Thank you Mr. Touray. This is a very revealing piece. -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: bailo jallow <[log in to unmask]> > Brother, > Maximum respect to you. > Bailo > > Muhammed Lamin Touray <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Could anyone imagine a few years ago that Saddam Hussein would be executed > like a common criminal by his fellow citizens with American support? I wonder > what was going around the dictator’s head when he knew about his eminent > execution, when he was handed over to the Iraqis for execution, when the judge > read to him the death sentence and that it was time to carry it out, when he was > escorted by guards to the death chamber, and until he was finally death? Was he > thinking about the brutality he inflicted on Iraqis and other nationals, or was > he thinking about himself as a martyr, who fought for the Iraqi interest? > > The Iraqi government official video of Saddam’s execution show a fearful and > angry man facing death, while a low quality unauthorized video shows Saddam’s > executioners taunting him and Saddam’s usual defiance. I wonder what the Bush > Administration and the Iraqi government is trying to proof? The consensus is > that Saddam was a tyrant dictator who orchestrated countless atrocities against > the Iraqis and their neighbors but the manner in which he was treated by the > Americans and the Shia led Iraqi government also tantamount to inhumane > treatment. Saddam was treated, exactly the same way his regime used to treat > perceived or real enemies. Nothing has changed. The reason to overthrow Saddam’s > regime is to change the status quo from brutal dictatorship to democracy, rule > of law, human right. > > The lousiest trial of the century is the trial of Saddam Hussein for genocide in > Dujail after at attempted assassination on his life. The whole trail was marred > with drama. Some of defense council members were executed or barred from > attending hearings; the chief judge was fired for being lenient to Saddam and > replaced by a judge who clearly has scores to settle with Saddam. Majority of > prosecution witnesses unveil their testimony behind a vile of dark curtains, > limiting the defense’s ability to cross-examine the evidence presented. > > I wonder why the Iraqis hastily execute their former dictator before trying him > on more severe charges. Why was he executed on the day of Edi Adha? According to > media reports, the Kurds are not happy with the hasty execution; they wanted to > convict Saddam of crimes committed against their people with chemical weapons. I > agree. In order to promote nation unity, Saddam should be tried for all major > crimes his regime is accused of committing against Iraqis and their neighbors. > It would be like a “truth commission” to bring about a permanent closure to the > atrocities meted against them and final reconciliation and reconstruction. > Execution of Saddam at the very eve of Edi, which is the biggest Islamic feast > in the year for Sunni Muslims, is a similitude of Abraham sacrificing his son > Ismaila. It is a serious mockery to Sunni Muslims. It seems to me that the Shi > led government is indeed deepening the religious and sectarian divide in Iraqi. > They are dispensing their majority > with dictatorial tendencies. > > The living standard of Iraqis has deteriorated very severely and security is > still a formidable problem. According to UN count, more than 650,000 Iraqis have > been killed since the start of the American led invasion and other estimates > have it that 3,700 Iraqis die each month due to the war efforts. Iraqi life is > shattered into pieces; their future is being destroyed. One of the richest > countries in the world is being destroyed at an unsustainable rate. All the > current hardships are caused by Saddam’s misrule. The country is literally > divided along ethnic and sectarian divides. Even the political parties and > support is based on these lines. This is very dangerous. > > I think this is a good lesson for all dictators to learn that the power they > dispense over the people is not theirs. It must be borne in mind that true and > lasting power belongs to the people. You can only deceive people for so long. > Dictators must understand that their actions lead to multifaceted consequences, > some of which are difficult to envisage but they are deadly and long-term. > > For example, several innocent Gambians are currently being detained by the > government in violation of the constitution, which Jammeh was, a few day ago, > sworn in to uphold. The detainees range from former government officials to lay > average people. Kanyiba Kanyi was arrested by the security forces at his home in > Bonto a few days before the last presidential election. Despite a court order to > release him unconditionally, Kanyiba is still detained at an undisclosed > location. No one has seen him since his arrest. > > Kanyiba is the breadwinner in his family and his absence is causing havoc for > the family both financially and psychologically. According to one account, > Kanyiba went to attend a meeting relating to his job at a village in Kombo east > where APRC political rally was taking place. When he (Kanyiba) past by the > meeting, one of the APRC official saw him and accused him of attempting to > disrupt the APRC meeting. Kanyiba did not even stop at the meeting; he > immediately proceeded to the official function that brought him there. Where in > this world would a citizen be infinitely detained for such a flimsy charge? > Thousand of Gambians are subjected to such unconstitutional treatment by Jammeh > and his boys. > > During the