[-----Original Message-----  From: Demba Baldeh <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]>

Sent: Fri, Jan 11, 2013 6:11 pm  Subject: Re: [G_L] I give you Hon. Mai Fatty of The GMC Party. Cous Demba!

Cousin Haruna,] Demba.

Yes Cous Demba.

[I can sense some harmony with your nephew Nyang... it must be the PDOIS connections that are beginning to bear fruits..] Demba.

You are right in the harmony department vis-a-vis Uncle Junior. But I'm afraid that has very little if anything to do with our mutual affinities for PDOIS. I happen to like the maturing process of Uncle Junior and I like his compass. He does have unique and valuable attributes that are not related to PDOIS tutelage.

[Did you listen to my conversations with your Uncle Sidia? Men your uncle is a tough cookie but he had trained one of his students well so I hope the conversation was interesting and did put some light on what to expect when negotiating with the leadership of PDOIS.] Demba.

Indeed Demba I did listen to the interview you had with uncle Sidia while he was in Norway with brother Saiks and Kejau. However I did not like his tone or disposition that Gambians deserve Yahya. That is my main discomfort with PDOIS in the main. They assume every Gambian views the world in their prism and therefore should they be victims of a criminal, they are responsible for that crime. It is very inflexible and borderline inconsiderate. But because he's my uncle, and Uncle Sam was my physics teacher once, and Uncle Halifa has been a gentle soul, I can overlook some of their extremes at PDOIS. Uncle Sidia has contributed enormously in my good growth also.

[To be honest I don't think I have the energy to engage you on this because I only have a very small window to write so I can't afford to go this route with you... if you want I can replay my conversation with Nyang a while back and that should give more perspective on how different Nyang and I view the opposition in Gambia...] Demba.

Cous. Demba, I'm not talking about how you or Nyang view the opposition. I was sharing the perspective of Hon. Mai in the article you opined on. I already know your perspective on the opposition in Gambia because you have shared that amply with us here and on Gainako radio.

[Just a point of correction, I never said no one should criticize Dr. Janneh or anyone for whatever role they played while in public service... I was critical of him as well for making what I think was the wrong decision and I did ask him that directly and his explanations were good enough for me to accept but disagree... That interview is on record as well...] Demba.

I understood that and I concur with you in the above. I was however referring to your consternation severally that we ought to embrace those who have worked with Yahya as long as they now appear to be opposing Yahya. Their fraudulent agency notwithstanding. 

[What I indicated was if you call Dr. Janneh for what he did then call Mamburay Njie, BB Darboe, Buba Baldeh and hundreds of others on it who served this government until they fell apart with Jammeh.... but also accept the fact that they equally have a right to make any decision to fight against impunity even if they were a part of it at some point or another and don't need anybody's permission... I would rather have people who realized they made mistakes and continue to fight to correct those mistakes than those who pocket fat salaries and when they fall out you never hear from them again...] Demba.

I think the concern of Giuseppe et al was not necessarily that Dr. Janneh & Sidat Jobe served in Yahya's government per se but that they are claiming to represent Gambians in their pronouncements and shuttle diplomacy without first receiving permission from Gambians to either represent them or speak on their behalf at these fora and on their facebook platforms. I expressed delight at Mamburay Njie's come to Jesus moment when he expressed some discomfort with Yahya's criminal execution of the Mile II nine. I did not opine on Mamburay Njie's tenure with Yahya. Besides Mamburay Njie does not claim to speak for or represent Gambians at international fora and he does not have a facebook page based on that claim. I do not know where to find fault with BB on account of his short tenure and exile under duress. Also we did not have the volume of crimes of Yahya then that we have amassed before and during Sidat and Dr. Janneh's tenures. I could go on and on Demba but suffice it to say that it was fraudulent agency that critics of Scattred and Sidat were decrying in the main.

[So please let Nyang speak for himself...] Demba.

I just told you the man gave me permission to continue the conversation with you on this topic.

[in fact I look forward to having a one on one with you when your book comes out so we can help market it...] Demba.

I drink to that Demba and look forward to it with baded breath. Thank you in advance for your generous spirit.

[And my interview with Hon Mai fatty will also clear a lot in the air which I don't have time to discuss but am aware others will never be convinced and that's the beauty of individuality and dissent...] Demba.

Your prospective interview with Hon. Mai will not do much for you in this here conversation. If anything it will open up a whole nother conversation. I don't think you want that do you?

[For now it is FOOTBALL WEEKEND and the SEAHAWKS are in your backyard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone in Seattle including the school children are all into Seahawks and it was support the Hawks School Friday...If we beat the Falcons... Banka, Musa Jeng and Ousman Manjang will have to move to Seattle... Please let me enjoy the weekend games uninterrupted!!!!!!!!.. No interviews this weekend LOL...] Demba.

