May God Save Dear Little Gambia Part 2

We have five opposition candidates lined up against Yaya Jammeh: Halifa Sallah, Hamat Bah, Mama Kandeh, Adama Barrow, and Dr. Isatou Touray. I’ve listened to and read many people with divergent views on them all. I find some of the views quite perplexing to say the least. That is because while it is true that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no one is entitled to their own set of facts especially if those facts are conjured up or bereft of basic logic.  My late maternal grandma used to say that “anytime someone says ‘everybody is equal’, he or she has insulted someone”.  I believe this with all my heart because my grandma was concerned about the danger of what we now call “false equivalence” which is so prevalent in Gambian discourse. The five opposition candidates we have are not the same by any stretch of the imagination as some want us to believe. The records and background of the candidates speak for themselves. One of the annoying – and damaging things to our national ethos that we have picked up in this Yaya Jammeh era especially is the normalization of Public Lies! We meet publicly, and smile at each other, but when it comes to discussing important issues honestly, everybody scratches their head, and murmur to those in their Comfort Circles what they truly believe, then turn around and lie to everybody else!

Halifa Sallah who is a professionally trained sociologist came into our lives formally in 1986 with the launch of PDOIS and its flagship newspaper Foroyaa. In their early years, the party rented a two-room apartment across from the incomplete mosque in Bundung. I used to stop there with some neighborhood friends to read their paper on our way to or from our GCE studies at Nusrat High School in the evenings. I do not recognize either their party or the paper from the ones I knew back then anymore, but thirty years on, Mr. Sallah continues to co-manage the various branches of PDOIS. He has a solid resume’ that qualifies him to seek the Gambian presidency in my view.

Hamat Bah heads the National Reconciliation Party -NRP and has for the past twenty years now. However, if truth be told, Hamat Bah is more remarkable for what we don’t know about him than what we do. Twenty years in the Gambian lime light and Hamat to a large extent still remains a mystery.  There is a certain opaqueness about Hamat’s operation style that emits red signals to discerning minds. In Forensic Auditing, there is a rule: an individual cannot spend more than he or she legitimately earns.  This is the basic starting point used by all US government agencies – D.O.J, FBI, SEC, etc. in their fraud investigations. But mention this to Africans, and immediately some people scream tribal persecution. Even when all the tell-tale signs are there! Just look at what’s going on in Nigeria.  We Africans want to develop but we’re unwilling to follow the path others took to get there.  We can only hope time will take care of that. Regardless, the little we know about Hamat Bah does not qualify him in any way to be president in this day and age: some GCE Ordinary Level passes in High School, then several years as an Entertainment Manager at a Hotel does not make a resume’ that prepares one for taking on the arduous task of changing the lives of some of the poorest people on the planet. Remember “learning on the job” hasn’t worked out so well for us with our current trainee after twenty-two years on the job.

As is for Hamat Bah, we now have an even more unqualified candidate in the person of Mama Kandeh of the Gambia Democratic Congress traversing the Gambia wanting to replace Yaya Jammeh. Whereas we are at least familiar with Hamat, Kandeh is an almost entirely unknown quantity with even more baggage than Bah: for ten years, Kandeh was part of the group that rubber-stamped and helped concentrate in Jammeh’s hands some of the most noxious and oppressive laws that Jammeh now uses   to terrorize Gambians “legally.” So it’s rather convenient for Kandeh to suddenly develop a conscience only after Yaya Jammeh had kicked him out of his party. He reportedly traveled to Germany and after years there returned home with millions of Dalasi the source of which we do NOT know. And we’re being told not to ask any questions about this. Worse, the man does not even have a High School education. Seriously! Are we Gambians so stupid or desperate that we’ll let someone like this man be our president? Exactly what does he have to offer us? I have watched and listened to every video about Mama Kandeh on YouTube and I wish I had found something inspiring. Sadly, I have to say that Mama Kandeh is NOT a compliment to Gambian politics! People need to get over their blind ethnic nationalism or sentimentalism and look at the larger good of The Gambia. Mama Kandeh speaks well in vernacular, and looks good especially compared to Yaya Jammeh. But who doesn’t? Yaya Jammeh is a brutish half baboon for goodness sakes! Otherwise, Mama is a noise-maker, an empty barrel.   Anyone with an eye for details can’t miss the clues:

