You are welcome HarunaFreedom Radio is going through a maturity process, hence mistakes will be made like any other news media. However, I belief in nurturing democracy, we have to be careful in not killing the very thing we wish to make alive. Why Is Lamin Waa relevant in very UDP issue? The man left the party with a whiff and after squandering party funds, selling its vehicle yet never want anybody to bring him to task on that. It is the UDP that stood for him to be free and alive. Lamin Waa the man facts shows commence undermining UDP even during rallies portraying himself as the natural politician who has the muscle to win against Yahya.Why has his so-call NDAM disappeared if he is the saint of a politician? Freedom Radio should take the man to task and stop giving him free publicity . The man for God sake join his tormentor, why is Freedom not asking him, what went through his mind when joining the killer of Gambian school children instead of the special treatment. We in the opposition understands the fears and problems in the press. Where they are not free, we are crippled. Yet how can they think that, the man who micro manage everything, should be accorded the same privileges like the opposition without an avenue to air their views. We will get to a point when violence may engulf all of us. But then, the heroes will emerge when such time comes, I hope. Lamin R Darboe and his folks did well and Falai also came around. He is in dialogue with the guys and we hope his legitimate concerns can be directed properly through the usual process. Democrats did not let Lieberman go for play.SuntouOn Sun, Jan 23, 2011 at 9:45 PM, Haruna Darbo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Wise counsel for Ndokeh and Falai baldeh of Freedomnews Radio. Suntou this demonstrates how much work those of us who dedicate our lives to democracy have yet to do to inform and educate our coleagues and friends about democracy. I have shared before that it is extremely difficult for anyone to hide behind the precepts of democracy to peddle self-interest politics. By its very nature, democracy is allergic to fosse press. It is no wonder many a press person finds him or herself mired in vacuous defense from democracy when they are challenged on their ware.
I hope Ndokeh takes this advice as further encouragement to improve the quality of Freedomnewspaper's product.
Thank you for sharing.
Haruna.-----Original Message-----
From: suntou touray <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sun, Jan 23, 2011 4:57 am
Subject: UDP U.S Press release On Freedom Radio and Falai
Breaking News: Gambia: UDP USA Accuses Freedom Radio, And Faali Baldeh Of Undermining Darboe!
UDP USA Accuses Freedom Radio, And Faali Baldeh Of Undermining Darboe!
UDP Press Release on Freedom RadioBanjul, The Gambia—Dear Pa Nderry Mbai,The UDP-USA branch wishes to address the issue of internal democracy within the United Democratic Party (UDP) in general and the matter of the leadership of lawyer Ousainu Darboe in particular. Both yourself as proprietor of Freedom Newspaper and some of your occasional online radio commentators have repeatedly insinuated that the lawfully constituted leadership of the party duly elected by the nationwide representatives of its members are unworthy of the very people who elected them.
In almost all cases you and the other critics cite the idea that after several runs as party leader, Mr. Darboe must simply give way to some other person as an act of democratic affirmation or that he is essentially not confrontational enough to your liking. Both of these, on the surface, sound like reasonable observations from the standpoint of someone who is neither affiliated with nor supports the UDP and its elected leaders and are hence ordinary critics. Such criticism, if done constructively, is expected in the kind of plural democracy we all aspire to.
However it is a profound act of presumptuousness for you and the critics to insist on substituting the considered and lawful judgments of party members who sacrifice their life, limb, time, and resources with your notions of what you claim to be in the best interest of the UDP and by extension the Gambia.
How is it reasonable for you or any critic to believe that you know better than Tata Camara of Georgetown who has been with the party from the very start and has represented the party in every congress, meeting, and rally and was arrested, tortured, and imprisoned in the pursuit of the principles of the party? The same can be said of Aja sukaina Kah, Mariam Denton, Femi Peters --who just did a stint in Prison, brave folks in Kiang, Jarra, and Shyngle Nyassi to name a few. This is UDP. They live in every town, village and street corner from Koina to Kartong. They are not relatives of Ousainu Darboe and they owe him nothing. He has given them nothing other than a sincere commitment to sacrifice and stand with them in their legitimate and honorable fight against a bloody tyrant.Even if you don't like lawyer Darboe, the right thing to do is to respect the people and the process that has conferred leadership on him. You must disabuse yourself of the silly idea that somehow having Ousainu Darboe run for public office is a perennial personal craving that he has or that his colleagues in the struggle are ignorant of what is best for them, their organization or the country and their whole effort is geared toward catering to the fanciful ambition of one individual. It is the same warped logic that is applied to PDOIS and it's founding members with similar assortment of critics demanding that Mr. Sallah and the rest of the honorable men and women who have dedicated decades of their lives to public service and trying to help in the germination of democracy are somehow inadequate to the tasks they have selflessly dedicated themselves to.Lazy and uncommitted to anything other than themselves and the narrow agenda's they ceaselessly pursue, the same critics will neither join and use the internal procedures of the parties to bring about the reform they claim to want nor would they seek to rally like minded people to form parties or civic organizations that would better reflect their vision for the country they purport to love more than the people that are actually on the ground as foot soldiers. No one exemplifies this insidious tendency more than one of your frequent commentators Mr. Falai Baldeh. He claims and you present him as a UDP member and from his perch in New York he consistently tries to delegitimize the UDP leader and the overall direction of the party. He demands leadership change but when that very occasion presented itself last year in the party congress held in Soma, this self described advocate for change did not bother to participate in the very process that is designed to elect new leaders. The reason is that participating in the democratic process requires effort, time and resources; something Mr. Baldeh is unwilling to invest in to help realize the goals he claims to believe in. But calling into a toll free number to a radio program from New York City to offer insidious opinion not supported by any facts is both easy and attractive to the foolhardy.The UDP welcomes criticisms of its vision for the Gambia from anyone who takes interest in the country and the challenges it faces. Additionally, Ousainu Darboe or any member of the party leadership like all other public officials are not beyond criticism nor do they assume to be able to win the heart and admiration of every Gambian. However, it is patently immoral to conflate understandable differences in approach one may have with a particular political party with wrong and manufactured premises about political parties and their chosen leaders. If any Gambian does not like a political party then look for one you can support and if none of the available ones are good enough for you work towards forming one to your liking and vision. If the political process is not your cup of tea, work with civil society and try to do good that way. The one thing that helps no one is the unhealthy pre-occupation with denigrating the efforts of the good Gambians trying to do something. These issues in Gambia will take the efforts of all of us to tackle them.We will be happy to have a civil on-air discussion with Falai or anyone who wishes to discuss any or all of the matters raised in this release if you would indulge us. We believe if you moderate such a discussion, your audience would have better understanding of internal UDP democratic procedures as well as address any issues that critics of the party may have. Then the people can make up their own minds armed with all of the facts.Sincerely,UDP-USALamin R. DarboeChairman
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Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.htmlTo 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.htmlTo 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
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Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
www.suntoumana.blogspot.com
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.htmlTo 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] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