The Taming of Gambia’s political Radicals

“…a tiny group formed around persons like Lamin Janha, Junkunda Chaka Daffeh, Musa Bittaye, Koro Sallah, the late Dawda Faal and Tamsirr Jallow…the Kent Street Vous, formed around people like the late Saul Jarra, late Saja Taal, Saihou Taal, Baye Mass Taal, Saul Samba, the late Seedia Sanyang and several others.  There was also the Dangaro group formed around people like Saihou Sanyang, Adama Cham, the late Mustafa Jangum, one Fidel, Sainey Faye, James Alkali Gaye, Habib Choye and several others. We also had the National Pioneers with guys like Saul Sillah, Ahmat Sanneh, Ousman Manjang, Sulayman Kassama and several others.”

The story below is a flashback to the political history of ambitious Gambian youths, some of them are now inactive, some dead and others moved on. The piece is written in a dialogue form, hope you give readers a reflection of the past connecting it to the present. We try to connect black liberation movement in the America to that of our own.

Of Selma, Fifty Years Ago, of African Underachievement And Inadequacies.      

Recently, another jubilee memorial  of the worldwide Black liberation struggle was marked. This time, on the 7th March 2015, it was the fifty years since, “Bloody Sunday” in the Alabama town of Selma. Those were difficult times for the activists of Black liberation everywhere in the world, was it in Soweto, Katanga, Salisbury, Porto Prince, Harlem or Lusaka, the heavy hand of white western imperialism was raised to turn back the hand of time and to maintain its hegemony over colored and colonized peoples everywhere. Selma, like Pijiguiti before it and Mai Lai after, was only one of the sign-posts of this factor of what Mandela called white domination. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March 25 speech in Selma proclaimed, “Segregation is on its deathbed in Alabama.” He urged  the over 30,000 of supporters gathered to continue protesting: “Yes, we are on the move, and no wave of racism can stop us,” an echo of the wind-of-change speech announced by former British Prime Minister Herald Macmillan, about eight years earlier.

Addressing crowds gathered to remember  7th March 1965, less than a month after Gambia had got its flag-independence, when hundreds of black, hymn –chanting  peaceful demonstrators, many coming straight out of church, were attacked  by rioting Alabama State Police on horseback carrying truncheons, “Bloody Sunday,” President Obama said,  “If Selma taught us anything,” it’s that the work continues.” The first black American president added “this nation’s racial history casts a long shadow over the present day America.”

It was a guest, a middle-aged Gambian, on a brief medical visit to the United States, I had launch with at home while watching television, who was straightening things out for me as we looked at a program on Black Sunday history. The roles were like reversed. This gentleman, on his first trip to America this February 2015, talked on the annals of black liberation as if I was the one on visit and he my host.

When I pointed out this irony to him, chuckling, he retorted, “But you guys have been long lost, so long your generation alone cannot be held responsible, we must be take our blame too. But to be honest I do not know where we should start looking from.”

“I do not yet know to what extent your sports, here, I mean basketball American football, or boxing have become source of social distraction but back in The Gambia,” the old man continued in his Queen’s English, “football is a huge national distraction. Source of huge national loss almost everyday, I must say.”

The old gentleman knows I am a media enthusiast but did not mind because he knows I will honor my promise of his anonymity; that under no circumstances would I blow his cover. He might not have trusted me because he knows me fairly little but he knows I had been paddy to his nephew since our childhood days.

I cleared my throat before embarking upon the journalistic exercise on him, “Ah Uncle, your points on the weaknesses of my generation are held by many. But please allow me to ask what about yours putting up with the P.S. Njie’s telephoning Queen Elizabeth, or Jawara that the provincials will replace the urbanites as an independence promise and the fact that from what I gathered there was never been any successful national strike action since 1983, with Jallow Jallow, you know?

Answer: Well let me correct this, I was a bit younger than the generation of P.S. Njie. I have seen P. S., been, to his evening broadcasts but I was not adult then. But let me tell you this, we who were in our late teens in both the so called Protectorate and Colony at the time of Independence, I must say without any boasting, we were worth our salt and made of different clay, for not to say, better clay.”

“Yes but how? How can….”

Let me land. Don’t make this a rigidly formal tit for tat interview, this is just an informal chat about our history that you can publish, or do whatever you want with, but be flexible and do not interrupt with unnecessary and therefore unwarranted comments or questions. That mixes up my logic or sequence.

“Yes sir, I am sorry, I am all ears sir. Please go on.

Thank you so much. Yes, I was saying, Ah! That objectively my generation was of better clay than yours, this is if I can speak frankly with you. We stood up to the challenges of our time, while you boys, what you do is to refuse to even recognize those challenges. Look at this thing we are now watching on television, at the time, fifty years ago all the boys in Bathurst knew about the Selma atrocity and the others like it. We all knew that Bull Connor, Alabama governor or police chief or something else was an abominable racist thug in uniform. We all knew the racist roughneck by name. Now you go today all over the Greater Banjul Area, from Half Die to Abuko, or even to the university campus, make an awareness survey among the young and schooled, about say name of personalities in the Ferguson, Missouri police department, I bet it would be less 0.003% of the interviewees, if randomly chosen, would pass the mark. You chaps know more the names of members of an English football team than the names of members of cabinet in Banjul. All your generation knows is how to escape. The forms of escapism invented by you are numerous; drug and alcohol abuse, deafening rap or other types of music, football, gang warfare, crazy jihadism and all what not, plus of course through undocumented migration to spots of green pastures. All, escapism of various forms in order to elude responsibilities to oneself, family, community, nation and others.