In his 42 minutes’ video on YouTube posted in July, he said repeatedly at a rally at a rally that Jammeh only has three months left in office. Even my seven-year-old daughter knows how many months there are between July and December. So we know his arithmetic is terrible.   However, his weakness goes beyond math. In the colorful flyer introducing him to Gambians as GDC leader there is a grammatical error. His supporters quickly jumped on those that pointed this out with insults because “English is not our language.” (see comments on Facebook.) That may be true, but it speaks volumes about Mama Kandeh’s level of education and judgment that he’ll print posters of himself without first editing the text or having someone with the competence to do so. At the very basic level, how hard is it to write a correct poster with less than a dozen words? But the deal-breaker for me is Mama Kandeh’s red herring touting of himself as the candidate who “doesn’t want to seek any revenge.”  At first glance, this sounds innocuous and reconciliatory, but coming from someone like him, it really is patronizing and hypocritical. Here is the reality. If one looks at the present Gambian diaspora, one finds cold blooded murderers living among us – former bosom buddies of Yaya Jammeh, - body guards, killers, mercenaries, concubines, sundry enablers, apologists and all manner of criminals that did horrible things to other Gambians for this brutal tyrant for selfish reasons.  Yet they go about their business and mingle with Gambians unmolested.  Any other people would have brought some of these shameless crooks to justice just like Obama did with his Al Qaeda enemies by now. My point is, Gambians are not into this revenge nonsense Mama Kandeh and his kind allude to. Instead, all Gambians want is to get our country back from the clutches of a crazy murderous tyrant! We don’t care for revenge.  I’m so sick of   this dog-whistling nonsense especially from people who until recently were bedmates with Jammeh!  Mama is being clever by half. When your main selling point is that you are not interested in seeking revenge, by implication, you’re saying that some else is or may be interested in seeking revenge. It’s bull crap.  - dirty politics. It’s no coincidence that Mama Kandeh is being embraced by APRC members: There’s no philosophical or policy difference between he and them.   Had Jammeh not kicked Kandeh out, he’d in all probability still be rubber-stamping laws that oppress Gambians further! Mama should be thankful that Gambians generally seem incapable of paying attention to details or remembering anything. Otherwise, he’d be a national joke by now. What he has communicated in his outing so far doesn’t pass the smell test. is someone who fail such rudimentary test fit to be president?  I think not!

Even as an ethnic candidate, how is this man a good representation of The Gambian Fulani given the choice of intellectuals in that community? I don’t get it.  Are we so stupid and blind that we cannot see an impending disaster in broad daylight? By the way, like Hamat, everything we know about Kandeh is through second-hand sources because the man in all the propaganda material we see or hear about him – pamphlet or speeches hasn’t told us a thing about what qualifies him for the job he is seeking.

The UDP also unveiled Adama Barrow as their flagbearer close to two weeks ago. Thankfully, Mr. Barrow was kind enough to provide us what he brings to the table in terms of resume’.  Because we are a country of crazy people, someone actually called me to tout the man as a businessman.  I tried to disabuse the fellow of the misconception but he thought I was just trying to give him a hard time.  I do not know Mr. Barrow personally, and god knows I have nothing but utmost respect for the brother for the risk he has taken and is taking to help free Gambians. but I feel an obligation to help Gambians decipher some things because we Gambians are one utterly confused and misinformed people. In this day and age, there is a big difference between businessmen and merchants. Businessmen take loans, draw up plans to hire help, generate revenue, pay back their loan, and taxes, then devise and strategize ways of growing their business over years. Often, those Business Plans have to be approved by the lenders.  Merchants on the other hand, buy from businesses to sell to small retailers or end users. From Mr. Barrow’s own testimony, he strikes me as a merchant without any real modern business credentials that could serve us valuably at the national level.  Besides that, he had a High School diploma, but no formal employment history either. Overall, there’s hardly anything to write home about.  The brother is clearly unqualified for   the presidency. Not to recognize that is to confirm one’s marriage to sentimentalism.

The most refreshing aspect of Mr. Barrow’s investiture is his avowed commitment to joining forces with his colleagues to form a united front to present a single candidate against tyrant Yaya Jammeh. He should be true to his word by ensuring that he whips his troops to fall in line behind a unified opposition candidate.

If there is one thing we are absolutely certain about in Africa after sixty years of political independence, it is that   not only do unqualified semi-literate persons not make good leaders, they also have a tendency to insist on clinging onto power till death!  And they employ primordial sentiments to divide their countries in order to remain in office. We have countless cases all over our continent. So why are so many of us keeping quiet over this madness to promote clearly unqualified candidates? Moral cowardice? Afraid of being called tribalist? What a country! Please mark me as the number one tribalist if you will, but I’ll be darned if I’ll keep quiet and let another half-educated fool condemn me to die in exile! Anyone my age who doesn’t understand the importance of having an educated leader in our country is a darn idiot! I mean it.

 For what it’s worth, if a genuine election is to hold, my vote will go to Dr. Touray for multiple reasons.

