The real Y2K problem for The Gambia Recently I came across some interesting articles on the Internet regarding President Yahya Jammeh of The Republic of the Gambia. In one article entitled: 'Government Celebrates Fifth Anniversary of July 22nd Revolution Despite Criticism from Opposition Parties'. Jammeh "outlined his government's commitment to democracy but based on what he called homegrown principles." So, I ask, what are these "homegrown principles" that Jammeh was speaking of? If he's referring to the times following colonial rule and up to the 1994 coup d'etat, yes, we did have a homegrown version of democracy (certainly not a perfect version, but we were learning) but, if he's referring to the post coup years then I must repeat my question, what are "homegrown principles"? In trying to answer my question, I've looked back to the days of, and since, the coup and it appears to me, that according to Jammeh, it must be that: * "homegrown principles" deprive the free speech of all the Gambian people, * "homegrown principles" allow for the detention of innocent people without trial, * "homegrown principles" denies free press by not allowing Gambia news reporters to report what they see or hear and in one instance, allowed for the deportation of a certain newspaper editor, * "homegrown principles" allow the kidnapping of opposition party members * "homegrown principles" deny the right of the people to elect their own village and religious leaders by rejecting the peoples vote and forcing them to accept new non elected leaders, * "homegrown principles" allow the brutal killing of a minister and the fabrication of such an astounding story about the circumstances of his death , that no Gambian citizen, in his/ her right mind, could believe, * "homegrown principles" allow for the unwarranted search, seizure and arrest of people, often times from their homes in the middle of night, to be taken to the N.I.A office for interrogation, * "homegrown principles" deny certain Gambia citizens the opportunity to join, or form, an opposition party, * "homegrown principles" allow for the detention of a certain solider (a former coup leader) for four years without trial, * "homegrown principles" allow terrorization, beatings and even murder of opposition members while coming from campaigns or from meeting places, * "homegrown principles" allow Government leaders to be elected by the people but only under threats and force by the military. I ask myself, am I right? I looked back again into the old newspapers, I remember the radio reports and I talked to so many others who experienced those days and then I am able to answer...YES!!! I am right!! In another Internet site I discovered an article from the Washington Post, dated February 18, 1999, and in that article Jammeh was quoted as saying that "not even a dog died" [during the 1994 coup d'etat]. Now, I don't know who wrote that article but he/she must surely have been blind or else was absent from the country during those days. It may well be true that "not a dog was killed" (as most of us remember, during those days there was certainly no time to check on the fate of animals) but the same cannot be said about humans. Were all the grieving family members and friends lying or crazy? Is it true that there were no killings at Mile 2 or at the Army camps in Bakau or Yundum? Were those people lying, who witnessed trucks coming from the Bakau camp and said they saw bodies in the back of the trucks? I was there...I know what I am saying is true. But, so many of you were there too. Are we going to accept Jammeh's "home style democracy" when we vote in the year 2000? Or are we going to vote for true democracy, which is for the people, by the people and of the people? _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------