Joe, Thank you. The debate about PDOIS will soon begin to take a new dimension. Those who have willingly accepted to take ownership of the party, will try to bring clarity into the debate and enter into a genuine dialogue with our Gambian contemporaries, so as not only to defend the proud legacy of the party, but also to convince the Gambian people that PDOIS is the only party that can help the country to create its rebirth. The birth of PDOIS is not an accident. It was a deliberate and conscious decision by a group of well meaning people, who sacrificed a lot to respond to a question of immense national ramification: What is a sovereign being? Secondly, and most important, what role can they play to help the Gambian people regain their sovereignty? This was a fundamental question that was necessary, given that the whole dynamics of our political structure was based on an uneven and exploitative relations between those who govern and the ones that they governed. PDOIS started its mission from a simple premise: if the people don't know what they own, and what belongs to them, they surely will not be able to defend it. Hence in order for the people to defend what they own, to defend their sovereignty, they need to be sufficiently orientated to be able to determine their own destiny. This in a nutshell guides the conceptual development of the programs and activities that the party has been engaged in for the past two decades. Should there be a genuine assessment of the party and its activities, more so its shortcomings for the past two decades? Of course, yes. The negative perceptions that has been ingrained in the minds of many regarding the party, and which has no basis in the party's overall objectives, are some of the contentious issues that has to be dealt with. Lets take the issue of socialism for example. Many people are wont to say these people, PDOIS people are socialist and communist. But I can tell you this: I have listened to most of the speeches of Halifa Sallah since the birth of PDOIS or even before; I have read most of his writings since the birth of PDOIS or even before, but I have never read or heard him say that he is a socialist except on one occasion in the early days of the party when they have to define the acronym PDOIS. There was also a phamplet to that effect. What does PDOIS'S socialisms connotes? It is all about principles and programs. Rene ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour 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://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] 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