1. I prefer competence and record to ANY party tag or lack thereof.
2. She is unaffiliated with any of the existing parties and will therefore save us from the ridiculous “math problem” of the past 14 years that has ruined every attempt to form a coalition against the lunatic tyrant Yaya Jammeh. However, being unaffiliated doesn’t mean being aloof. Dr. Touray needs to reach out to all the parties and show deference especially for the sacrifices they’ve made over the years.  She needs to woo the older opposition groups, not the other way around. The larger opposition parties that already have structures all over the country will prove invaluable in this endeavor. Finally, Dr. Touray needs to be wary of some of us in the diaspora. Enough said.
3. She is NOT a career politician and will only serve 5 years which will enable everyone to sit at the table as compatriots and hammer out a genuine constitution reflective of Gambians’ desire for a future to prevent a recurrence of the horror of the present and recent past.

This is not to question anybody’s patriotism or intention. However, the problem is, neither patriotism nor good intention in and of themselves build countries. Skills and knowledge do. If anything, true patriotism should spur ALL the opposition leaders to come together to rally around one candidate to save our country from the crazy tyrant tearing it at the seams.  We can choose as a country to respect ourselves by dignifying the exalted office of president by refusing to endorse candidates who lack certain basic MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS or we can keep up the current path of desecrating the office. Regardless of the semantics one may read or hear, the simple truth is our tiny country is really messed up because we routinely let ourselves be consumed by primordial sentiments instead of being faithful to the truth or letting “justice guide our actions” as enshrined in our national anthem.

Lamin Touray Transfered To Mile II Central Prison

A senior officer of national Intelligent Agency was arrested by members of National Drugs Control Agency after over 800 kilograms of cannabis sativa was found in his possession. Until his arrest and subsequent detention Lamin Touray alias Mosquito the was third in command at Tanji NIA Office. Touray is believed to a known drug smuggler from the Southern Senegal to the Gambia. He is said to be operating or carrying cannabis for major Nuha Badjie and other members of the notorious jugglers, Yahya Jammeh’s killer squad. Mosquito ran out of luck forthnight ago while driving in official car of the Speaker of the National Assembly Abdoulie Bojang. He had eight bags in the vehicle all filled with over ten kilo gram of cannabis. 

However, the Speaker of the National Assembly acted against norms or laws of drugs when he walked into drugs Control Agency’s Office and took away his official car. Laws of the drugs Act specifically stated that vehicles and properties used in selling or transportation of drugs shall be forfeited to the State.

Lamin Touray is now transfered to Mile II central prison until his fate is decided by the belligerent government.

Many people who spoke to our reporter observed that Touray has been abandoned by both major Nuha Badjie and speaker Bojang who are believed to be in complicity with Lamin Touray.

In a separate development, Sulayman (commonly called Saul) Sambou who was implicated in the murder of opposition activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng is also in security detention after he was caught with huge amount of cannabis sativa. Both men have yet to be charged or appeared in court.

Ends

Acceptance Speech As UDP Presidential Candidate For December 2016

The National Chairman of the United Democratic Party, Alhaji Dembo Byforce Bojang, the Acting Party leader and Secretary General Aji Yam Secka, honorable members of the Central Committee representing the party structures from all the Regions, party militants, Members of the diplomatic Corps, members of the press, ladies and gentlemen.
There comes a time in the life of an oppressed nation when its people just get up and say enough is enough. We have seen it over and over again throughout the whole world. Gambia is not going to be an exception. WE have reached that stage. We haveallowed our country to exist in fear and we do nothing about it. It was Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States who once said that “When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear the government, you have tyranny.” It is tyranny that prevails in Gambia.

I stand before you, before the whole nation, in humility having been honoured by my party, by the members of my party, by the entire Gambian people in selecting me to carry the flag of the United Democratic Party to victory in the forthcoming presidential elections. This is a great responsibility and I am accepting it with my unquestionable belief in Allah the Almighty and the confidence and trust I have in the Gambian people. I know the Gambian people are yearning for change. They have done so since 1996 and I believe that time has come for that change. My nomination is the first step and I know that with the suffering that all Gambians irrespective of age, sex, religious or tribal background, have without exception experienced, we will bring about change in December.

The United Democratic Party, being the largest single party in the Gambia has done what is expected of it. We have participated in all elections since the lifting of the ban on political activities imposed by the military junta in September, 1996 and apart from the ruling party, we have had the highest number of votes and the largest number of seats in the National Assembly. It was certain to everybody therefore, that the UDP was going to participate in the forthcoming cycle of elections starting with the nomination of its own candidate for president.Yes, we have indeed gone through unimaginable trials, our party alone, among all political entities in this country, our party lone has been singled out for the worst treatment one can imagine to mete out on one’s political opponent. Our party is the only party that has recorded since 1996 hundreds of unlawful arrests and detentions, a dozen of deaths and a handful of unexplained disappearances in the course of this political struggle against the APRC rule.