In my time we identified not only with the peoples of The Gambia and of Africa but with “All Black People, The World Over” as in our parlance of the time. We had pictures of Eldridge Cleaver, Malcolm X, Mathin Luther King, Angela Davis hanging on walls in our rooms. We read Rapp Brown, George and Jonathan Jackson, Professor Mathews, Gerald Chailand, Guevara, Franz Fanon, Nkrumah and we chose to make the efforts of the oppressed everywhere our affair.

Some of us got together into groups to promote the idea of solidarity first with the struggles of African –Americans and then to the anti-apartheid struggle of South Africa, Rhodesia, Angola, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique. When Nkrumah died some of us organized a moving mock funeral in the streets of Banjul. When Senegalese President Senghore tried to pay a state visit to Bathurst in 1968 or 1969 we were able to stop it because his army was in constant border incursions into Gambian territory and also because, in our eyes he was a “Western puppet.” Our take on Senghore was not only political, it claimed to be also on the intellectual and artistic levels.   We echoed Soyinke’s critique of the then Senegalese leader’s theory of negritude, saying, a tiger doe’s not boast about his tigritude.  We criticized one of his poems telling of the feeling Portuguese blood flowing through him.

A group of student returnees from Ghana after the fall of Nkrumah formed what they called  the Black Brotherhood. They were tiny group formed around persons like Lamin Janha, Junkunda Chaka Daffeh, Musa Bittaye, Koro Sallah, the late Dawda Faal and Tamsirr Jallow. With Black Panther inspiration, they had a publication called Fansotoe, if I remember well. Chaka Daffeh was called the Prime Minister of the Black Brotherhood, which never managed to expand out of small exclusivist urban group of radical youths. But even before their arrival there had been a local group called the Kent Street Vous, formed around people like the late Saul Jarra, late Saja Taal, Saihou Taal, Baye Mass Taal, Saul Samba, the late Seedia Sanyang and several others.  There was also the Dangaro group formed around people like Saihou Sanyang, Adama Cham, the late Mustafa Jangum, one Fidel, Sainey Faye, James Alkali Gaye, Habib Choye and several others. We also had the National Pioneers with guys like Saul Sillah, Ahmat Sanneh, Ousman Manjang, Sulayman Kassama and several others. There were many other youths grouped in other less organized formations but with no less ardor. Some of the groups were of spontaneous making and engaged in clandestine activities like the Black Scorpions who secretly brought down the emblem of the state, in the form of a crown, which used to hang in front of the state administration building called Quadrangle. The cars and homes  of some prominent government officials were targeted for arson attacks.

Protest demonstrations were often organized but almost always ran into street riots in Banjul and other towns. Activists were subjected to harsh police brutality and the political police, then called the Special Branch. One incident involving  Modou Sidibeh in early 1972, when a Lebanese business  tycoon, the late Toufik Masseray, irritated by Sidibeh’s asking for lift, just ordered the police to have him arrested. He was arrested and remanded in prison, a group of youths marched to attempt and get him free. This led to a tumult that closed down most of the cities and towns for business. About three dozen activists wre rounded up by the then paramilitary Field Force, tortured and drilled for days before taken to court where a number were sent to jail, including the late Mass Jobe. Some including Baye Mass Taal who had a head knocked into a mess or like the late Mam Bala Joh, who had an arm broken.

Then came the younger generation who founded the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Foundation, joined by chaps like present UDP official Femi Peters, Halifa Drammeh, Sam Sarr, currently of PDOIS, Ousman Manjang, Koro Sallah, Ousman Secka and several others. Symposia were held almost weekly were salient social and political issues were discussed. There was a climate of extraordinary intellectual preoccupations and the then Methodist Book Shop provided up to date political literature including books like Mini Manual Of Urban Guerilla Warfare by Carlos Marighella, Wretched of the Earth or Black Skin White Mask by Franz Fanon, Obsolete Communism And The Left Wing Alternative by Daniel Cohn Bendit, Essay On Liberation by Professor Herbert Mathews; etc, etc.

To put it in a nutshell, my generation was standing up to the challenges of the time and helped produce sufficient human material for the cadres for the future politics of our people. People like Femi Peters, Sam Sarr, Seedia Jatta, the late Tamsirr Njie, Dawda Faal, Foday Manka, Tamsirr Jallow, Chernor Sonko all belong to that group of precious citizens who, in their different ways helped shaped the country\s body-politic.

I agree with you that, Gambia’s slip into political tyranny in 1994 as well as the 1981 adventurist onslaught are both indications of weaknesses of our generation but we did not fail due to inactivity or any cuddling to tyranny with your wave of “We don’t want no old pa” thing.

The way I see it the failures are bigger than our generation in The Gambia, bigger than Gambia itself, the whole Africa and even the whole Black World. It is, in a way, the same failure that Obama moaned about when he talked to those who took time to mark the events of Selma. Despite five decades of militant struggles, the conditions of African Americans have improved a little. The police murders of unarmed black teenagers in Ferguson, the Justice Department’s mind-bugling  report on systemic racism in the Ferguson police Department, the killings of three unarmed men in 2014 by the police and just last week’s killing of another unarmed African American in his own house in March 2015, all go to show how little has been achieved in the United States over the last fifty years, as far as racial equality is concerned. It is the same under-performance and inadequacies that have followed Africans from their continent of origin to wherever they might have migrated, North America, the Caribbean Islands, Middle East and, you name it. It is an exceptional condition experienced by no other race of humans. And it is time we look at it squarely in the face and try to search and identify its causes and remedies. Available orthodoxies, from Marxism to neo-liberal theories, have nothing offer that is not based on assumptions of a euro-centric, uni-linear pattern of social evolution and the model of white western affluent capitalist consumerist society as the only desired template for development. Thank you.

Share this:

Sierra Leon’s VP Goes Into Hiding

Sierra Leone’s Vice-President Samuel Sam-Sumana has gone into hiding while he seeks political asylum at the US embassy in the capital, Freetown.

Mr Sam-Sumana told the BBC he and his wife fled their home after “a tip-off” that soldiers were surrounding it. The move comes a week after his expulsion from the ruling party.

Two weeks ago, Mr Sam-Sumana said he was putting himself in quarantine for 21 days after one of his bodyguards died of the Ebola virus.

Police and army sources confirmed to the BBC’s Umaru Fofana in Freetown that troops were sent to the vice-president’s residence on Saturday morning.

They said the troops were dispatched to withdraw Mr Sam-Sumana’s security detail, but would not say whose orders they were acting on.

However, Information Minister Alpha Kanu told the BBC that the soldiers merely went to Mr Sam-Sumana’s house to “strengthen the quarantine”.

‘No US action’

“I don’t feel safe this morning as vice-president,” Mr Sam-Sumana told the AP news agency by phone. He said he had spoken to US Ambassador John Hoover and was waiting for a response.

US embassy spokeswoman Hollyn Green said embassy officials, including Mr Hoover, had “seen the news” but could not provide any reaction.

“There is no comment at the moment and there is no action on our part,” Ms Green told AP.

Government spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay told the BBC that Mr Sam-Sumana had no reason to seek asylum, saying his safety was “guaranteed”.

Mr Sam-Sumana was expelled from the ruling All People’s Congress Party (APC) last week on allegations of “orchestrating political violence” and trying to form a new party in his home district of Kono.

He was also accused of falsifying academic credentials. He denied the allegations – calling them “baseless fabrications and lies” – and rejected calls for his resignation.

Under Sierra Leone’s constitution he cannot be sacked, but he could be removed through a parliamentary impeachment.

Speaking to the BBC, APC Secretary General Osman Yansaneh refused to rule out impeachment proceedings against Mr Sam-Sumana.

Relations between Mr Sam-Sumana and President Ernest Bai Koroma have long been frosty, our correspondent reports.
Mr Sam-Sumana, 53, has been vice-president since 2007, when he first stood as Mr Koroma’s running mate. President Koroma is now serving his second and final term.

According to a biography on the presidential website, Mr Sam-Sumana has spent time studying and working in the US, and is an expert in diamond mining.
He said two weeks ago that he had chosen to be quarantined to “lead by example” in the battle against Ebola.

More than 3,500 people have died from Ebola in Sierra Leone, which along with Guinea and Liberia has seen the vast majority of deaths from the disease.

Story and picture provided courtesy of www.bbcafrica.com

Gen Badjie Justifies Arrests Of Coup Ploters Relatives

A top high-ranking member of President Yahya Jammeh’s personal security detail has disclosed what the whole world has been waiting for: reasons for the illegal arrest and detention of families and friends of the failed December 30th coup suspects. General Saul Badjie [named Karafa Bojang at birth] said the goal is to instil fear and apprehension among Gambians so that no one every tries to launch a coup in the future.

General Badjie, who heads The Gambia’s Republican Guards, spilled the beans during his tour of the military barracks in the country.  He said the government’s clampdown on families and friends of the coup suspects was meant to “set bitter examples. These arrests are all about setting examples in order to deter future attackers,” General Badjie repeatedly told soldiers, warning them to desist from attempting to overthrow the Jammeh regime because the consequences would always be severe.

Badjie said by arresting family members and friends of the coup suspects would deter any future coup in The Gambia before it happens, for they will be forced to report coup plots in advance.

Dozens of innocent family members and friends of the alleged State House attackers remain in arbitrary detention, with The Gambia government not providing details, let alone arraign the detainees in a competent court of law. The detainees who spend more than two months incommunicado include a 13-year-old boy who has since been denied the right to attend school, which violates his constitutional right.  Detention without trial is outlawed by Gambian constitution.

Rights groups have challenged the Jammeh regime on its continued violations of human rights.

Ends
source.www.kaironews.com

SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 'FORESEES' FEMALE PRESIDENT FOR GAMBIA

12/03/2015 12:10:00By Ebrima Jallow

Font size:  

The principal of St. Peters Technical Secondary School in Lamin has challenged Gambian women to brave local politics and contest political positions.

Father David Jimoh Jarju, also a development expert, said he could foresee that a woman would one day be president of The Gambia. He, however, said he could not predict the exact time a woman would lead the country. 

“The sex does not matter much with me, as long as that person is able to deliver and move the country forward,” he exclusively told The Standard on the sidelines of a forum making World Women's Day held at his school. 

He added: “I am sure [having a female president] is a possibility. I see some women who are quite capable. Obviously, you have the vice president who has been so stable for so many years. I foresee it, but the timing is something I cannot predict.”

The school master said empowering women would contribute to the development of the country. He noted that women should have increased participation in political decision-making positions. 

“The person who feels it knows better,” he said, adding: “Some of us will keep guessing, but if the women themselves are in key decision-making positions, they will be able to decide for the good of women themselves.

“The way men see things is sometimes different from the way women see things. Sometimes you may look at things in a straight line; they may look at it in a round way.”

Jarju, however, urged the womenfolk to stop standing in the way of women who dare to challenge men in politics. 

He said: “Women talk and talk and talk, but when it comes to action, they can be their own enemies. A woman can get up and say I want to contest election. Her fellow women would tell her all what is negative about her, and she can be a bit discouraged. 

“So, it is left for the women to come out themselves. If they come forward, I think they will be chosen. Let them stop talking and dancing and do something. They have to be brave to stand for positions. The possibilities are there.

“If politics is meant for the good of society, anybody going in, a man or woman, should know that you are going there to give your service for the common good, not necessarily for a big name, not necessarily to be recognised in society or status.”

Jarjue warned against filling positions with women just for the sake of gender considerations. He said positions should match holders' competencies. 

“I would want to think that whereas in the process of choosing people, there are cultural and social factors, also you have to pick up somebody who is capable. . I don't believe in just balancing the male female equation for the sake of it. We must have capable men and women.”

Source www.http://standard.gm/

PDOIS Reacts To CORDEG’s Statement

Lawyer Ousainou Darboe of UDP, Dr. Abdoulaye Saine of CORDEG and Halifa Sallah of PDOIS! 

PDOIS’ REACTION TO CORDEG’S PRESS RELEASE

Halifa Sallah
For the Central Committee 11th March 2015

The Gambia is at a crossroads. The party in power has demonstrated its total incapacity to free the people from impunity and poverty. However, its administration cannot end peacefully unless a process is put in place which would enable the vast majority of people, who do not want impunity or poverty to vote for change.The combined opposition in the Gambia has never had 50 percent of the vote. Hence the task of bringing about change is not one of simply unifying opposition supporters. That would not suffice. Change would only come when the vast majority of people, irrespective of party affiliation, are drawn by a process they have faith and confidence in, to vote for change. Those who want change should have open minds to listen to all views, consider all shades of opinions and subscribe to what they have discerned, in their own mature judgment, to be workable at each given moment, as dictated by reality, times and circumstances. PDOIS has respect for every sovereign Gambian and the exercise of right to freedom of association to promote any democratic cause as one deems fit. We have no qualms with CORDEG. What then is the point at issue?

When Dr Saine communicated with the Secretary General of PDOIS to express the desire to hold a discussion some months ago he was told that PDOIS was engaged in a village to village tour to exchange opinion with the people in order to know what they want and what they think of PDOIS’ programme on how to end impunity and poverty.

He was told that unless we complete this exercise the party would not be able to engage in any dialogue on the political situation in the Gambia. There was no ambiguity in our position. It was as plain as noon day. The meeting of 23rd February was news to us which we gathered after it happened. Nobody informed us of such a meeting.

The point At Issue
ON 1 March 2015 CORDEG issued a Press Release indicating that its executive members met “with UPD, PPP Leaders and PDOIS Representative.

The Press Release added: “Hon. Ousainou Darbo, Hon. Omar Jallow (OJ) and Malik Kah of PDOIS’s European Chapter, met on 23 February 2015 with CORDEG executive members to discuss important matters relating to the scheduled 2016 elections.”

PDOIS has since clarified that it had no meeting with CORDEG. We have conducted our investigation and are satisfied that all PDOIS members are fully in agreement that no PDOIS member could represent the party in any negotiation without a mandate from the Central Committee. We have put our house in order and could assure everyone that such development would never arise again. For the avoidance of doubt it needs to be reiterated that Malick Kah had no mandate to represent PDOIS and did not represent PDOIS at the meeting. Hence CORDEG should adjust its records and its Press Release by expunging PDOIS from the pact it formed with the two party leaders. PDOIS upholds the principle of unanimity in decision making. Even the members of the Central Committee, the Secretary General included cannot issue any statement without vetting by each member of the Central Committee. This is why all take ownership of decisions. The PDOIS branches are fully conversant with the principle of unanimity and that of subsidiarity when it comes to the functions and relations of party organs.

That however is not the end of the matter . According to CORDEG “The meeting lasted one hour and thirty minutes and brainstormed on the following pertinent issues:”

On Electoral Reform

“1.      Electoral reforms, the political party leaders emphasised the imperative for a root and branch reform of Gambia’s electoral system in order to create a level playing field and to guarantee the credibility of any polls prior to the next Presidential and National Assembly elections in 2016/17. CORDEG has agreed to jointly design a comprehensive advocacy strategy to address the deadlock that ensued since the opposition parties tabled a set of reform demands to both the government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in 2012.”

