Hi Sidibeh & others! The failure of NADD to react effectively illustrates a fundamental organisational and strategic shortcoming. What happened should have been forecast moons ago and plans should have been put into place to ensure a swift and decisve response. Thanks and have a good weekend. Buharry. ----Original Message---- From: [log in to unmask] Date: Dec 8, 2005 10:26:16 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subj: What Does NADD Want ?? Folks, I must admit that I am very angry. So angry I am afraid I will not be able to write anything sensible. But kindly allow me to say a few things before you read the nobel lecture delivered by this year's nobel laureate in literature, Harold Pinter. We in Stockholm have the privelege of being around the nobel festivities and other media events surrounding it. There is always a round-table discussion with some of the world's greatest literary minds chaired by a great friend of Africa, Per Westberg, who is also a member of the Swedish Academy. Per Westberg has not only written a lot on African literature, he had been quite active in the anti-apartheid struggle, and has good friends amongst ANC leaders. A few years ago, he chaired such a high profile discussion in honour of V. S. Naipaul who was in the company of other nobel laureates Nadine Gordimer, Gunther Grass, and Seamus Heaney. While the entire team expressed the awesome cruelty of the U.S drumbeating for war against Iraq and its deliberate drowning of the entire world in a relentless misinformation and disinformation campaign demonising Saddam Hussein, our third-world nobel laureate was twisting in his chair admitting almost literally that he has no capacity to understand oppression. Instead of summoning an arsenal of repulsion against the imminent destruction of Mesopotamian civilisation, and the consequental slaughter of innocent Iraqis, V.S. Naipaul sat there, severely perturbed and wrinkled by the horrendous destruction of the Buddha statues in the sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan by the Taliban. The contrasting cast was cinematic. Gunther Grass threatend that he would become angry unless V.S.N opened his literary eyes to the real evil consuming the world! V.S.Naipaul made me so sick all my plans for christmas that winter simply melted into the snow. Two things that consoled me were the memories of Stephen Hawking's assertion that some people get the nobel prize for all sorts of things, and that of Edward Said labelling Naipaul a novelist of imperialism. Harold Pinter's lecture reminds one of the possibilites of a revolutionary Nicaragua, but also offers a concrete perspective of the struggle for democracy in Gambia. So my anger has its roots not so much in what the APRC government is robbing us of, (that is sufficiently clear to even the blind amongst us), but to how the NADD leadership has resolved to manage the revolutionary situation that obtains at home. What does Sidia Jatta mean by his reasons for not agitating for a nation-wide peaceful demonstration aginst the arrest of the other leaders? That Jammeh is luring the people to demonstrate in order to oblige in the opportunity to shoot them? Is NADD admitting that our liberation lies in the hands of Jammeh? Does empowering the people mean playing by Jammeh's rule book until his conscience balks? He denies NADD a peaceful rally(!). So we take him to court and verdict turns out in NADD's favour. Do we then rally or demonstrate, as he would have upheld his sinister plans to shoot us down? Come on folks, what is happening here? We must support NADD even more than ever before. But let us frankly and unequivocally and respectfully tell NADD that loyalty should not be equated with silence! With less anger and with a little more time, I will discuss these questions eventually; and I hope you also start thinking about where we are going. Harold Pinter's Nobel lecture: http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture.html Cheers, Momodou S Sidibeh 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 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