The past twelve months have marked the beginning of drastic change in this country. It started in Fass Ngagga Choye when our Party leader and the UDP convoy going on a countrywide tour were stopped from continuing their tour. The standoff that followed led to the capitulation of government and granting of a permit to continue. The demonstration by our youths led by Solo Sandeng our Organising Secretary in April this year which led to their illegal arrest and detention and subsequent death in custody of Solo, was the turning point in the history of politics in our country. Our party leader and /Secretary General Lawyer Ousainou Darboe led his Executive to demand the release of Solo or his corpse, and his group and they in turn were arrested and tortured. The kangaroo court that tried them sentenced them to three years. The majority of the arrested executive members are over sixty-five years old. Three of them are over seventy. This cowardly action has led the Gambian people to appreciate that UDP is and has infect always been the party of the people and we are convinced that with the forthcoming elections the Gambian people will show this government that enough is enough.

I have been a member of the UDP since 1996. As an ordinary member I worked for the party in my native constituency of Jimara, in Upper River Region where I was born in the town of Basse. I started my education from Koba Kunda primary school then in 1981 I went to Crab Island Secondary Technical School. After doing well in the secondary school leaving certificate examinations I proceeded to Muslim High School from 1985 to 1988. However, I spent most of my adult life in Banjul in the guardianship of the famous Alhagie Momodou Musa Njie, who introduced me to entrepreneurship and that’s what I have been doing successfully until today. I also lived and travelled extensively in both England and Germany. In 2010 the National Executive of the party appointed me as Coordinator of the UDP URR Committee. This gave me the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the Region and that way extended the membership and support of our party. In 2006, I was again appointed by the Executive as Deputy Treasurer to Amadou Sanneh. I was quite comfortable in accepting this post because I did have prior accounting skills. This job, with the encouragement of Amadou, also broadened my interaction with the grassroots organisations of the party and today I can say that there is no Regional Committee that I am not known in.

The unfortunate and unjustified detention and imprisonment of Amadou Sanneh further added a heavy burden on my shoulders. Not only was Amadou, with his extraordinary experience and knowledge highly suited for the job, he conducted his work with extraordinary skill and humaneness. I had had the fortune of working with and accepted to take on the job and in accepting it I knew what experienced working with him would stand me in a good position. This position not only further brought me into wider contact with our members throughout the country, but as a senior member of Executive gave me the possibility of taking part in major business of the party and contributing personally in the decision making regarding matters of national importance.

My role as Acting Treasurer, a position I have now held for thepast three years, has enabled me to cultivate a rich relationship with my colleagues on the Executive as well as party officials in the various regional committees and indeed at grassroots level. I can say with absolute certainty therefore, that I enjoy the confidence and support of both the Executive as well as the party rank and file. As has been the case in my normal interaction with them I know that I will get their full encouragement and support knowing full well that that is the way to achieving our noble object of taking back our country. I have also within the framework of our interactions with the Gambian Diaspora, worked closely with UDP Chapters overseas.

As we take this bold step to enter the fifth cycle of elections since the military coup, we do so for our leaders, who have been unjustly arrested, imprisoned for months without bail maltreated and then sentenced to four years in prison. We will be letting them down and betraying them if we sit by and allow Yaya Jammeh to win these elections. As the leading party we owe it to them and the entire Gambian people to fight as if they were with us and win. Winning the elections will enable us to remove them from unlawful imprisonment and enable them to take their rightful places among their fellow Gambians and continue relentlessly their mission of redeeming and reconstructing our country from the terrible situation it has found itself for the past twenty two years.

As I accept the nomination as the party’s presidential candidate, let me urge you all – members of my party, and fellow Gambians in general, to rededicate ourselves to this noble task of salvaging our country. I wish to appeal to all Gambians particularly leaders and members of other sister parties to get together and unite around the common cause that we are unanimous that we havein common – remove this government in the polls and create a government truly of the people and by the people. In the coming days, my fellow Gambians I will be stretching my hands to other parties to come together to form a single front to once and for all take this soulless dictator out. It is a monumental task but we owe it to our country, to our leaders to do it and do it the right way.

In the next few days, our Executive and I would be contacting our colleagues in the other parties and other interested groups with a view to engaging in a dialogue that could lead to creating a conducive and feasible arrangement that would lead to the defeat of this government. I wish to call upon all Gambians to take these forthcoming elections seriously. We cannot continueanother five years under Yaya Jammeh.

I thank the Executive and the Central Committee for giving me honour and privilege to serve the party in this capacity and I solemnly promise I will do all in my power to lead the party to success in the polls and beyond. May Allah guide and protect us and bless our beloved country.

