WHY PDOIS WAS NOT IN RALEIGH

Below is the press release issued by PDOIS on why it was not at the Raleigh meeting of 17-19 May, 2013.

22 May 2013

The PDOIS received a letter from the organisers of the Raleigh  Conference inviting the Secretary General of PDOIS  to a Conference to be held in Raleigh North Carolina from the 18^th to 20th May aimed at deliberating on strategies and tactics on how to effect peaceful change in the Gambia.  The Central Committee of PDOIS met to review the invitation and came to the conclusion that two preliminary steps are necessary before such a meeting could   take place in a manner that would yield the desired results of a national consensus on strategies and tactics for peaceful political change. First and foremost, the opposition at home had to arrive at a consensus on the way forward at the meeting or convey the wrong impression that they are so divided that they could not forge a United Front for Democratic change.

Journalist Fatou Jaw Manneh Calls For An End To Jammeh’s Misrule!

Raleigh Presentation By Fatou Jaw Manneh At The Raleigh Conference

Theme:  SINCE 1994, UNDER THE APRC LED GOVERNMENT HAS BROUGHT DRACONIAN LAWS TO MARGINALIZE JOURNALIST AND FREE PRESS. PRACTISING JOURNALISM HAS BECOME THE MOST DANGEROUS TRADE IN PRESENT DAY GAMBIA. UNDER THIS ATMOSPHERE, WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE INDEPENDENT PRESS IN THE FIGHT TO RESTORE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS?

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen:

When I got the request and invitation to present a paper on Gambian journalism, I sent word to Gambian journalists on the ground for input lest I leave out any important details. The information I got from my colleagues on the state of journalism in the last 19 years under President Yahya Jammeh amounted to a booklet. That’s right, I got lots of feedback. I skimmed through it all, and in summary, I am honored today to represent the voices of Gambian journalism and to convey their predicament verbatim. It would have been ideal for one of my colleagues in The Gambia to come here today and present this paper and explain the tragic story of Gambian journalism under President Jammeh, but all the same, I will attempt, with this presentation, to paint a thorough picture of the state of Gambian journalism and also to relay the plight of my colleagues to the world.

Yahya Jammeh To Leave Banjul For Ethiopia To Attend AU Summit!

By The Soldier

Pa, This is The Soldier again. My able boss, permission to write and I know it is granted. My able boss devil Zeinab is at state house and she is not happy at all. She can smell the end but she is addicted to the free money she gets from dictator Jammeh. She is greedy and is here to get more and also celebrate the birthday of dictator Jammeh. So let's see what she is going to say because dictator Jammeh is sleeping with..... She praise sings devil Zeinab and at the same time sleeps with dictator Jammeh. TIME WILL TELL and THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL. Dictator JAMMEH likes ladies with big 'WANGS", at a previous occasion she shook her behind and dictator Jammeh could not resist and instantly re-instated her. Dictator Jammeh is a monster who likes it all and will not allow anyone to get anything nice. He is jealous and that is why he deals with foreigners and hates GAMBIANS. Pa, according to reliable informants at Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and airport officials, dictator Jammeh may travel either tonight or tomorrow to go attend the AU meeting in Ethiopia. One of The Soldier's agent is part of the advance team. Dictator Jammeh will try to re-establish relationship because he has lost respect from the rest of the African leaders. Pa, we will tell you which airline and what time dictator Jammeh will take off for this trip.

Hamat Bah Accuses Jammeh Government Of Lying To Gambians About The EU 17 Point Demands, When The Regime Claimed That The EU Wanted To Introduce Gay Marriage In The Gambia!

President Yahya Jammeh and his government tried to fool the Gambian populace by claiming that the European Union wanted to introduce gay marriage in the Gambia, when the EU issued its 17 Points Article 8 demands for good governance reformation in the Gambia, Hamat Bah, the leader of the National Reconciliation Party, tells a Raleigh meeting held in the Triangle here this past weekend. Mr. Bah said the Jammeh regime went as far as misleading the country’s citizenry about the realities surrounding the EU 17 point demands by asking communities to demonstrate against the EU request. Mr. Bah noted that the regime’s agenda was to deceive and lie to its people by falsely misrepresenting the EU communication. The NRP leader said his party had tried its very best in trying to educate Gambians about what the EU wanted to the Jammeh regime to do, but unfortunately, Bah, said the government propaganda and misinformation campaign had manipulated the minds of the people.

Raleigh Conference Diary Part One!

Something strange occurred during the Gambian conference held in the Triangle over the weekend. Guess what? A key member of the organizers of the conference Mr. Alkali Conteh rudely interrupted a Freedom Radio interview we had with Ousainanou Darboe, the leader of Gambia’s main opposition group—the United Democratic Party (UDP).  Mr. Conteh emerged from the conference main hall at the start of the interview to ask Mr. Darboe to discontinue the interview without allowing the Freedom Editor to finish his interview with Mr. Darboe. Mr. Darboe was at the hallway at the time speaking with Freedom Radio’s Pa Nderry M’Bai during their short break. Mr. Darboe’s brother Yaya Darboe, and a handful of conference delegates witnessed the fracas. Mr. Conteh confronted Mr. Darboe by telling him “Ngataa” in Mandingka—meaning lets go. He persistently asked Lawyer Darboe to discontinue the interview.