PDOIS’ OPINION
The Press Release conveys in black and white that the two leaders have reached an agreement with CORDEG to jointly design a comprehensive advocacy strategy to address the deadlock that ensued since the opposition parties tabled a set of reform demands to both the government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in 2012.
Suffice it to say, If the two opposition party leaders had indeed entered into a venture with CORDEG to jointly design a comprehensive advocacy strategy to address a dead lock on electoral reform as mentioned in the release, then their act would constitute a breach of confidentiality.

Since , CORDEG issued its Press Release none of the Opposition party leaders mentioned had issued any clarification on the wrong notion given to the public by CORDEG which cannot be allowed to shape public opinion. Hence we take it that they have exercised their sovereign right to take their own stand on advocacy for electoral reform in collaboration with CORDEG.
In that vein,we are compelled to point out that, before the meeting of the 23rd and the issuing of the Press Release by CORDEG, six opposition parties did expend high grade intelligence, energy, money and time, for months, in order to collectively produce a high grade comprehensive programmatic document on constitutional and electoral reform and did go further to agree to meet on 7th March 2015 to set the date for signature as well as, to formulate an advocacy strategy geared towards propelling and accelerating our common initiative to fruition. We had agreed not to discuss any subject matter on electoral reform until we dispatch the document to the relevant stakeholders.
This is why CORDEG’s Press Release motivated PDOIS to address the following letter to our colleagues:

6,March 2015
P/OPPFECR/(1)

Dear Colleagues

The Central Committee of PDOIS has reviewed a Press Release issued by an organization called CORDEG ,which gives the impression that some Party leaders have discussed with CORDEG ,what we have been discussing for months and have gone as far as to assign CORDEG the responsibility of doing advocacy for electoral reform for the opposition, which is precisely a main agenda in our discussion scheduled for Saturday, 7th March 2015.

The Press Release indicated among other things that three parties were involved in a meeting with CORDEG. Since then PDOIS has dissociated itself from such an event. However, we have noticed that other party leaders mentioned have not done the same. We have tried to reach Mr Darboe by phone to request for postponement of the meeting scheduled for Saturday, 7th March 2015 until we get clarity on statements issued in CORDEG’s Press Release. In this regard , we have no option but to request for a postponement in writing.

For your information, the Press Release from CORDEG reads:

Press Release 01 March 2015 CORDEG meet with UPD, PPP Leaders and PDOIS Representative Hon. Ousainou Darbo, Hon. Omar Jallow (OJ) and Malik Kah of PDOIS’s European Chapter, met on 23 February 2015 with CORDEG executive members to discuss important matters relating to the
scheduled 2016 elections. The meeting lasted one hour and thirty minutes and brainstormed on the following pertinent issues.

1.      Electoral reforms, the political party leaders emphasised the imperative for a root and branch reform of Gambia’s electoral system in order to create a level playing field and to guarantee the credibility of any polls prior to the next Presidential and National Assembly elections in 2016/17. CORDEG has agreed to jointly design a comprehensive advocacy strategy to address the deadlock that ensued since the opposition parties tabled a set of reform demands to both
the government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in 2012.”
(Our emphasis)

2.    United Front, there was also consensus around the vital need for a united front, to include all opposition parties, to contest the 2016 elections. CORDEG has been tasked by the opposition party leaders present, to make concrete proposals to all the opposition parties, on building a tactical and strategic alliance between opposition parties and we have agreed to do so in the next couple of weeks, following consultations with the wider Diaspora. All participants at the meeting agreed that a united front is crucial, in order to maximise the chances of the opposition to defeat the incumbent. A united front of the political opposition will also encourage the building of unity between and among the Diaspora opposition organisations. CORDEG has a series of planned meetings to engage with other Diaspora organisations in the coming weeks, in order to widen participation in the process and to strengthen unity around our common aspiration for democratic revival in the Gambia. A united front will allow every willing stakeholder to take an active part in the decisions leading to the building of a united front for 2016 and beyond. CORDEG aims to build an inclusive platform to achieve wider participation by the Diaspora.

3.    Fundraising, the meeting also discussed the important matter of raising funds, to effectively address the chronic shortage of resources that has held back the ideas, activities and actions that can make meaningful impact in our struggle to restore democracy in the Gambia. The meeting agreed that with all the will in the world, and even following electoral reforms, a united front will fail, unless substantial funds and other forms of resources are mobilised to support and sustain the struggle. CORDEG will be submitting fundraising and other resource mobilisation proposals to stakeholders
for their consideration and possible adoption, following a comprehensive needs assessment that will include both the Diaspora and all the opposition parties.

4.    Unity Summit; CORDEG proposed to host a London summit of all stakeholders in the summer of 2015. The meeting believes that such a summit of Gambia’s opposition leaders, in partnership with other strategic stakeholders, could agree to a united front by signing-off on the proposals for a tactical and strategic electoral alliance, as well as a Compact with the Gambian Diaspora to support, promote and provide funds for a sustained campaign against the Jammeh regime.

