Dear Karamba, ' I must say this is the most beautiful contribution I have so far read in this discussion and thank you for this great work.We must not allow to reduced the plight of our nation to an issue of negation with a ruling power that is daily proving beyond all doubts that the interest of the nation is secondary to their personal interest.If I should allow my self to take part in such a political dialog with this regime,then I have consciously allow myself to be reduced to a political opportunist.Anything less than demanding the resignation of the Jammeh regime and work to see it done will be a political compromise.I have just been wondering what mandate will such a committee have,if there would be any.If such committee intend to tell the Jammeh regime that He ,President Jammeh need not to give contracts to Morrocans when Gambians can do it and or that he even need not to renovate the State House when he spend most of his time at Kanilia and or that we need that money to buy X-ray machines,papers to print our birth certificates etc,then it is much more better for the committee to ask Jammeh and his government to resign from office. What do we have to reconcile ?Our right to oppose a political party we believed does not and could not serve the interest of our nation ?What is there to reconcile ?I am just wondering !! The solution to the problem,which Dr Saine claimed he did not find in your posting,which I found there,and which I believed is the only solution to the problem,is,again,we must continue our struggle against this regime.Your demonstration in Washington was a success,and we need more of it,both at home and abroad,it shows that no matter how little our contribution the results is what matters most. Your reaction to some of our Gambian intellectuals is a proof of the fact that even "Cow dung" are more useful than what some of these people have in their heads ,because our poor peasants could use "Cow dung" in their farms(as Mao would say)and expect better harvest.You are very right to say that as far as it is not their personal interest that is at stake they would not the least care,whether this intellectual is call Dr Saja Taal or Sedat Jobe,the interest of our nation is always secondary to their personal interest.But history will deal with all these people.Keep on the good work down there as brother Bass would say. For Freedom Saiks I must confess when some great list members proposed we make a collective effort to engage the government of Yayah Jammeh, I felt a sudden shudder in my spine. Sure their intentions are most laudable in that they want us all to try to work at resolving the numerous problems we face as a people. They set out parameters that could conceivably serve as a framework for the dialogue even though this government by dint of it's nature would find those basic conditions anathema. If a government has to be goaded into treating it's people lawfully , it is my contention that attempting to constructively engage that government would not only be inconsistent, it would also inadvertently rationalise all the wrongs that have come to symbolise this regime. Why, list members , do you think it would be worthwhile to engage a government whose leadership constantly run roughshod of the laws and constitution of the nation? They have honed criminal behavior to a fine art by murdering and torturing their opponents with impunity. While they were quick to throw people out of their homes and confiscate their property, they have failed to properly adjudicate these so called cases of ill-gotten wealth in a court of law. Their intention was not primarily geared towards recovering public funds , something I support whole heartedly, rather they embarked on their brand of justice which was essentially premised on vindictiveness. If for some reason some list members want to hold their noses and agree to engage the president by proxy through his aids in a bid to bring change, I can say with reasonable certainty it too would be an exercise in futility. Do we seriously that Dr Sedat Jobe or Tombong Saidy or anyone close to Yahya would somehow turn to men of virtue ? They know this President is a criminal and ought to be removed from office but being in the positions they are has gotten the better of them. They will tag along for as long as the shipwreck avoid making them casualities. For the men around the President, no price is too high for them. The people of the country can die of treatable illnesses, schools can fail and the people can wallow in extreme hardship, these folks would take no responsibility. They and the man they serve are content with running a rudderless government that is unraveling to the core. They have all become experts at shirking responsibility and blaming someone else for institutional failure. How for example can the president possibly do anything about corruption when he is it's very embodiment. Sure he would loudly and personally dismiss a few government employees as a way to posture for the public and to some extent the international community most of whose leaders would not touch him with a ten foot pole because of his questionable legitimacy. It would however be seen for what it is, a hollow and meaningless harangue that does not address the rot the he personifies. I think a better Gambia lies squarely in the hands her children. We must always be thankful if the thoughtful among us urge us to coalesce and do good. Since we are all stakeholders in the affairs of our country , our efforts would hence be primarily self-serving in that the very things we endeavor would benefit us too. By the same token , I believe we have a similar responsibility to reject off hand a tyrant who by all indications has ruined the country in a cruel and cynical drive to enrich himself and oppress an already beleaguered people. What i would urge list members is to do all they can to remove Yahya Jammeh and all that he represents and help build the institutional framwork that can enable us all to do right by our nation and people Karamba ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------