I knew it. He's gonna do an end run around me on account of fuzzball!! Men. In that case, I'll let Nyang continue when you come back. If you come back.

I love you men.
Haruna.

On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 12:17 PM, Haruna <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

[-----Original Message-----  From: Demba Baldeh <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tue, Jan 8, 2013 4:54 pm  Subject: Re: [G_L] I give you Hon. Mai Fatty of The GMC Party.

Mr. Nyang.

Thanks for drawing our attention to Hon Mai Fatty's piece on Dr. Jobe and the opposition... You might have noticed we did not publish it yet on Gainako because the Hon has been avoiding us lately... It could be because we requested an interview again or simply an oversight... Anyway, our mail box still works [log in to unmask]...] Demba.

Ok Demba, I did not understand this. You did not publish Hon. Mai's rejoinder to Sidat Jobe's charges against the opposition years ago and his current expedition for opportunity because Hon. Mai has been "avoiding" or "ignoring" you lately?? Tell me I'm wrong. I know Gainako is not in the business of filtering publications based on whether an author ascends to a Gainako radio interview request or not.

[On the substance of the article, I couldn't agree more with the Hon GMC leader on most of the points he raised... I also took note of something exceptional that he did..  acknowledge partial responsibility of some failures on his side in the negotiations for unity which many other leaders still fail to accept publicly...] Demba.

So you are in agreement with most of what Hon. Mai authored to counter the jester in Sidat Jobe. You also commend Hon. Mai for owning up to his shortcomings as it relates to the failure of nadd to complete greater union of political fortunes.

[Having said that... we all acknowledge the difficulty the opposition and the media faces on the ground and against the APRC... Common sense dictates that once you recognize what you are against and having suffered so many arrest and harassment, that it was enough to convince the leaders that they needed to take that commonality and forge a unity to oust the dictator or at the very least present a formidable challenge against him... Crying foul and narrating all the difficulties they have to go through and continue to stick to their party ideologies and principles at the detriment of the country is what some of us are critical off...] Demba.

Demba, I think you acknowledge and realize that Hon. Mai was speaking to Sidat Jobe's new-found opportunity to join the opposition against Yahya after having presided over Yahya's crimes against that opposition and the people of Gambia for years. In that scenario, Hon. Mai should be compared to Sidat Jobe. In other words comparing an honorable citizen who has never once subborned Yahya's crimes, issued libelous statements against those who opposed Yahya, and derided their efforts in that journey as against another who DID all those things. You will therefore understand some of the shortcomings of the opposition and indeed some of their incarcerations and intimidations that were inured by the likes of Sidat Jobe. Let us assume you want to be critical of Hon. Mai and the opposition for their failure to coalesce, would you not reflect that with folk like Sidat Jobe advising Yahya into crimes against the opposition and justifying such crime by the statements he issued, that Hon. Mai's and the opposition's failures in NADD-making could have been partly a result of Yahya and folk like Sidat sowing discord among the opposition and offering bribes to others not to go along with the NADD project (Juwara rings a bell to you perhaps). Sticking to their party ideology is a direct result of erstwhile encumbrance and intimidation. This is because if the opposition leaders saw it fit to even suggest a coalescing of political fortunes in the first place, and with popular support of the idea, to then return to party bunkers would open them up to charges of insanity. You are well aware that since a NADD project was suggested, some of the opposition leaders have been wrongly arrested, incarcerated, and intimidated. And not only that, the rank & file behind the leaders were being wrongly arrested, incarcerated, intimidated, and bribed to create obstacles for their leaders to complete union. I therefore submit that crying foul and narrating the difficulties they had to go through is part and parcel of the story of that project. And here, Hon. Mai narrates those in order to bring perspective to Sidat Jobe's dispositions and pre-dispositions. A perspective you are in agreement with and commended prior. So by all means be critical of their shortcomings but not as rider on this article where Hon. Mai establishes the comparative sobriety of the opposition as against Sidat Jobe.

[And we will continue to be critical as long as they aspire to lead our country...] Demba.

Hon. Mai is not averse to Demba "continuing to be critical", of him, or of any other member of the opposition leadership. Further, an aspiration to lead a country or nation is just that. An aspiration. And in Yahya's Gambia, that aspiration without first removing Yahya could be fleeting at best. Demba, you were at pains to highlight your consternation at Giuseppe and others being critical of Janneh and Jobe earlier. This you shared is because we should embrace all in our fight against Yahya. Do you see anything wrong with that disposition now? And do you think being critical of the opposition leaders who have not committed any crimes against your fellow citizens is far superior to being critical of Janneh and Jobe who have arguably been accessory to Yahya's opressions severally? At least they were present in Yahya's government after and during the time Yahya committed some of those heinous crimes.

[You will agree with me that NADD days did generate a kind of enthusiasm that we have never seen in Gambian politics... even people who had never participated got involved because there was hope until everything crumbled in the face of leadership and ideology...] Demba.

See above.

[then fast forward to 2011... unrealistic agenda's and call for processes that were only good for foot notes of history simply did not reflect the very ordeal that the Hon narrated on his story...] Demba.

I think you refer to the activity of some leaders after the collapse of the NADD project Demba. Whatever they did after Nadd's collapse is only within the purview of their partisans to assess.

[So again, it amounts to passing the blame when leaders who presented themselves before the people fail in their efforts (difficult as it may be) and then say to others.. "the road to Banjul is clear for anyone to take"..] Demba.

You mean Hon. Mai was passing the blame for his shortcomings onto Sidat Jobe????????? You already commended Hon. Mai for owning up to his part in the NADD imbroglio. How does he then pass the blame onto Sidat who we all know was part of the problems encountered by the opposition??

[We can all make that individual decision...] Demba.

What individual decision? you mean "the road to Banjul is clear for anyone to take"? This means you are in agreement with Hon. Mai then. Now both of you should present that opportunity to Sidat Jobe as Hon. Mai did in his efforts to interrogate Sidat's state of mind.

[but at the same time we have a moral responsibility to critique those who pledge to lead us...] Demba.


Again I think Hon. Mai encourages you in that effort Demba. And none of them Pledged to lead us. They however would love to lead us.

[As far as lamenting poverty of the leaders... that worries me a lot... that tells me that if leaders are that poor and publicly acknowledge it...once they taste the power of money and abundance of resources.. they could turn into something....] Demba.

They Could. And they may not. But when they do turn into that ogre, at least you can determine that because they're telling you now that they are poor. And if Yahya is so bad that you would recruit the likes of Janneh and Sidat in your quest to remove him, why do you worry about Haruna who may or may not steal your farthings????

[I could be wrong put history has proven me right as far as many African leaders are concern going from rags to riches and turn from advocates to oppressors...] Demba.

You could be wrong. I agree. You could also be right. History is not a good judge of character because humans are unique, distinct, and dynamic. History is a narration of events. Not a treatise on the psychology of characters.

[as for Dr. Jobe I would add... it is about time!!!!] Demba.

I don't understand what you mean by this Demba. Please clarify when you think of it.

[Thanks Nyang... am sure I will hear from you soon.. but this is my take for now...] Demba.

Nyang is indisposed Demba and he has assigned me the task of continuing the conversation with you on his behalf.

Thank you for the opportunity.
Haruna.

On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 5:56 PM, Haruna <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Courtesy: Freedomnewspaper.com

Haruna.


‘DR. JOBE WILL NEVER TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO RETURN TO HOME TO LEAD A CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ,’ MAI FATTY
‘DR. JOBE WILL NEVER TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO RETURN TO HOME TO LEAD A CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE OR MASS PROTEST THAT HE IS PREACHING OUT OF FEAR FOR HIS OWN LIFE,’ MAI FATTY

REJOINDER ON DR. SEDAT JOBE’S RADIO SPEECH – A PERSONAL OPINION

Mai Ahmad Fatty

Thanks and Praises due to the Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, the Giver and the Taker of life, and in Whom my destiny resides.

I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Sedat Jobe’s speech on Freedom Radio today the 7 January 2012, on a range of fundamental issues affecting our country. I commend Dr. Jobe for recently emerging from his eleven years of hibernation, during which period some of the worst horrific crimes against our people were being committed (excluding his brief political campaign in support of Yaya Jammeh) in the 2006 elections, when he is on record to have branded the opposition ‘ignorant’ and incapable of ruling.

Dr. Jobe has a point on the difficult and sensitive issue of unity among the opposition parties. The issue of a united opposition is a complex one, and not as simple and facile as many would imagined. STGDP and others had worked on it for years even before GMC was born. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that more could be done, the failure of which I take partial responsibility. He averred that the opposition are not seriously ‘shocked’ enough by the regime’s inhumanity to provoke them to set aside all of their differences, to come together and establish a united front. This is an unfair characterization and bemoans a clear misanalysis of the dynamics.

Around the 2006 general elections, Yaya Jammeh ordered the arrest and prosecution of NADD opposition leaders. From their homes they were sent straight to Mile 2 Prisons where they languished in inhume conditions for over a week contrary to law. The government then publicly announced falsely declaring that Hon Halifa Sallah had disappeared and at large, when he was actually under their custody at the time. I volunteered with Lawyers Ousainou Darboe and Antouman Gaye to undertake the legal defence of the three NADD leaders without pay. Jammeh had previous to that imprisoned Lamin Waa Juwara, who was also one of the NADD leaders then. In effect he had four opposition leaders under custody at the same time just before 2006 elections namely – Halifa Sallah, Hamat Bah, Omar J. Jallow and Lamin Waa Juwara.