Further meetings are scheduled in the coming weeks and months which we envisage will include other opposition party and Diaspora leaders. In the service of the Gambian people  James Bahoum Directorate Legal Affairs Directorate Media and Communication (interim Colleagues could observe that the first item discussed touched on electoral reform. The Press Release indicates that they have discussed about reform and have agreed to jointly design an advocacy strategy with CORDEG.
PDOIS is of the opinion that the efforts we have collectively made to formulate and advocate for an opposition party driven electoral reform agenda is being derailed, when we have already worked out all the modalities to make it possible. Saturday was set aside to plan when to give our final approval to the proposals and adopt the advocacy strategies necessary to pursue them to fruition. We are convinced that once our initiative is seen to be externally driven as portrayed by CORDEG in its Press Release we would have lost the battle before we even start.

The Central Committee of PDOIS is requesting for a postponement of the meeting so that it could engage in consultation with all concerned stakeholders in order to find ways of preventing our initiatives from being seen to be dictated by groups based outside the country. We will issue a statement in response to the CORDEG Press Release and may mention how far we have gone with the negotiation on electoral reform to confirm the genuineness of the unalloyed initiative of the collective opposition in the Gambia.

Please take note that any day on or after Saturday, 14th March 2015 would be ideal for us.

Halifa Sallah
For the Central Committee

DARBO’S MESSAGE ON THE LETTER-7TH MARCH 2015

Mr Touray provided me this number through which I can send this short message.

I note that you intend to issue a statement on the CORDEG Press Release on behalf of PDOIS which i believe is perfectly in order only as it relates to PDOIS representation at the meeting.

I request you not mention how far we have gone with the negotiations on the electoral reform. Any statement on this should be made by all parties that have been attending the meetings and not by PDOIS alone whatever its views may be on the “meeting.”

Darbo

While we respect Mr Darboe’s observations ,the PDOIS leadership would be disregarding national interest to consider itself bound by the principle of confidentiality which had circumscribed the two months negotiation of six opposition parties aimed at preparing a comprehensive programmatic document for constitutional and electoral reform, when the atmosphere necessary for the new initiative to sprout has been clouded by a new utopian agenda, which is similar to what derailed a similar initiative in 2013 , which PDOIS chose not to make an issue of public debate , at the time, to avoid being accused of trying to derail a viable Diaspora initiative. History will not pardon us if we repeat the same mistake.

Hence we will not hesitate to tell the whole world that a comprehensive programmatic document on electoral and constitutional reform has been prepared and is ready for signature. At least, we can say this much and not go into the details. This is the first point.

Secondly, we have decided to put our advocacy strategy in the public domain to distance ourselves from the agreement of the two leaders with CORDEG.

PDOIS’ POSITION ON ADVOCACY STRATEGY

Obviously, the authority to amend the constitution and electoral laws to ensure Electoral and Constitutional reform resides in the executive and the National Assembly. Only Cabinet and National Assembly members could introduce bill for constitutional and electoral reform. Hence PDOIS would recommend that proposals of the opposition be lodged with Cabinet and The National Assembly whose members are responsible of bringing bills to the National Assembly for their enactment into law.

KEY PARTNERS
Key partners are the International, multinational, continental and regional bodies that had played a role in monitoring elections or providing financial, technical, material or logistical support to the Independent Electoral Commission.

Hence copies of the proposals should be lodged with the UN, The AU , ECOWAS and The EU as the main partners as well as the Commonwealth as a matter of courtesy, Jesse Jackson who accepted to be a mediator and our neighbors, to promote good neighbourliness.

GOOD WILL AMBASSADORS OF THE OPPOSITION

PDOIS would propose that the two people who were given the responsibility to put together and table the proposals for adoption be appointed as good will ambassadors of the opposition since they are best equipped to explain and defend the content. They should be assigned the responsibility of delivering the proposals to all the stake holders without relying on any intermediary and hold press conferences where ever they go, to highlight the proposals of the opposition.
They should be made to subscribe to a code of conduct which would confine their terms of reference to the mere submission of documents to stakeholders and explaining the content of the proposals to the media without straying into any partisan or propagandist escapades in promotion of a political party or political ambition.

FUNDING

All parties should select one individual to represent them in a financial committee aimed at costing each trip in order to prepare a budget for the delivery of the proposals to the respective stakeholders . The total cost of the initiative and all pledges in kind by way of air tickets, economy class and hotel accommodation or cash for the same purpose, shall be published for public notice .The sum to be raised shall be restricted to the budget and once it is raised the fund raising exercise would cease. Monies received shall be accounted for by each of the party representatives in the financial committee and lodged in a bank. Credible financial measures shall be put in place to ensure public disclosure of funds received and used. The account established shall be audited and then published for public notice. Nobody other than the committee set up by the political parties will have the mandate to raise funds for the advocacy exercise.

Once all the proposals are delivered the mandate of the goodwill ambassadors would cease and political parties would continue their party advocacy activities on their own party platforms to sensitise the public on the content of our proposals and the progress made to further its realisation. This is PDOIS’ stand on the advocacy strategy for electoral reform. The content is for all the stakeholders to make public.

ON UNITED FRONT

According to the Press Release “2United Front, there was also consensus around the vital need for a united front, to include all opposition parties, to contest the 2016 elections. CORDEG has been tasked by the opposition party leaders present, to make concrete proposals to all the opposition parties, on building a tactical and strategic alliance between opposition parties and we have agreed to do so in the next couple of weeks, following consultations with the wider Diaspora.”

