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Freedom Newspaper Mail Bag:What our readers say today!!!
By Jabou Joh

"The leadership of the UDP/NRP Alliance is very conversant with the laws of The Gambia and in particular laws regulating and governing election matters. Probably if the views of some people who are part of the UDP/NRP Alliance were heeded the legal and constitutional mess created by the registration of NADD would have been averted

Well, in view of the above pronouncement, the billion dollar questions I would like to ask are these. If the intentions of the UDP/NRP to forge an alliance with the other opposition parties weresincere and genuine and They were not seeking and have never sought power for its sake as they say, then one must necessarily ask:

1. where were all these learned legal minds who claim to be "conversant with the laws of The Gambia and in particular laws regulating and governing election matters" when the formation of NADD was presented to them and they accepted it?

2. Where were these capable legal minds when the MOU was being put together
so they could lend their legal expertise to make sure they applied the above
mentioned knowledge to ensure no problems arose with the terms outlined in
the document?

3. And even if these capable legal minds did not take part in formulating
the MOU ( and if so, then shame on them) where were they when it was time
to review it and make sure that nothing jeopadizes this golden opportunity for
all those who profess to love and dedicate themselves to the service of our
country and our people to join hands and pool resources together to save
mother Gambia from the APRC beast that is devouring our country and our people on
a daily basis? Surely nothing could be more urgent or more important for all
patriotic sons and daughters who are not driven by personal aggrandizement
and lust for power to make certain that this document was in order?. Surely no
one with such legal expertise or who has such legal expertise available to them
should ever have to affix their signature to a document they vehemently
disagree with, especially a document that spells out an agreement such as
this if your intention was to really abide by the agreement?

3. Where were they when the registration of NADD as a political party was
proposed to them and upon reviewing the MOU, their legal expertise led them
to the conclusion they are now claiming as the reason they left NADD? Then
what exactly was the reason they did not scream as loud as possible to oppose it
for the sake of salvaging the alliance for the interest of Gambia and the
long suffering Gambian public if their intentions in this regards were genuine?

4. Where were they when they held a grand signing ceremony of the NADD MOU
kindling a hope in our people that they later trampled upon?

5. Where were they when they jointly agreed to sponsor candidates under the
NADD ticket?

One would have thought that these capable legal minds who want to lead a
country forward would have never agreed to put pen to paper to sign unto
something that their legal expertise told them was flawed in the first
place instead of using it as an excuse after the fact or was that the plan?

Besides, UDP & NRP were still in NADD after the same court ruling that Mr
Darboe is quoting as the reason they cannot re-join NADD now was made and
they still went on to field a NADD candidate in the by-elections. Why did they
not leave NADD there and then even if their legal expertise missed all the
above mentioned opportune times to object to the MOU up to that time?

The proposal by the UDP/NRP alliance to have NADD join them and just leave
the rest of the details to be worked out according to the constitution is
not one made in good faith by someone who wants to see the opposition unite
or who wants to see real change in our political system, nor does it reflect
the legal expertise that is being claimed here because our constitution is in
tatters and anyone who wants to conduct business under a new government
according to the present constitution that Yaya Jammeh has altered beyond
recognition to legitimize his criminal acts against our people signals a
scary prospect indeed.

Such a proposal in my view was put forth because the UDP/NRP alliance is
not interested in any reconcilliation of the opposition to save Gambians from a
brutal dictatorship. They simply still foolishly think they can win come
September or they think they can bamboozle their colleagues in NADD to
surrender to them and tote the line like Mr Hamat Bah so Ousainou Darboe can fulfill
his dreams of becoming President.

They knew no one in their right minds who had the interest of our people
and our country at heart would agree to such a preposterous and insincere
proposal. This agenda of the UDP/NRP alliance is clearly manifested in this response
and in the almost daily.barrage of UDP/NRP supporters' writings on this
list as well as in other Gambian online papers where they shamelessly engage in
manifesting the most blatant hatred, mostly towards the person of Halifa
Sallah that I have ever seen Gambians engage in even at the expense of sounding
totally clueless about what it is that really matters here. And what is it
that Halifa Sallah and NADD are guilty of except wanting the best for all
Gambians and having the capability and competence to bring about such change?

What a shame that when our country and our people are at their most needy
hour, all these biased, power seeking and yes tribalists have to offer us
is a daily dose of hatred for their compatriots that is so evident in their
writings in which one can clearly see that it is certainly not intelligence
and a dedication to what is best for all Gambia's people that guides them, but
rather the propagation of self interest even at the expense of our national
interest. The question we must make sure we ask ourselves in the face of
such is this. Can we in Africa afford to continue to lend our support to such
backward thinking individuals and still hope to have results that are different from
what we have had for far too many years and which has brought us to where
we are today? As someone said, to engage in that exercise is the definition of
insanity.

If Gambians want to see a change that is real, and not just another window
dressing exercise with dubious agenda, a change that is sincere, genuine
and something they can truly experience, and which will come as a result of the
work and dedication of capable and truly dedicated people whose only desire
is to do what is best for ALL Gambians regardless of ethnic, religious or
tribal affiliation, a Gambia where you do not have to be afraid to speak your mind
or support the political party of your choice, then PLEASE DO SOMETHING
GOOD FOR YOURSELVES AS WELL AS ALL YOUR FELLOW GAMBIANS AND VOTE FOR NADD come September 22!!

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By Salam Mahama

Oh Opposition: Don't you Understand that Yahya MUST Go

The issue is not who is refusing or who the problem is when it comes to
uniting the opposition. It is rather one of misplaced agenda.

The agenda is simple Jemmah must GO, all who want him to go must make some
scarifice.

It was with a reason that the constitution was changed to exclude second
round. He saw how he narrowly won, despite all the resource and
registratiion of non Gambians.We could not stop that because Jammeh had the
majority in the rubber stamp parliament, we could not get the international
community help us because we do not matter as a nation. If there is arms conflict today (God forbid) nothing will change in the sub region so no one cares.

What we are looking for today is descent change, are change may not
necessary better but it gives us a full realization that we can always
change and may one day find a better leader.

Please Opposition, the time is Now and now that the days are numbered, and our
sons, husbands, daughters, wives, sisters and brothers are dying. We just
don’t wish to have Jammeh there again, we want a change.

If you can not agree on terms of unity, please why not let’s toss a die as
to which of the opposition groups provides the Presidential candidate.

Please a word to the wise is enough, but let me warn, some of you currently
leading the opposition may not live to see the next election. I am sure
Jammeh may learn a few lessons from the September 2006 election and decide
his next line of action.

Salam Mahama
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Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2006 (Archive on Tuesday, August 29, 2006)
Posted by PNMBAI Contributed by PNMBAI

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