Long Live the United Democratic Party
Long live Ousainou Darboe and his colleague political prisoners
Long live the Gambia

I thank you all for your attention.

Ends

How Mamma Kandeh Surprises Yahya Jammeh

The emergence of a little known opposition presidential candidate in the person of Mama Kandeh has left Gambians caught up in a vigorous debate. While supporters see the new man as the saviour in waiting, opponents cast doubts on Mama Kandeh’s genuineness. They view him as a front cover for Yahya Jammeh. Mama’s failure to stand tall with the oppressed leadership of the United Democratic Party and a key member of his Gambia Democratic Congress Tina Faal have all been used against him. But his surrogates are convinced that their candidate deserves a chance for bringing new energy and enthusiasm into Gambian politics. For them, the former Jimara APRC lawmaker’s crowd speaks for itself. Still opponents have problem with many issues, including Mama Kandeh’s willingness to give amnesty to Yahya Jammeh, the man whose hands are filled with innocent Gambian blood.

In the light of the above, Kairo News decides to put its Banjul correspondent to investigate whether Mama Kandeh’s presidential bid has anything to do with Yahya Jammeh. His investigate has proven that Mama might have a hidden agenda but he has absolutely nothing to do with his former party leader.  “The president has been at pains for being lied to that Mama Kandeh has no political clout or muscle but he saw a totally different story,” one ruling party says. “He has been hauling insults at everything for one week when he saw Mama’s large crowd in Brikama.”

Mr. Jammeh fears that Kandeh’s candidacy will weaken him because his party becomes the biggest casualty. He believes that bulk of his (Mama’s) supporters come from the APRC. “Jammeh is scared to the bone that opposition victory is guaranteed when you have Mama in the ring. He doesn’t think Mama will win but it will help opposition UDP to win the December election with a simple majority. Kandeh has shattered Jammeh’s coalition,” a State House source tellsKairo News.

Our correspondent is also investigating why 75 plainclothes officers have gone countrywide tour with the GMC leader.

Ends

PIU Command Frown Military Fusion

Heads of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) have frowned at President Yahya Jammeh’s plans to amalgamate the PIU with the Gambia National Army (GNA). They threaten to throw in their towel if the president remains adamant in implementing the senseless plan.

The amalgamation of the gendarmerie and police was believed to be the beginning of President Dawda Jawara’s troubles. Security experts say the amalgamation of the military and the PIU will easily get the job done. “Jammeh is scared of the military that is why he wants to turn the PIU into soldiers overnight and arm them,” said a security expert. “He is simply digging his graveyard.”

The PIU chiefs see the fusion plan with pinch of salt. They are concerned about the resulting backlash. For instance, they are worried about escalation of “bad blood” between the military and the PIU.

The PIU chiefs have since been brainstorming about the amalgamation, wondering what might have triggered the plan. “We have chosen to become police officers and see no reason why we should become part of the military. The planned amalgamation cannot work; it is not a viable option,” PIU chiefs complain.

Meanwhile, the amalgamation has been put on hold until what our sources call some serious issues are ironed out.

Over the years, the PIU has proven to be one of the most effective brutal machine for Yahya Jammeh. The unit is implicated in the besting of peaceful opposition protesters in April and May this year, resulting to the death of Ebrima Solo Krummah, the Vice Chairman of the UDP in Sandu Constituency.

Ends

     

UNITED DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UDP)
PRESS RELEASE
NOTICE FOR THE SELECTION OF PARTY
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
United Democratic Party (UDP) hereby gives notice for the selection of the party Presidential Candidate for the December 1st 2016 Presidential Elections.
1. Application for selection as the party presidential candidate is open to all interested party members.
2. All applications must be addressed and submitted to the Chairperson UDP Central Committee on or before Tuesday 30th August, 2016 at 10. 00 am prompt.
3. The UDP Central Committee chaired by the party Secretary General shall meet on Tuesday 30th August, 2016 at 11.00 am at the party National Bureau in Banjul, to act on the applications duly received.
4. The UDP Selection Committee chaired by the Party National President shall meet on Wednesday 31st August, 2016 at 11. 00 am at the party National Bureau in Banjul, to do the selection of the party Presidential Candidate for the December 1st 2016 Elections.
5. The UDP will formerly unveiled the Party Presidential Candidate for the December 1st 2016 Elections, on Thursday 1st September, 2016 through press conference to be held at the party National Bureau in Banjul at 11. 00 am.
   
