Haruna
 
I was minded to invite you to a duel at my old haunt - the King Center in Atlanta - for accusing me of being a "bit hard" on Fatty and his GMC. A friend reminded me of the inappropriateness of a non-violent Centre as the venue for a violent sport mainly played by idle nobility obsessed with a sense of honour that was mainly absent in their individual constitutions. You owe the brother for coming to your rescue!
 
But seriously, considering you are a highly nuanced communicator, you came across as somewhat unfair in assessing my reaction to Fatty's piece. I stayed within Fatty's "speech", and considered nothing extraneous to what he said. In any case, I am happy for Fatty's GMC to respond to the concerns I raised. I take the view that those who intend to be our leaders must exhibit a willingness to directly communicate with those of us interested in their views. There are no better venues than the L, and The Post.
 
In any case, I was fair in admitting that if the glaring issues of accuracy can be regarded as   trivial, "the overall message of the GMC as articulated by Fatty positively appeals". How did you fail to spot this observation?  
 
 
 
 
 
LJDarbo  .  
 
 
 

--- On Thu, 29/1/09, Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Thursday, 29 January, 2009, 9:01 PM




#yiv1739304781 #yiv1864648934 .hmmessage P
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JDAM,
 
I took the opportunity to read Mr. Fatty's maiden speech for The Gambia Moral Congress. It is an inspiring speech and they deserve both our scrutiny and support just as the other political parties do. One thing though; I noticed the party was referred to as The Gambia National Congress once but introduced as The Gambia Moral COngress. That might have been an error but I think the party should adopt The Gambia National Congress as name, instead of The Gambia Moral Congress. I urge consideration of that by the party and I am confident the reason will become apparent to them.
 
As regards your reaction to the party and or Mr. Fatty, I think you were a bit hard on them. I understand the need for scrutiny of anything, much less a political party, but invoking hustler is extreme. I encourage you to reconsider that fear. Scrutinize nonetheless. I add that we scrutinize not only all new parties, but all other existing parties (UDP, NRP, PDOIS, PPP, APRC, GPDP), and on an ongoing basis, if the gravity of Gambia's circumstance is the worry. 
 
I am confident Mr. Fatty and the Congress are fully aware of the provisions of the 97 constitution as it relates to Mr. Fatty's candidature and it was not readily apparent to me if the chairman of the party is or will be the party's candidate for president.

With these in mind, I encourage those who wish to, to lend support to the Congress Party. There is no singular domain for integrity in so far as humans are concerned. I encourage you to embrace the Congress with a discerning mind but fair nonetheless.
Haruna.




Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:05:29 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)
To: [log in to unmask]











YJ
 
It appears The Gambia Echo has an exclusive on what is dubbed "The Maiden Speech of the National Executive Chairman" of the GMC. I am unsure if the caption is that of  Chairman Fatty,  or if it was The Echo's way of introducing the piece. I encourage you to read the piece in full as it deals - though not in any detail - with Fatty's "stance on unity, human rights, education and the lot more".
 
I agree with your "theme for the next presidential election", i.e., to "support the best candidate that will uproot Jammeh and restore hope and confidence (good governance) to Gambians and their friends". If it is possible for Fatty to contest the next presidential election, that would be fantastic news for Gambians in the sense that The 1997 Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia would have ceased to be the supreme law of our country. Stated differently, and contended for strictly in the ordinary run of events, Fatty is unqualified to contest the 2011 presidential elections as a candidate. Is Fatty aware of the Constitutional limitation to his ambitions? I would suppose so!
 
Under Section 62 (c)  of the Constitution, a Person must have "been ordinarily resident in The Gambia for the five years immediately preceding the election" to be "qualified for election" to the office of President. Fatty had been continuously absent from The Gambia for at least the past twelve months, and clearly failed the Constitutional test. I must concede that it is possible for him to contest the 2011 elections, but for this to materialise, Jammeh must have been out of power, and the Constitution abrogated, or at least suspended. Is this a realistic scenario? Considering the uncertainty underlying our political condition, it is not inconceivable for the 2011 presidential elections to take place without Jammeh's participation. 
 
What troubled me about Fatty's piece is whether it was a speech, as captioned in The Echo, or simply a written articulation of his vision for a Gambia under a GMC government. If it was a speech, where was it delivered, and who was in the audience? Why were the other Movement/Party leaders not introduced to the audience at this important first meeting? This is important because Fatty's refers to "other leaders", without mentioning any names. 
 
If the piece was a written articulation of Fatty's vision, where did he "issue" it, and again, who were the other members of the leadership? He was in Senegal. and there is credible information that he now lives in the United Kingdom. Why did Fatty not inform his intended audience, i.e., those of us now reading this material, and for whom it is supposedly intended, as to his location? I certainly appreciate no confidentiality about the location of an individual who is in no objective immediate danger of his physical security.
 
Another matter that Fatty touches on was his "life threatening injuries". The importance of those injuries lies in their cause, and we should not be left speculating on the matter. As reported in some media, Fatty's injuries were as a result of an assassination attempt in The Gambia. Others take the view that those "life threatening injuries" were attributable to an innocent, if terrible accident. Fatty danced delicately around the issue, leaving us none the wiser as to the facts, even as he himself understood them. 
 
A yet more intriguing aspect of Fatty's piece is the issue of why he conveyed the impression that it was delivered, or "issued", in The Gambia. At the beginning of his piece, he stated that he was not in The Gambia. However, in express terms, Fatty specifically claimed to be in The Gambia, as exemplified by the following statement. "This we DECLARE for and on behalf of generations of Gambians here at home and around the world". In yet another section of the piece touching on those Gambians who left the country as refugees, Fatty states that they "shall once again, reunite with your families, loved ones and friends here back home, in dignity, freedom and prosperity". For someone currently outside The Gambia, why are such misleading statements necessary?
 
If the foregoing observations trigger no concerns, the overall message of the GMC as articulated by Fatty positively appeals. For me though, the concerns are overwhelming, and I intend to approach the GMC with absolute caution. The struggle against Jammeh's  dictatorship is too critical for one Gambian to utilise as an avenue to hustle on other Gambians. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LJDarbo
 
 
  
 
     

--- On Wed, 28/1/09, Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Y Jallow <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Gambia Moral Congress (GMC)
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wednesday, 28 January, 2009, 11:31 PM


http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/lawyer-mai-fatty-forms-political-party



For a start, I congratulate him for initiating a political party. This, by far is a step in the right direction. I only hope he will represent the plight of the ordinary people. I honestly look forward to his full agenda disclosures, i.e. to say his stance on unity, human rights, education and the lot more. 


The theme for the next presidential election should be: Support the best candidate that will uproot Jammeh and restore hope and confidence (good governance) to Gambians and their friends. 

To add, this is coming at a time when most Gambians are looking for a change and direction.



What say others on this?

Regards,
yj


-- 
yj

There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.
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