--- On Tue, 12/7/10, Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [>-<] Fw: Re: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 7:30 PM
Mboge, thank you for the comments, I am really being
dissapinted by the Right Honourable LJD. I am dissapointed in his way and
manner of subjecting this very important debate of the political life of our
country which he chooses to refer to as a non partisan view. He is however entitled
to his opinion like everyone else.
What someone like LJD has chosen to overlook in this whole oppositoin
unity talks is what the other side (UDP) has brought to the negotiation table
if not merely bragging as the biggest opposition party. Most telling of his action
is his reference of Sidia’s statement as prppaganda. No wonder humans are just
humans.
Contrary to LJD’s views on Sidia’s statement I found them to
be very frank and honest. Sidia wrote that he “emphasised [to Darboe] that [he
is]not sure which political leader in the opposition could take voters away
from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their
vote.” This is a frank statement. What Darboe is calling for as representing “the
international standard of establishing opposition Alliances [woth] the party
with the majority to lead and the others to follow”, has been tried before but
it failed woefully. Some may argue that an all oppositoin alliance going
together to the polls has never been achieved. But my answer will be how that
can be realised when those asking to be follwed have declared their unwillingness
to be equal partners to their other alliance members.
Sidia capped it all when he concluded in the following three
points in his statement:
“I have made it abundantly clear to the PDOIS Central
Committee that there is no political vacuum for the creation of a United Front
in the Gambia. The UDP leader has the
option to start his campaign for the people to accept his candidature and
extend invitation to others who are yet to be confident that he alone could put
an end to voter apathy,
Agenda 2011 calls for
each party to go on its own platform and campaign for its own candidate to be
the single candidate of the opposition through a primary,
NADD is still legally
registered and all political parties could embrace it and then come together to
select a single candidate.”
Sidia is simply saying that if the UDP and Darboe are
satisfied that they can convince the vast majority of the voters to vote them
into office, they should go ahead and sell their program to that effect. Bothering
the people with lip service to forming a united front won’t do the trick people
are experienced to see through the windscreen.
The other aspect Sidia highligted is for the various
opposition parties and other interested parties to ask for the collective
support of all those that are opposed to the APRC government by submitting
themselves to a primary by the supporters of the opposition.
Thirdly, and to my great pleasure Sidia brought up the NADD
option. As he rightly said, NADD remains legally existent and oppositoin forces
could embrace it and then move ahead choosing a presidential candidate.
What more could anyone who wants to see an end to the
madness currently taking place in Banjul end ask for? Please tell me, I am
dying to know. This debate should not be reduced to any form of technical arguments
but rather how to bring about change for the better. Let the ideas flow.
Lastly, I wish to highlight what Sidia said about PDOIS. Sidia
wrote: “As far as I know PDOIS still subscribes to the NADD idea but PPP under
OJ has also not pulled out of NADD.” This statement of fact confirms that PDOIS
as a party is flexible. It is willing to put aside its party interest to serve
the common good. What the vast majority of Gambians want is change to be effect
for the betterment of their lives; they are not bothered much about individual
party affiliations. Successes by independent candidates in past previous
elections can strongly attest to this.
Nyang
--- On Tue, 12/7/10, Modou Mboge <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Modou Mboge <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [>-<] Fw: Re: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 12:13 PM
Malik,
Nice observations!
Nyang,
I am with you in that PDOIS should never join any coalition/alliance without being absolutely clear of what such entails. PDOIS should not probe up any party just for the sake of it. Africa has witnessed many of these kinds of alliances/coalitions PDOIS is being shouted at to be part of failed to keep promises they made a prior. Unclear and false commitments just to gain power is recipe for chaos and conflict. Is Senegal not good enough example where the present authocrat has proven to be one of the greatest disappointments ever.
I hope this talk of coalition is thrown into the dustbin. Let people go ahead and support the party or person they really trust to lead them. There are some whatever PDOIS and its leaders do/say, had said/done, will do/say in the future can never do satisfactory to them. Let "uncritical", "unobjective", FANATICAL sympathizers like me enjoy and salute the efforts of the PDOIS leadership.
Nyang, you are making a lot of sense to me.
Regards,
Mboge
On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 5:01 PM, malik kah <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
That is your prerogative, but do not pretend to be neutral as you purport. Given that we all, I presume, want to see a united front, we must avoid the sort of language you are are using, this will not help. After all Ousainou made a statement regarding meeting Seedia at the Brikama rally, but no one came out shouting that it was propaganda, even if it was, what do you expect? The best we can do is to continue to urge all the parties to come to an understanding, otherwise we should bottle up and allow the negotiations to conclude. We do not need salvos fired from all directions, it will never help.