……………………………………..
Mariam B. Secka
Chairperson UDP Central Committee
24th August, 2016

Another Hero Tortured To Death,,United Democratic Party,,

The United Democratic Party (UDP) – The Gambia wishes to inform the general public and the international community that another UDP detainee, Solo Krummah, arrested since on the 9th May 2016 and currently under trial, has died in state custody at the Edward Francis’s Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul . Solo was admitted on the 8th August 2016 and reportedly underwent an operation on Friday 19th August 2016 and died on the 20th August 2016 at about 7.15 am after the operation. The party and family members up to the issuance of this statement have not been formally notified of the death. The circumstances surrounding his medical condition leading to his admission and the subsequent actions undertaken by his jailers remain unknown to his immediate family and the UDP as both were repeatedly denied access to him throughout his stay in state custody. During the period of his admission at the hospital, he was denied visits as well as food from both the family and party members. There were security officials around him throughout, three or two armed soldiers and two prison guards. Neither the family nor the party consented to any form of treatment that was either performed or withheld throughout his time in jail or at the hospital. Consequently party lawyers are acting to determine the exact cause of death as well as make affirmative demands for the state to immediately and unconditionally surrender the body of the victim to his family for proper burial at his native village of Sandu Darsilameh in URR. Solo was the UDP deputy chairman in Sandu Constituency and headed the party in his native Darsilameh village. He is survived by nine daughters, six sons and an elderly father. Additionally, a substantial number of UDP detainees having undergone severe and sustained torture and other degrading treatment throughout their stay in custody require urgent and extensive medical attention which they have been consistently denied despite formal and frequent requests and demands. The situation is especially grave for detainees battling chronic and debilitating conditions that require constant supervised treatment and medication. Others like Lamin Dibba who sustained a serious eye injury from violence inflicted by the police requires urgent specialized care to save his sight as well as female detainees who were subjected to horrendous torture and abuse require immediate medical attention . UDP holds The Gambia government entirely responsible for the death of Solo Krummah as well as the fate of all the detainees they continue to subject to medieval barbarism by intentionally inflicting bodily harm and then steadfastly withhold urgent lifesaving medical interventions to induce death or prolong suffering. We call on all Gambians and by extension the broader international community to hold The Gambia government accountable for its wanton and criminal endangering of the lives of the gallant prisoners of conscience they are unjustly holding on to. To injure and willfully deny medical attention to a state prisoner resulting in death or prolong suffering is evil and contemptible. We demand justice and freedom for the Gambian people and we shall get it sooner or later.

Thanks.

Aji Mariama B. Secka

Deputy Party Leader and Secretary General

Re: Why PDOIS Keeps Ringing Primary Bells

REJOINDER TO BATCH ON WHY PDOIS KEEPS RINGING PRIMARY BELLS?

I think Mr Batch Samba was simply dreaming about Gambian politics when he was writing his ugly and misleading piece if he is indeed an opposition sympathiser. First and foremost, Mr. Batch has contradicted his own self without realising it and must not believe that people will believe in a single bit of his trash that deserves to be in a septic tank.
Batch wants us to believe that PDOIS is a fringe party but fooling no one but himself, however contrary to that, PDOIS is one of the most popular parties ever seen in Gambian politics. He should accept that if his party is indeed the UDP, which have flouted its principles when they have agreed with all other parties after more than one year of talks, signed and launched NADD only for them to withdraw at the last hour on no basis but by simply saying “we cannot be in two parties”, while mischievously wanting to use others for a partisan interest.

Batch argued that, PDOIS is a very small and unpopular party which has no support in the country. While reinforcing that PDOIS would then send its supporters to districts where parties like NDAM, GPDP, PPP and NRP have no bases and these PDOIS supporters would disguise themselves as members of those parties and use other parties as vehicles to secure enough delegates for Candidate Halifa Sallah. How can PDOIS do the above if they do not have support across the country? This is typical of a ‘Charlatan’ who`ve proven to incoherently and illogically put a case against PDOIS.

The supposedly Mr. Clever Batch should read the NADD MOU before coming up with such an incorrigible assertion meant to confuse those who are giving thought to PDOIS` proposal for building an opposition ‘Grande Alliance’ in the December polls.

For your information Part 111 of the ‘ELECTIONS AND TENURE OF OFFICE’ of the NADD MOU on the nomination of candidate states that: “The selection of the candidate of the Alliance for the Presidential, National Assembly and Council elections shall be done by consensus; provided that in the event of an impasse selection shall be done by holding a Primary election restricted to party delegates on the basis of equal number of delegates, comprising the chairman, chairwoman and youth leader of each party from each village/ward in a Constituency.”
The UDP and NRP left NADD during consensus building which could have been achieved at the time without having to go through any sort of ‘Primaries’. UDP also had the option of pushing for the same Primary method, since it was confident of its overwhelming grassroots support.

