Another ample proof that this so-called attempted coup is nothing but invented fabrication to be used as a tool to accomplish Jammeh's evil plots. Look at the net they are trying to cast now. NADD’s Flagbearer On National Assembly Motion To Condemn “21st March Abortive Coup The Point Thursday 13th April 2006 With reference to the above-captioned subject, the NADD Flagbearer, Hon Halifa Sallah, had this to say. Compatriots, reports have been published in the Gambian press on the position of the NADD parliamentary opposition regarding a motion introduced by nominated member Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, on 3rd April 2006 to call on the National Assembly members to condemn the abortive coup of 21st March, 2006. Compatriots, the reports in the press contain ambiguity. Clarification is therefore necessary. The parliamentary majority drafted their own motion without any consultation with the parliamentary minority. In presenting and defending the motion they attributed motives and passed judgements and became evidently partisan by claiming that the socio-economic prosperity, progress and general welfare enjoyed under the APRC regime added up to permit no justification for a coup. The parliamentary minority listened attentively to the arguments forwarded by the members of the parliamentary majority. Other than the member for Banjul South most of the members who spoke inflamed the situation. Instead of counselling for restraint they called for retribution. Finally, it was the turn of the majority leader. He did not only utter inflammatory remarks, he went further to assert, with all the emphasis at his command, that the parliamentary opposition would be guilty of treason if they failed to condemn the abortive coup d’etat. It is at this point that I intervened, as minority leader, to vehemently object to such irresponsible remarks, which constituted a gross violation of the standing orders of parliament. In my intervention, I indicated that it was rather unfortunate that the motion was couched in the judgmental language that befitted a prosecutor or judge and not a national assembly member. I questioned why national assembly members should make inflammatory remarks when even the President decided not to raise the issue in his address. Contrary to the opinion of the majority leader that our refusal to join them in their inflammatory remarks constituted the aiding and abetting of coup makers we stood on the bedrock of sound principles in behaving as we did. First and foremost, it is prudent that in a state of conflict one should not allow oneself to be drawn into it; on the contrary, one should serve to be a builder of peace rather than put fuel on fire. One should be a peacemaker rather than a warmonger. It is in this light that I issued the following words: Hon. Speaker, when we are dealing with such matters, we should deal with matters of principle and not substance. Any democrat or those who intend to be democrats would know that people who are accused of crimes are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. It is not the duty of Assembly Members to be judges but it is the duty of Assembly Members to advocate for principles. The principles are very clear. Article 4 paragraph (9) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union calls for the rejection of all unconstitutional changes of government. This is due to the fact that Africa is an Africa of the people. Africa has passed through the stage of monarchs, tyrants and despots, ruling over the people. Africa has grown and perhaps that is why we have started to advocate for the principle of democracy; that power must be derived from the consent of the people and should be exercise in their interest. We must bear in mind what that entails. We in the opposition have departed from the position of our colleagues where they are avoiding the principle and are promoting partisan politics, which has been reflected by the Majority Leader (Hon. Churchill Baldeh). It is important to bear in mind that if we start to condemn the coup on the basis of somebody saying that he can come to Banjul and back to Nuimi and that his children can come to school in Banjul and back to Nuimi, people travelling to Jarra and Wuli in the South Bank can claim that it takes them days to get home. I don’t think that is a reason for opposing or supporting a coup d’etat. It is not the nature of a government in a country, whether succeeding economically or not, that determines whether there should be a coup or not. It is a constitutional rule that power must not be derived from the barrel of the gun; that is the principle! The principle is that it should be derived from the consent of the people. We hope that all these experiences would be lessons that what we need to consolidate is democracy and free the people to be totally in charge of their destiny. This is not a matter of party. All of us in common own the Gambia; all of us in common must defend that constitution. We in the opposition therefore hope that this event that has taken place would be left to the investigators, so that they would do their work and take those people who have allegedly committed crimes before the courts to prove their innocence or guilt. We hope that in this process, our democratic evolution would be enhanced. A member has indicated the MOU we have signed between political parties and just few days ago, we did the inauguration. We hope that spirit would continue. That is the spirit which can make Gambia to be stable today and would make Gambia stable tomorrow. The spirit of realising that all of us must defend the fundamental rights and freedom of our citizens, the spirit that we must defend the rule of law, ensure that political parties and political opponents will abide by the principle of not engaging in demagogy and character assassination but would live up to the politics of issues so that the people would decide who would govern them. This is the life we wish for this country. I must say that I would like to advise the government that what has happened should not lead to any culture of impunity. What exists in the constitution as rights for people who are detained must be respected. The more we respect this, the more stable the Gambia becomes. We hope that stability will continue because we intend to contribute to that by respecting the laws of our country, by continuing to promote democratic principles, by committing ourselves not to participate in governments that are derived from coup d’etat just as we have shown in principle in the past. The best principle! We in the opposition have shown our commitment to the democratic principle by vowing never to participate in a government that is derived from a coup d’etat. The position of the flagbearer of NADD, which is the position discussed and unanimously approved by the Executive Committee, is very clear. As an alliance which intends to form an alternative government our role is not to take side in conflicts but to help resolve conflicts and prove that we can offer opportunities for both sides to co-exist in peace in a new country led by NADD. Secondly, we are fully committed to the principle that government must derive its authority from the consent of the people and should exercise that authority within the fences erected and guarded by Democratic Constitutions and laws to promote the liberty and general welfare of a people. Hence in principle NADD endorsed the position of the African Union as stipulated in Article 4 paragraph (p) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union that:……….. In this respect, where an abortive coup is alleged and death and destruction of properties occur, NADD will condemn the destruction of life and property and once a free and fair trial before a Court takes place and an alleged coup established it will condemn the attempt to change a government through unconstitutional means. On the other hand, where a coup is made NADD commits itself never to participate in such a government and will strongly condemn and oppose any attempt to destroy democratic structures and reverse any democratic gains. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