CORDEG proposed to host a London summit of all stakeholders in the summer of 2015. The meeting believes that such a summit of Gambia’s opposition leaders, in partnership with other strategic stakeholders, could agree to a united front by signing-off on the proposals for a tactical and strategic electoral alliance, as well as a Compact with the Gambian Diaspora to support, promote and provide funds for a sustained campaign against the Jammeh regime”

PDOIS ‘ OPINION ON A UNITED FRONT

It is interesting that CORDEG has been tasked to formulate and make proposals on how to form strategic alliance and convene a meeting in UK in the Summer. We would have thought that the parties would tell CORDEG what they need to do on the ground to make a United Front viable.
PDOIS has made it very clear that if Gambians do not want to engage in a political expedition which would lead them into the political marsh only to drown them into the sea of disappointment, they should move away from the top down approach to alliance building which has failed since 2006. We need to adopt the bottom up approach.
PDOIS has said that the surest way for change is for the political parties to spend their days and nights among the people so that they would build a support base which is larger than that of the ruling party and continue to work for electoral reform to restore the second round of voting among other reforms, which may or may not be realised .
It is the masses who are to bring about change. Hence their mobilisation and organisation to vote for change is what is of strategic significance. This is the decisive factor. Electoral reform is of tactical significance. Its effectuation or otherwise, may enhance or pose obstacles to electoral success. However, when the masses are determined no force on earth could stand on their way.
PDOIS has observed that if there is electoral reform and the second round of voting is restored, the opposition would not need to decide on a single candidate, the people would do that for them by depriving the incumbent of victory in the first round. The opposition leader with the highest or second highest number of votes could then be supported by all those who want change, as has happened in Senegal.
On the other hand if there is no electoral reform these strong opposition parties who combined would have attracted more than 50 percent support base among the electorate, could meet and select a candidate to face the incumbent.
Hence PDOIS’proposal is for members and supporters of political parties to lend a hand to the grassroots activities of their parties. These parties should proceed to prepare their primaries and select their candidates so that the public would know them.
This is what will get us closer to change. What we need are Gambians who are convinced that the parties they support are worth supporting.
Just imagine if 1000 Gambians give 1000 dollars each to the party they believe is worth supporting. The party would have a million dollars in its coffers to finance its campaign. This is 47 Million dalasis. Any party which cannot make a difference with such a sum should have its leaders exposed by its members and sent to the cleaners.

Hence we should go beyond Obama’s slogan that ‘we can’. We cannot make a difference until we become resolved. We must make a difference. “We must” is the slogan for our times and circumstances. Hence, make your choice of party that is worth supporting and do so to make a difference. Support what is worth supporting and make a difference! That is the clarion call.

On the Role of The Diaspora

Gambia has many knowledgeable and experienced daughters and sons in the Diaspora, academics, professionals in all fields ,technicians and seasoned workers.

Any party which could lead the country to build a middle income country would need their participation. In 2005 and 2006 remittances were considered to be the second largest source of foreign exchange amounting to 1.7 billion in 2005 and 1.8 Million in 2006. The Disapora is too important to be ignored, either by the government or by the opposition.

PDOIS has informed the Diaspora what it could do to take its legitimate stake in shaping the destiny of our homeland but no one appears to be listening.

Let us take this opportunity to conclude by reiterating our position again. We have said that the Diaspora should hold sovereign national conferences and prepare Diaspora based programmes for enfranchisement so that they could vote like all nationals living outside their countries, advocate respect for human rights in the country and promote electoral reform on their own Diaspora platform.

The sovereign national conferences could elect representatives who could also meet to select working groups based on competences. This would enable party members and supporters in the Diaspora to work in the working groups set up in their areas and serve both the Diaspora and their parties without any conflict of mandate.

The Diaspora should be able to send goodwill ambassadors to the Gambia to meet the ruling party, the opposition, civil society, The IEC and The Media and produce reports which could inform the opinions of all stakeholders. If the IEC says that money is the obstacle to the enfranchisement of the Diaspora, funds could be tapped to make that realisable.

In the same vein, if a United Front candidate becomes necessary the Diaspora could finance a Caravan where all the party and Independent Presidential Candidates could be given a platform in all the administrative areas and the level of public approval assessed before negotiation.

We could go on and on. We hope the Diaspora would reflect on this fundamental truth that power only concedes to superior power. No state could be changed without either superior military power or superior people’s power. There is no third road other than that of adventurism. Those who do not wish to kill their way to power should have faith in the people. No body can go against the people and win. We hope the Diaspora would listen.

We are not against any initiative. However, we have mapped our own programme. We intend to finish our village to village tour, hold our congress to adopt a manifesto, hold a primary to select a presidential candidate who will have the duty to issue a statement on every thing the current executive says or does and put those statements side by side with that of the executive for distribution to all schools in the country to promote informed choice.

When the executive is holding a jamboree in one part of the country we would be holding our sensitization concerts with progressive songs and drama.

Hence those who support PDOIS should be focused on its programme. This is the way forward.