Batch is also aware of the damage inflicted on his would be party by its impromptu withdrawal from NADD without a tangible explanation to the general public. That dent cannot be repaired or undone by a ‘Charlatan’ at this last hour by simply coming up with frivolous stories that are not convincing to even ‘Lilliputians’ in politics. How can other parties become vehicles for PDOIS in a primary without the knowledge and support of their leaders? Batch is at this hour trying to apologise on behalf of his leaders who had betrayed the Gambian people for their selfish and power hungry schemes in 2016.
Can any sensible person believe Batch when he said PDOIS will replace all Chairmen, Chairwomen and Youth Leaders of all these parties without the knowledge of such parties? Is this not absurd in every respect? It is parties that will name their position holders and not any other way around.

It beats my imagination that people who are genuinely interested in coalition building to remove a tyrant can at this hour come up with blatant lies as to place a wedge between PDOIS and the UDP. I wonder what his objective at this instance is.

I could have gone into the narration of history to expose the NADD history but that may as well divert readers from the coalition issue rather than the efforts my party is making in a collective scheme of coalition building.

Batch should go ahead and teach his party what politics to utilise to win election instead of coaching PDOIS. Can I remind him that since Gambia’s self rule leading to the first republic in 1970, no opposition party has ever changed the country through elections? That is not limited to PDOIS alone but even parties that used all the unethical schemes mentioned above have not also succeeded including the party he supposedly belongs to.
You are too mediocre to refer to Halifa’s father in your write up, which shows how empty you are in politics. It also shows how spiteful you are towards Halifa and Halifa has no such design hatred towards you and your kind. Those of us who are supporting PDOIS and Halifa are not doing so because of any relationship or personal interest but based on compatriotism. We belong to the same country under the sun and we all yearn GOOD for our dear mother/father’s land. Up to now, hawkers are selling beside Halifa’s father’s compound wall and Halifa has never thrown a stone at them. No one should vote for Halifa or vote against Halifa because of his father who has never vie for political office. You said Gambians need change but you are concentrating on what our fathers and mothers have done instead of on issues that concern change in 2016 and you call yourself a change agent.

Batch, NADD emerged for the cause of Gambians and it is written in the preamble of the NADD MOU that” it emerged to answer to the call of the Gambian people for greater national unity transcending tribe, religion, gender, place of origin, birth, disability or any other status.”

“NADD stands for a future that will place your country right into your sovereign hands. NADD aims to utilize the public power derived from your authority to safeguard people’s liberty, dignity and prosperity. After 41 years of independence, the Gambia deserves nothing less.”

NADD stands for a dual carriageway to liberate the Gambian people from powerlessness, voicelessness and poverty.”

If all parties had adhered to the principles embedded in its MOU, we would by now be narrating a different history and sure APRC would have been history.

PDOIS is very realistic when it comes to unity of forces. It is very much conscious that Gambians are divided by so many parochial differences between political groupings. This is why it is simply leaving matters in the hands of the electorates at this material time.
Whoever the people want, should lead the coalition and stand under a neutral banner and be supported by all parties and individual politicians with finance, intelligence, wisdom, labour, skill and all what is necessary in this struggle.

PDOIS keeps ringing the ‘Primary Bell’ because it believes that is the route believable by many parties and individuals but PDOIS is not saying that is the only bell to ring and this is why it is calling on other parties to ring their bells for all of us to listen and hear.

Finally, those of us who are in for genuine change should concentrate our efforts on what is positive and refuse to be diverted by those who belong to the ruling party but disguising as opposition to place a wedge between us as to create misunderstanding as a vehicle to disunity in the December 2016 polls if we are to attain the dream of our people.

May we not be persuaded and diverted by such scandalous stories meant to plant the seed of discord among us.

Forward Ever, Backward Never!

Sulayman Ba

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PDOIS Plans For The Much Talk About Primary

It has been a persistent song of the leadership and supporters of PDOIS that the best and only viable way of selecting the leader of an opposition Coalition is through a primary election. One will wonder why a small and unpopular political party like PDOIS has been adamant on primary election. The fact is that the party is confident of sweeping a primary election, and I will explain why and how. Most readers of this piece will be left crestfallen about my revelation but I can’t keep quiet any more. It’s time to vomit the truth. Yahya Jammeh’s yranny hurts!

Since 2006, the fringe party hatched a Master Plan aimed at gaming any future primary election involving opposition parties. The plan was a bait to trap heavyweight parties like the UDP to agree on a primary to elect a candidate for NADD in 2006. Once all the parties agree, PDOIS would recommend that each party sends in equal number of delegates from every constituency to the primary. Since not all opposition parties have supporters in all the districts, the PDOIS will then send their supporters to districts where parties like NDAM, GPDP, PPP or NRP have no base.

The tricky part is that these PDOIS supporters will disguise as other party supporters, singing their slogan as well as raising their flags. These disguised PDOIS recruits will then use other parties as vehicles to secure enough delegate vote for candidate Halifa Sallah.

This sinister plan was leaked to Lawyer Darboe in 2006 shortly before the NADD flag bearer was chosen. Because of this and many other reasons, the UDP pulled out of NADD knowing fully that sincerity and honesty were defeated. Lawyer Darboe had to grapple with the pain of being betrayed by the people he had respected and trusted. I owe Darboe an apology for not sounding the bell before he had invested his precious time and energy into the NADD coalition talks.

What we should ask is whether the delegate plot would see the light. Yes, it can. Even if it works, the question is whether it will translate into votes for the PDOIS selected leader. The answer is an emphatic NO.

With all their abundant knowledge and wealth of political experience, the PDOIS leaders fail to understand why politics succeeds and fails. If they understand, then they are killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Success and failure of politics everywhere hinges on connection, which is lacking within the PDOIS ranks. Every type of connection – family, friends or connections of your family/friend connection – runs and grease the engines of politics.  Without connection, there is no politics. Truth be told, this is what the PDOIS leadership lacks. The party officials may not like it but this is what has bedeviled Halifa Sallah’s presidential ambitions.

I am quite sure that Baye Faals orTalibes of PDOIS are sharpening their swords ready to assault me. I’m not the least concerned because someone needs to hammer truth home even if it means causing chaos. As a member of the PDOIS’ delegate recruitment in various districts, I can’t keep quiet any longer. When this strategy was being devised, most of the so-called die-hard supporters of PDOIS were still small boys and girls or better put it political virgins.

This is why most of you are thinking that the PDOIS is a popular party and that Gambian electorate is ready and willing to vote for Halifa Ababacarr Sallah. A presidential aspirant whose father used to throw his walking stick at hawkers for selling around his compound gate at Serekunda. Do you expect the same struggling hawkers and their families to vote for Halifa? Heck no! I rest my case and wait for Baye Faals to swing on me. Then I will spill more beans. Gone are the days of deception, betrayal and selfishness. All Gambians need is a change.

Batch Samba Baldeh

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EU Cannot Tolerate The Rights Of Citizens Of The Gambia Being Violated By The Country’s Dictator.

European lawmakers want their Union to adopt a tougher stance against Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. They also want the bloc to provide support to the Gambia’s opposition parties and civil society organisations as well as begin the process of Article 96 consultation with the Gambia’s tyrannical government.

At a recent plenary session at Strasbourg, Germany, EU lawmakers across Europe took turns to deplore the appalling human rights situation in the Gambia.

In her contribution to the debate, Italian MP said the death of Solo Sandeng has changed the dynamics. Cecile Kashetu Kyene said the EU can no longer tolerate the arrogance and systematic repression on civilians.

“In line with the Cotonou Agreement, we want to carry out actions such as the freezing of non humanitarian aid to Banjul in order to have target sanction such as travel ban to ensure people have responsibility for their action,” she said.

Jean-Paul Denanot of France said the EU cannot tolerate the rights of citizens of the Gambia being violated by the country’s dictator. “We must do all we can to ensure the restoration of democracy to this country of less than two million people. The EU must stand with the people of the Gambia,” Mr. Denanot said.

A Greece lawmaker also abhorred the Jammeh government’s unacceptable excesses. Notis Marias said since 1994, there has been disappearances in the country that are of political nature. Maritas said the EU must take immediate action to put an end to the Gambia’s disrespect for the human rights and the rule of law.

For Stanislav Polcak of Czech Republic, it was about time the EU provided support to the Gambia’s embattled opposition parties. “The EU is still the largest donor to the Gambia and I ask: is it possible to support a government that acts so despicably to its own citizens rather we should support the opposition?”

Neena Gill of the United Kingdom wants the bloc to support Gambian civil society organisations who are in the forefront standing up for reform in the Gambia. Gill is concerned about the implication of elections in a country where the playing field is anything but level. “Can the election be really free and fair?” Gill asked.

Germany lawmaker appealed to the EU to work closely with the ECOWAS and AU to address the situation in the Gambia. “We have got to stop what is happening in the Gambia,” Jordis Sebastia said.

Ignazio Carrao of Italy described President Jammeh as a brutal dictator who promotes corruption and nepotism and continues to violate the rights of its citizens. “We call on the Gambian authorities to end illegal detention of Gambians.”

David Martin of the UK said “we now need Article 96 Consultation to send a clear message to the Gambia that if they do not stop arbitrary arrests and if the police and NIA do not bring an end to brutality and torture, the EU would consider cutting all relations with them. This is a brutal regime and it needs a brutal response.”

More information on the debate can be found on the link below:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getVod.do?mode=chapter&language=EN&vodDateId=20160512-11:03:22-234

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