trial of the March 21, 2006 abortive coup, suspected croupiest > narrated severe torture being meted on them in the hands of their fellow > Gambians. So many Gambians have disappeared during Jammeh’s rule, so many are > killed in broad day light. The perpetuators of these heinous crimes are never > found or brought to justice. If Jammeh’s intelligence can foil almost a dozen > coup attempts, why the same intelligence cannot find the murderers killing our > brightest? > > Is it not true that Saddam was doing a similar thing for more than two decades? > Saddam used to win the ballot by 99 percent; similarly, Jammeh won the last > presidential ballot with a bigger margin. Now we know that Saddam’s popularity > was imposed on the people without alternative. Is this not the same in the > Gambia today? Jammeh used the public resources to exert his power on the people > so much, so that to be seen as opposing him is equivalent to excruciating pain > at Mile 2 and NIA headquarters. According to media reports, Saddam is > responsible for killing more that one million people during his era. On the > other hand, since 1994 when Jammeh came to power by force, several people, > including military civilian and students were killed, detained, disappeared; > independent media houses are harassed, burnt down, closed down, journalists > killed and imprisoned in violation of the law. These people have family and > friends who love them and would never forgive your government’s > inability to protect their love one’s life. This is why thousands of Iraqis > applied for the position of Saddam’s executioner. Most of them said their > families members were killed or tortured by the Saddam’s regime. I hope Jammeh > understand that his recent electoral victory cannot be taken to represent > reality on the ground. His popularity is imposed on the people through the > Governors, chiefs, Secretary of States, the media, and other governmental > machinery. We have to realize that Jawara was very popular just before his > government was overthrown by Jammeh. The popularity evaporated into space within > days of the coup. Dictators always fail to understand that their power > originates from the people and they can take it back any time they want it. As > Bob Marley says, “You can fool some people some time but you cannot fool all the > people all the time.” Any time people realize themselves and their duties and > rights in a society, they tend to revolt against injustice inflicted > on them. This means that no matter how long it would take, one day, Gambian > people would revolt against your human right violations and take you to task. > > The responsibility of President is an enormous challenge and a wonder > opportunity to serve the people. According to Plato in the Republic, only > philosophers, who care deeply about truth, are imbued with great integrity, and > overriding concern about the welfare of the public, are qualified to be leaders. > I think this is abundantly true. It implies that good leaders work towards the > welfare of his her people and bad leaders orchestrate atrocities against their > people and work towards their self-centered desires. > > Jammeh’s regime is credited with many infrastructure developments projects but > this is not matched with required technical resources to operate them > efficiently and effectively. When you go around the country, you would see, many > white elephants projects or semi white elephant projects which amounts to > wastage of precious resources. The life of an average Gambian has not improved > during the past twelve years; instead, it has plunged to almost unbearable > levels. > > I wonder what Jammeh is gaining by refusing to uphold the constitution and the > laws of the Gambia? I think it would even be easier to uphold the constitution > than to violate it as president of a republic. What prevent Jammeh from tapping > the Gambian intellectuals into national development? Why Jammeh cannot allow > technical professional to design, implement and evaluate government programs and > projects to ensure economic viability and feasibility? Why Jammeh cannot make > sure that all rights accorded to us by the constitution are protected? Are we > free from arbitral detention, disappearance, killings? Does being president make > anyone more important than the other citizens? No. Being president is like being > employee of the state. Good employees dispense their service with utmost > truthfulness and desire to improve the living standard of citizens or employers; > bad employees dishonestly render their service. > > Is it not a shame that we cannot judicious utilize our precious resources to > translate them into prosperity for all? I think Gambians are equal to everyone > else; therefore, if others are able to maximize prosperity for their people, > Gambians are capable of the same thing or even more. Good leadership is the key > ingredient to the soup of prosperity. Under good leadership, the opposition > would be seen as alternative governments and are guanteed all the rights > accorded to them by the constitution. The media is free to operate independently > to provide relevant information to the citizen so that the people would evaluate > the programs and projects. A vibrant civil society is a prerequisite for > economic, political, and social development of any society. > > Muhammed Lamin Touray > > > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > 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] > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ > 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] > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