up in sofar as it reflects numerous issues each one of which is suitable topic for a mid-term paper. However, one is tempted to look at all of them at the same time since you indicated that this is just the beginning. Thanks for reminding us that you have all along been supportive of the AFPRC, which assertion itself speaks volumes. FIRSTLY, you indicated that at the time of the July 22nd 1994 overthrow of the Jawara regime, That was the only sure means of getting rid of The PPP government. Indeed you are not the only Gambian who has erroneously held on to this belief notwithstanding the brutal and dehumanizing performance of The AFPRC dictatorship. This represents a naive and unprogressive political stand point. Any ardent revolutionary activist will remind you that any undesirable political scenario by itself, directs you to the requisite solution to its inherent problems. If, as in the case of the July 22nd 1994 takeover, one had to resort to unconstitutional, illegal and treasonable action as a solution, " the end should justify the means". You have concluded that there has been more progress than degeneration during the AFPRC regime sofar, but at the same time you reflected that the negative things registered have been marked indeed. Your own line of arguement therefore reveals that whatever progress registered in the present government's lifetime, at least could have been undermined by few undesirable developments. By all accounts there has been less freedom of all sorts in the current regime than the one it overthrew. For purposes of arguement, please be reminded herein that generally, people " prefer poverty in freedom to riches under a dictatorship". The process of legitimizing the illegal and illegitimate action of a a group of soldiers on July 22nd 1994 therefore, has abismally failed, because the old system they overthrew, had more freedoms than the new political dispensation that obtains today in The Gambia. Secondly, The crux of your write-up seems to hover around the " Silence Of the elite". One has to understand the historical background to the development of the elite in The Gambia, and try to see whether there has been any revolutionary moves since 1965 to reorientate them particularly in the context of "National Dialogue" geared towards " National Development". Please be reminded that the first modicum of a curriculum available in The Gambia at the time of the introduction of "Western Education" was according to records, geared towards the three "Rs", which are Reading, Writing and Arithmetic/Religion. The Education policy of the colonialist was designed to "create" persons who would help in the explotation of the colony. The earlier elites came out of this system. and most of them joined the colonial civil service which was a machineryr for exploitation. Civil servants were therefore kept out of national politics. They had to be loyal to their employer's politics which ran contrary to Nationalist Politics. The bottomline is since independence nothing has been done to define the relationship between the civil servants and their new employers who happen to be the Tax Payers of The Republic of The Gambia. Instead as the new class of National Politicians tookover in Banjul, they inherited the civil service in its entirety and since then it has contnued to serve them almost in the same manner that it had been of service to the colonial administration. This is what obtains up to this very moment, which is to the detrment of The Gambian Masses. Politicians of both regimes have at best turned a blind eye to it, for reasons of political opportunism. This represents one of the major contradictions and inconsistencies in our present statecraft. There is need to first redress this contradiction, so that civil servants who by far represent the majority of elites in The Gambia are not only given the appropriate orientation vis-a via their service to the nation, but are also provided with the necessary legal backdrop and entitlements to take part in political discourse, without fear of potential negative consequencies. THIRDLY, you have alluded to both " Vision 2020" and "Operation No Compromise" as if they represent positive aspects of the AFPRC regime. Perhaps you are ignorant of the content of " Vision 2020" and the ethical issues begged by " Operation No Compromise". " Vision 2020" theoretically falls within the ambits of the Neoliberal Theory for Development. It assumes the existence of a viabrant multi-party democracy characterized by the prevalence of an exuberant and free private media, to name but just a few elements. The AFPRC regime's politics is characterized by a cavalcade of actions which are fundamentally anti-multiparty and anti-free private media. Thus advertently or perhaps inadvertently, The AFPRC's own pratice of politics, undermines a fundamental Theoretical assumption of "Vision 2020". Furthermore, the substance of the Vision at best is a mere bluff at creating a middle class. If any meaningful success is to be registered at the creation of a middle class, The AFPRC leadership should encourage the generation of alternative political opinion within its own ranks, the opposition parties and the larger civil society. But the harassment of private media personnel and opposition party figures runs contrary to the attainment of this vital goal.At worse, it represents a " conspiracy against the poor and sffering masses" of The Gambia. It contains nothing meaningful about Rural and Agricultural development and instead puts emphasis on promoting elements in the economy, which could only expidite its "globalization", at the detriment of a National Economy that carters for the needs of Gambians across the board. "Operation No Compromise" represents an " ethical disfunction" within the system. There are set rules and guidelines for the operations of companies and business operatives. Notwithstanding the important role the Presidecy plays in the overall performance of the statecraft, there is no need for the bully-like attitudes president Jammeh generally exhibits towards the business community in the guise of "Operation No Compromise". They merely represent actions which could again advertently or inadvertently lead to the withdrawal of key business operatives from key industries. Furthermore, since the constitution allows the president to be involved in only Agriculture related businesses, in the operations of the Youth Development Enterprise(YDE), the public gets a best case scenario exemplication of the criminality at the core of The AFPRC regime. Finally, you attest to what the brutal murder of our brother and compatriot Mr Deyda Hydara represents. This took place under the watch of Yaya Jammeh at the helm of the AFPRC regime. Indeed, so did the summary execution of men and officers of The Gambia Natioal Army in novenber 1994; the barbaric and brutal murder of our brother Ousman koro Ceesay in 1995; the heinous massacre of peacefully demonstrating Gambian students on April 10th/11th 2000 and the criminal attempt on the life of our compatriot lawyer Ousman Sillah. Thus, The AFPRC regime has contributed immensely towards "The Culture of silence" that obtains in The Gambia today. We have not only witnessed the perpetration of actions that are injurious to the eradication of this " Culture of Silence" under the watch of The AFPRC regime, but we have witnessed the legislation of AFPRC sponsored draconian and bad laws that are calculated to reinforce this undesirable culture. Omar Joof. >From: TOMBONG SAIDY <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: THE CULTURE OF SILENCE >Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 09:09:13 +0000 > いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい 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 Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい