"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 2001 when PDOIS did not join the alliance accusations and insults were thrown at its leadership, especially the person of Halifa Sallah. Those who supported such position were accused of being FANATICS or encouraging personality cults and so on. It seems critics think that only they are endowed with discerning faculties that understands that Halifa and his friends are human and capable of being fallible. For some of these critics are self-consumed in vitriolic hatred of PDOIS and deluded to the extent that they keep telling us that they are demystifying the party as if there ever was any mystery in what PDOIS and Halifa represents.

 

 In the last elections PDOIS joined other political parties but it did not work. Now Halifa who as it is becoming clearer with what i call very thorough and detailed rebuttals as to what transpired in NADD is being insulted and accused again of intolerant of criticism and that PDOIS were trying to gain power by using NADD.  This is absolutely ridiculous and 'Far Fetched'.  For some whatever, Halifa and co do it will not be satifying.  I just hope that they stop trying to fool people that theirs is a criticism based on nothing but a better understanding of politics or being realistic. I called theirs vitriolic criticism based on crass visceral hatred of what Halifa and his friends stand for.  To me if one hates something or someone, i don't see why one should be hypocritical about it.  Just acknowledge and live with it. 

 

 Strange that when Halifa is accused and he answers his critics, he talks too much and when he does not he is accused of being aloof and arrogant.  Claiming that Halifa is talking too much is absolute nonsense. If i were Halifa and PDOIS folk i would just withdraw completely from this alliance/merger or whatever you call it and continue with what they started when the party was founded. 

 

Since other parties believe that they have the numbers and have already claimed that they will win the next general election with a landslide then i don't see the point of PDOIS joining any alliance or merger.  Some keep making reference to  PDOIS carrying less than 5% of votes and hence its insignificance, since this is so why don't the other parties steam roll ahead and prepare for their landslide and let PDOIS be.  I  urge Halifa and his friends to keep building on their support however small it is. Indeed the ultimate goal of any political party is is achieve power but i believe PDOIS do not want to gain power at all cost based on prior evidence.  Going it PDOIS's own way would not be difficult i guess since founders of the party had already acknowledged at an early period that their task and type of politics could take a lifetime of struggle.  

 

Given what transpired in Senegal and Benin during transitions to new democratic dispensation, i agree with those who insist on a clear plan on how to manage the political arena if and when the devillish APRC and its demon head Yahya isremoved.  This will help in creating a level playing field and avoid the nonsense and intrigues we are witnessing in Senegal under the megalomaniac Maitre Abdoulaye Wade. Hindsight ofcourse tells us that a better planned and thought out process in Senegal would have ushered in a system admired everywhere and worthy of copying.   Now what is obtaining in

 Senegal under a self-proclaimed liberal is not what the ordinary citizen of that country bargained for when they called for the back of Abdou Diouf and his PS. Who would have thought a seasoned lawyer and one who suffered variously as in opposition would turn out to be a nightmare for Senegal.  I am not saying that this will happen in the Gambia but at least if the opposition prepares itself thoroughly perhaps the country can become a beacon of hope for democracy and sustainable development.  But if the intrasigience we are witnessing that just getting rid of the Sheikh Professor is everything, then Gambia is heading towards exactly what has been obtaining in many an African country. Democracy and development will remain a  mirage for a long time. 

 

Mboge