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [>-<] Fw: Re: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 12:15:40 +0000
Malik
To each his view, and thank you for your thoughts
Have you bothered to ask yourself why Sidia did not wait for the talks to progress and conclude before bombarding us with propaganda?
On issues of public significance, I call it as I see it.
LJDarbo
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [>-<] Fw: Re: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 12:04:49 +0000
Mr. Darbo, your assertion that you are neutral, is completely blown apart by your disposition to cast doubts and aspersion as to what Sidia said. You must reflect on what you are saying otherwise it would appear that you are holding brief for Lawyer and should that be the case then and afraid these negotiations would stall, no one is naive to assume that it would be a single round of discourse and everything would be signed and sealed. Before pre-empting Mr Ousainou Darbo, you should wait and allow him to respond, instead of jumping to prejudiced and partisan conclusions only masking to be neutral. Peole like you would not be helping what is a difficult process, you must remember that these parties had entered into a relationship which faltered hence to construct another one would require a lot of patience and goodwill. To be interjecting in this way would only hinder and not help. I hope
you exercise caution and allow all the parties to make public pronouncements before you draw a premature conclusion
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 11:28:19 +0000
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [>-<] Fw: Re: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
To: [log in to unmask]
--- On Tue, 7/12/10, Lamin Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Lamin Darbo <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, 7 December, 2010, 8:46
Nyang
Sidia's statement is quite extraordinary in its evasiveness and needless inbuilt propaganda.
When did the meeting with Ousainou happened?
His Central Committee knew he was meeting Ousainou. Did he report back, or was he "invited to a meeting by the PDOIS Executive Committee to brief them on whether the UDP leader had spoken to me about any Alliance that they wanted PDOIS to join which aims to discuss the future of the country and the modalities of creating a united front without any conditionality"
What "speculations" is Sidia talking about? It was no secret that Sidia and Ousainou met, and this statement from Sidia may therefore be seen as nothing other than a replay of the NADD disaster in 2006. Even when it was absolutely clear we would not get a united front against Doctor Jammeh (as he then was), we were bombarded with ceaseless propaganda from Halifa regarding his willingness to adhere to the wishes of the people.
About Ousainou selling his "his candidature to the Gambian voters", this is indeed feet dragging par excellence by Sidia and his organisation. The spirit enunciated in Agenda 2011 is embodied in the general principles of opposition to the government of the APRC. Merely committing them to paper does not make them unique principles of PDOIS. It is the "primary" question that stands in the way of a united front in the sense that its architecture appears to rig the outcome in favour of Halifa.
For example, Sidia contends that he is "not sure which political leader in the opposition could take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote. Hence I subscribe to the idea of holding a primary for the people to select the candidate of their choice in line with Agenda 2011. I told him that this is why I endorse Agenda 2011".
If the ultimate objective is to is to "take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote" in sufficient numbers to defeat the APRC, then the answer is none of the opposition leaders individually. That will only come about under a united front, and unquestionably, the UDP has a far larger support base than any opposition party in the country. PDOIS should drop the unnecessary conditionality of a 'primary' and consider the alternative of UDP leading a united front under an ironclad agreement constraining its ability to misbehave once in government.
I am not the least impressed by Sidia's assertion thus: "He assured me that he would hold an extraordinary meeting with his committee and come back to me. Since then I have been waiting to know what their stand is on Agenda 2011 or selling his candidature to the Gambian voters. These are the ways forward that are before the UDP leader and they need to take a stand and move on instead of giving the impression that Sidia is dragging his feet on the issue of a united front".
Again, when did the meeting with Ousainou occurred, and did they agree on when Ousainou would "come back" to Sidia? As to the insinuation that Ousainou is holding matters, when was the issue of a meeting first mooted, and how long did it take for it to materialise? Why is Sidia so eager to preempt the issue of "feet dragging"? The trick is to appreciate the pertinent streams of thought when dealing with a media savvy organisation like PDOIS.
And finally to a point that is ever present in expressed views of the PDOIS leadership. Sidia states that "those who want to support the opposition should take their sides and promote dialogue while not undermining each other’s positions. This is the way forward". Halifa stated this in his interview with Maafanta.com, and Sidia now repeats it. Why can they not accept that Gambians can be neutral, and that people like myself, Joe Sambou, and countless others, are in no way wedded to any particular party, and that this is quite legitimate and plausible on public questions of great significance. If this is intended to stop difficult dialogue, it is unlikely to succeed.
As of now, I am in no doubt that PDOIS is a major stumbling block in the creation of a united front in so far as the non-negotiable bottleneck of an unnecessary Agenda 2011 'primary' is concerned
I assure Sidia that contrary to his view, we are well aware of the "concrete realities on the ground". Again, this dismissive statement will not deter elements within the Diaspora community from having its say on issues affecting the direction of our country.