THE END
source.www.kaironews.com

Share this:

Ya Binta Jarju finally laid to rest

By Sailu Bah
Ya Binta Jarju, the 27 year old lady, who was shot dead by a personnel  of the ‘Joint Security Forces’ on Saturday night, has been finally
laid to rest yesterday, 9 March, 2015 at the Old Jeshwang Cemetery.
A large crowd of grieving relatives from the Gambia and the Casamance region of Senegal, friends, co-workers, Red Cross volunteers andneighbours converged at the Banjul mortuary in the morning and later
escorted the corpse to the Independence Drive Mosque before finally
taking it to its final resting place for burial around 4.30 pm.
Speaking to this reporter, a tearful Awa Jarju, the younger sister of
the late Ya Binta Jarju, said it is their breadwinner who is taken
away from them.
She described her late elder sister as very supportive and irreplaceable.
“After the death of our father last year, it was YA Binta who assumed
the responsibility of supporting the family. She was the breadwinner
of the family who was taking care of everything including feeding,
rent, school fees and other basic necessities. We have really lost our
support,” said the sobbing younger sister.
Ya Awa explained that their mother, Fatou Badjie, is a widow, who
engages in petty trade at the Banjul Market to assist Ya Binta in
covering some of the needs of the family with the little she earns
from it.
She said the late Ya Binta was the eldest child in a family of 6
siblings (two girls and four boys).
Explaining how they came to learn about this tragic incident, Ya Awa
said Ya Binta left home at around 6pm on that fateful day to attend a
social event at Manjai Kunda. “At around 8pm I called her to enquire
where she was and she told me that she’ll be coming home soon. Later
that evening around midnight, I received a call on my phone from
another number with a man’s voice asking me to come to Kotu as my
sister was in trouble,” she said.
She said she was very confused at the time as she did not know what
trouble her sister might have been involved.
“It never came to my thought that my sister was dead. I left Banjul in
a haste and rushed to Kotu  where the incident occurred. Upon arriving
at the scene, I was shocked and could not believe seeing my sister in
that state in the taxi vehicle. From there I escorted the body to the
main hospital in Banjul,” she explained.
Ya Awa said: We are asking for justice to be done on this untimely
death of Ya Binta.”
Relatives,  friends, co-workers and neighbours of the late Ya Binta
have all described her as a friendly, hardworking and determined young
lady whose death is a lost not only to her family but to many.
Pa Badjie, her cousin from Bakoteh, Jalika Jarju, her aunt, and
Ismaila Jarju, her father’s elder brother, have also expressed their
deep sense of lost and acknowledged that a big void has been created
in the family.
Red Cross members were present in the funeral as she was said to have
been a very active volunteer, serving as one of the school
coordinators.
Many people also came to express condolence to the bereaved family at
their residence at 14 Old Perseverance Street in Banjul.
Courtsy of www.foroyaa.gm

Fatal Shooting: Who Is At Fault?

The Late Ya Binta Jarju/Standard Newspaper Image!

The fatal shooting of a woman has brought back fears and memories of insecurity in The Gambia. A professional security force in any given country will do everything humanely possible to safe lives even during wild chase. If the Joint Security Task Force members are not blood-hungry, they could have spared the precious life of Ya Binta Jarju.

The death comes at a time when Gambians and their government are reeling with fears of violent attacks. Gambian security forces are in a haste to shoot, knowing fully they will get away with their crimes. Even security forces have not been spared in this brutality. One senior security officer had his helmet blown away by a bullet fired by a soldier at a checkpoint. His only crime was to move to the side of the road. The said soldier (name withheld for security reasons) was scared to lodge a complaint, fearing a backlash. He thanked God for sparing his life.

Kairo News is still trying get to the bottom of a story that has left a lot of open holes. The key question that is left to be unanswered is why the taxi driver failed to stop. Is there anything in the car he was trying to hide where security forces have become instruments of brutality.

In this statement published below, the police mouthpiece provided an explanation of how and why the fatal shooting took place. ASP David Kujabi, whose version of the story is culled from Standard Newspaper, needs to be carefully scrutinised.

“On Saturday 7th March between 11:00 to 11:45pm, personnel of the Joint Security Task Force were mounting a routine night vehicle check-point at Manjai Kunda. Vehicles that came by were flagged, checked and allowed to move on. However, a taxi with registration number, ‘BJL 7039 G’ came by and upon reaching the check-point, the driver sped off refusing to stop. A warning shot was fired but the driver kept on driving at top speed.

“This being a sure suspicious behaviour, the security officers boarded their patrol vehicle and pursued the fleeing driver. A second warning shot was again fired but the driver again failed to take heed and instead led the officers on a wild chase. They eventually overtook the taxi and braked in front of it as if to force it to a stop but the driver swerved, took a quick turn and drove through a narrow road nearby. The officers then shot at the car in order to force it to a stop but the bullet instead hit a lady who was sitting at the backseat of the taxi leading to her death.

“This unfortunate tragic incident is regrettable but it must be noted that the security forces of The Gambia will not be complacent in ensuring the security of this nation and its people and this happening not long after the December terror attack meant that all necessary means had to be employed to stem a recurrence. The general public is therefore warned to respect these check-points and cooperate with the security forces as they are meant to ensure their own security.”

Ends