In the process of securing their release from unlawful custody through the courts, I had to personally go into Mile 2 Prisons to obtain the signatures of the unlawfully detained opposition leaders with a notary public for a bail application. Eventually the courts granted them bail on very difficult conditions. Before the next hearing date, Jammeh backed down in the face of stiff resistance from former President Obasanjo who came to intervene on behalf of the Commonwealth as a sitting President of the Federal Rep. of Nigeria. It was during that visit when President Obasanjo brokered an inter-party MoU between the ruling Party and the opposition parties, containing terms of fair-play and dispute resolution. The APRC had no original intention of honouring this Document.

It is important to appreciate that Jammeh did all he could, utilizing all of the coercive powers of the State to destroy and to disintegrate NADD at a time when they were still actively working on selecting a consensus flag bearer. The arrests and subsequent trial of these leaders made national news for a while, and it could not have eluded Dr. Sedat Jobe’s attention, who had much earlier resigned from government. However, not only did Dr. Sedat Jobe campaigned for Jammeh in that same elections, he is also on record for having publicly branded the opposition at a Jammeh 2006 campaign rally as a bunch of ignoramus who were unfit to rule. This unprovoked diatribe attracted a written reaction from the opposition. Judging by his profuse moral pronouncements recently, one would have expected that Dr. Jobe would be restrained by his moral principles not only to campaign for Jammeh in that election, but also that his sense of moral propriety would have conditioned him to condemn the opposition leaders arrests, detention, and bogus trial at the time. What I meant is that Dr. Jobe should have been ‘sufficiently shocked’ by the clear injustice at the time and be motivated to speak and act against it. But alas, he was mute, and in fact campaigned to secure electoral victory for the perpetrator of crimes, after he had long resigned from government. Six years later, the opposition is still waiting for a statement from Dr. Sedat Jobe or on hind sight an apology without success. Therefore, when Sedat Jobe castigated the opposition as not being sufficiently ‘shocked’ by the inhumanity of the regime to compel them to come together, he came across as both disingenuous and pedantic.

The opposition leaders have all been to jail at different times, and continue to face inequities. I was tortured under custody for merely acting as counsel in a certain criminal trial, while some of us faced assassination attempts. Most, if not all of us opposition leaders are dead broke or in debt because we invested every butut into domestic political programs. Being an opposition leader or opposition activist in The Gambia under current circumstances, amounts to a contract with poverty, and potential assassination or unlawful imprisonment at any time. It is phenomenal sacrifice.

While we welcome Dr. Jobe into the struggle eleven years too early, we must never lose sight of the fact that we are not at the start of the struggle. Many people have paid with their lives, and others continue to go through hell on the ground for years. Not only the domestic opposition, but the online media and external civil society in both the UK and the U.S have been very active for many years. Their efforts are what we continue to consolidate upon today. Dr. Jobe is currently threading on the foot-steps of the opposition in his tour to Paris, London or Brussels, and during his consultations, he might have discovered that we had already been to those same places much earlier and met those same institutions on identical concerns. Sincerity demands that we acknowledge the truth but not disparage or be contemptuous of previous efforts by the opposition or others and proceed on the false impression that a new foundation is just being erected.

It is easy for some to say; ‘well you have been outside since the election’. I have been much more effective with what I could do for my Party and people outside under current circumstances, and this is where my Party needs me most personally, for the meantime. AND yes GMC continues to work on the ground as a political party with limited resources, regardless. The ‘struggle’ is no one’s monopoly. If anyone feels you could do better, the road to The Gambia is open for you. What may be stopping many from venturing back home is the intrepid fear admitted by Dr. Sedat Jobe himself on radio, when he said that if he were to return home now, they would pounce on him. From his own utterances, it is clear that like many Gambians, Dr. Jobe will never take the initiative to return to home to lead a civil disobedience or mass protest that he is preaching out of fear for his own life. It is unfair for anyone to make specific demands for sacrifice of others that he/she is unwilling to make.

This is not an indictment against anyone or advocating for anyone. The fact that Dr. Jobe recently decided to join the side of goodness is remarkable. I praise his call for us to speak and to act with one voice. Let us all work together to accelerate the end of tyranny. The opposition bashing is not the solution. The liberation of The Gambia is the responsibility of all Gambians. The Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans, Syrians, etc taught us not to wait for politicians.  They did not wait for politicians to lead. Their populations by themselves without politicians did what they had to do, and I do not mean to assert that politicians should fold their arms and do nothing. Yaya Jammeh is a result of the collective failure of all Gambians. We must all take responsibility for the kind of political system and leadership we have in our country. We can put an end to this mess if are ready to do so as a people. The choice is ours, all of us together.

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