More pertinently, some of us are not primed to be swayed by mere propaganda!
LJDarbo
--- On Mon, 6/12/10, Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Foroyaa News: Talks on Opposition Unity Between Sidia and Darboe
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, 6 December, 2010, 17:57
SIDIA JATTA /OUSAINOU DARBOE MEETING
The National Assembly Member for Wuli West, Hon, Sidia Jatta, issued the following statement relating to his meeting with Mr. Ousainou Darboe, Secretary General and Leader of the United Democratic Party.
DECEMBER 5, 2010
Having been waiting for Mr Ousainou Darboe to come back to me as promised after meeting his Executive Committee, I was invited to a meeting by the PDOIS Executive Committee to brief them on whether the UDP leader had spoken to me about any Alliance that they wanted PDOIS to join which aims to discuss the future of the country and the modalities of creating a united front without any conditionality. It has been brought to my notice that the GMC leader, Mr. Mai Fatty, has called on PDOIS to join an Alliance but has not sent any document to indicate that an Alliance exists which PDOIS should join. After my discussion with the PDOIS Central Committee, I have seen the need to make my discussion with the UDP leader public so that all speculations would come to an end. Gambians should bear in mind what has happened in Guinea Conakry and what is happening in Cote D’Ivoire at this very moment. Some leaders are not interested in historical legacies. They
are only interested in having their way whether for the better or for the worse. Finally, it is the ordinary people who pay for the follies of their leaders. I do not want any body to link me to any dragging of feet regarding the creation of a united front by the opposition.
My discussion with UDP leader was direct, frank, short and without any ambiguity.
We discussed four main items, that is, his concept of what constitutes the international standard of forming opposition alliances; the NADD experience, Agenda 2011 and the need for opposition collaboration to monitor the registration of voters.
Mr. Darboe told me that the international standard of establishing opposition Alliances is for the party with the majority to lead and the others to follow.
I observed that it is unfortunate that in the Gambian context there is no second round of voting which would have made it possible for the people to select the two candidates who could participate in the final round. I added that if he wants, he as UDP leader to be supported as a candidate, on the basis of the principle he mentioned, he should go ahead and start a campaign to sell his candidature to the Gambian voters.
I emphasised that on my part, I am not sure which political leader in the opposition could take voters away from the ruling party and motivate those who abstained in 2006 to cast their vote. Hence I subscribe to the idea of holding a primary for the people to select the candidate of their choice in line with Agenda 2011. I told him that this is why I endorse Agenda 2011.
We then discussed the NADD experience. I made it very clear that even though other options were put on the table, all parties agreed to create NADD. I showed its successes and possibilities as a viable opposition Alliance. He maintained that NADD was destroyed by others.
He expressed his view that Agenda 2011 is very good on paper but that he fears that it is not workable. He said that if different opposition leaders go on a political platform to campaign to be the Candidate of the opposition, they may engage in character assassination just to win votes. I told him that his fear should be laid to rest since Agenda 2011 is calling for each party or Independent personality to promote the Agenda on one’s own platform and seek a mandate of the people across the board. I emphasised that the mere fact that all voters who support the Agenda would be called upon to vote for the single candidate makes it essential for no candidate to be subjected to character assassination, since he or she may very well become the people’s choice of candidate. At that point he said that he was reassured.
Finally, he questioned whether it was not possible for the opposition to collaborate to monitor the registration of voters. I told him that this was a necessity and every effort should be done to do so.
He assured me that he would hold an extraordinary meeting with his committee and come back to me. Since then I have been waiting to know what their stand is on Agenda 2011 or selling his candidature to the Gambian voters. These are the ways forward that are before the UDP leader and they need to take a stand and move on instead of giving the impression that Sidia is dragging his feet on the issue of a united front.
I have made it abundantly clear to the PDOIS Central Committee that there is no political vacuum for the creation of a United Front in the Gambia. The UDP leader has the option to start his campaign for the people to accept his candidature and extend invitation to others who are yet to be confident that he alone could put an end to voter apathy
Agenda 2011 calls for each party to go on its own platform and campaign for its own candidate to be the single candidate of the opposition through a primary,
NADD is still legally registered and all political parties could embrace it and then come together to select a single candidate. As far as I know PDOIS still subscribes to the NADD idea but PPP under OJ has also not pulled out of NADD.
Those who want to support the opposition should take their sides and promote dialogue while not undermining each other’s positions. This is the way forward. I am willing to meet any representative from the GMC or any other party that aims to discuss Gambia’s future. Issuing comments in cyber space without knowing the concrete realities on the ground is not enough.
The End
SIDIA JATTA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER FOR WULI WEST
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