Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply. To register, click here. Registration is FREE!
|
T O P I C R E V I E W |
Momodou |
Posted - 19 Jun 2021 : 13:36:34 GAMBIA-L Digest 49
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Not So Separate: Ebonics, Language of Richard Nixon (fwd) by saidy@leed.chem.ubc.ca (Madiba Saidy) 2) PRINCE CAHRLES URGES 'MATERIALISTIC' WEST TO SEEK GUIDANCE FROM ISLAM by TSaidy1050@aol.com 3) JANUARY 2 1997 ELECTIONS by TSaidy1050@aol.com 4) Re: JANUARY 2 1997 ELECTIONS by binta@iuj.ac.jp 5) NEWS ABOUT THE GAMBIA by TSaidy1050@aol.com 6) Happy new Year!!! by mjallow@st6000.sct.edu (Modou Jallow) 7) Gambia chooses new parliament on Thursday (fwd) by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> 8) New year greetings. by ABALM@aol.com 9) PRESIDENT JAMMEH'S NEW YEAR MASSAGE by TSaidy1050@aol.com 10) Young ex-soldier expected to win Gambia election (fwd) by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> 11) Introduction by Chris Foxwell <foxwell@globalxs.nl> 12) AFRICA-POLITICS: Civil Society Grows Stronger And Stronger by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 13) Re: PRINCE CAHRLES URGES 'MATERIALISTIC' WEST TO SEEK GUIDANCE FROM ISLAM by Alieu Jawara <umjawara@cc.UManitoba.CA> 14) Reuters Africa Highlights / [Jan 2] (fwd) by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> 15) New Member by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 16) NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS RESULTS by TSaidy1050@aol.com 17) FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by TSaidy1050@aol.com 18) Gambian president's party wins parliamentary poll (fwd) by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> 19) Gambia returns to civilian rule under ex-soldier (fwd) by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> 20) Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 21) Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by MJagana@aol.com 22) Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by "Peter K.A. da Costa" <ipspdc@harare.iafrica.com> 23) Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 24) New Member by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 25) New Member by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 26) new member by ABALM@aol.com 27) New Member by momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) 28) Re: New Members by "Malanding S. Jaiteh" <msjaiteh@mtu.edu> 29) Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by BASS KOLLEH DRAMMEH <KOLLS567@QATAR.NET.QA> 30) Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS by "Famara A. Sanyang" <famaraas@amadeus.cmi.no>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 1996 16:29:39 -0800 (PST) From: saidy@leed.chem.ubc.ca (Madiba Saidy) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Not So Separate: Ebonics, Language of Richard Nixon (fwd) Message-ID: <9612300029.AA13078@leed.chem.ubc.ca> Content-Type: text
December 29, 1996
Not So Separate: Ebonics, Language of Richard Nixon
By KAREN DE WITT
[W] ASHINGTON -- In local television studios and at dinner tables all across America last week, everyone had an opinion about the Oakland Board of Education's resolution requiring its teachers to appreciate and understand black English. But most Americans, black, white or other, don't have to learn to appreciate black English. They already use it.
Whether it is a separate language (linguists disagree on this), slang or just non-standard speech, the cadences, phrasing and structure of English as spoken by many black Americans has so worked its way into the mainstream as to become an invisible thread in the linguistic tapestry.
Uptight. Outta sight. Aaahh, right. Groovin' Jivin' Slippin' Slidin'. I'm baaad. Dissin'. Wannabe. Crib. Shades. You, go girl. My man.
While the Oakland resolution is meant to recognize the separateness and difference of black English, its integration into the national tongue can also be seen as a vindication of the melting-pot theory.
From Madison Avenue's appropriation of rap rhythms and words to sell breakfast cereal to Richard Nixon's use of "right on" -- and, of course, to the players and fans at just about any sporting event -- Americans of all varieties spice up their English with the argot of black America.
"It's esthetically appealing," said Albert Murray, the jazz critic and novelist. "Black English has appealed to people from the earliest days of America, from minstrels to jazz. Whether they laughed at it or imitated it, they used it and were changed by it."
Even that quintessential Americanism "OK" turns out to be a direct descendant of the West African word "wakey," according to Robert MacNeil in the 1986 PBS series "The Story of English."
For that matter, the whole of standard English is a gumbo rich in words of African ancestry, including gumbo itself; there is goober and banjo, voodoo and jubilee, jambalaya, bubba, lanky, cola, banana, chigger, mumbo jumbo, jazz, juke, mojo and zombie.
From such African-rooted words to the hip-hop talk of today's central cities (and, increasingly, their white suburbs), black speech and phrasing have had a growing presence in American society as more and more blacks have been integrated into the general culture. Phrases and words once limited to a segregated section of town or a semi-isolated region now can be heard coast to coast.
"Whazzup?" screams Martin Lawrence of "Martin," the Fox Network television show, and every American of whatever ilk or color in every living room across the country has no more difficulty translating that than the "What's up, Doc?" of his cotton-tailed precursor, Bugs Bunny.
Then there are words of mixed, or uncertain, ancestry. "Yo" might have started out white and Philadelphian (call it the "Rocky" theory), but now it's a rappers' word. So is "bogart," the verb meaning roughly -- to blacks, though not to '60s potheads -- to tough one's way through a situation, the way Humphrey Bogart would.
The language of black America bubbles up from the streets, percolates through its music, infiltrates the entertainment industry and spills out into the language of all Americans.
"The wider society picks and chooses the words that blacks use that resonate with its experience," said Dr. Elijah Anderson, Day Professor of Social Science at the University of Pennsylvania. "It is taken from a particular experience and made into something general. It is part of the assimilation process. You see Vietnamese kids and white kids in Boston not only wearing the baggy pants but using the same language as inner-city black kids."
Most particularly, it has found its way into the songs we sing and the way we sing them.
The late Johnny Mercer's "Blues in the Night" draws its structure ("My momma done told me ....") from the Gullah language of his Savannah childhood. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the consummate rock 'n' roll lyricists (and both white), credited the inspiration for their songs to the sounds of blackness that both fell in love with when they were teen-agers. Stoller went to an integrated summer camp; Leiber worked as a delivery boy in the black neighborhoods of Baltimore.
"We wrote black songs for black people," Leiber said in an interview in The New York Times last year. They wrote "Hound Dog" not for Elvis Presley, who made it famous, but for Willie May (Big Mama) Thornton, the black rhythm and blues singer. In the process, a song about a woman who is throwing out a faithless lover became an anthem of rebellion for 1950s youth, most of them white as Elvis.
"The vocabulary of rock 'n' roll comes directly out of the idiom of black speech, " said Mahmoud El-Kati, professor of history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.
There is a darker side to the sociology of this appropriation, said Dr. El-Kati, that has to do with power and the ability to wield it. "In a sense, black English is elevated when its incorporated into the wider culture," he said. "But when it comes out of black people's mouths it is associated with degradation or stupidity."
Perhaps that has always been part of the transition from separatism to integration. As H.L. Mencken pointed out in his multi-volume treatise "The American Language," American English has always appropriated bits of language and phrases from the various peoples who make up America.
And, as he put it, the vulgar, or common, language of the people is always used most vigorously.
Copyright 1996 The New York Times Company
---------------------------------------------------------- -- ******************************************************************** ** Madiba Saidy ** ** Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory ** ** University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CANADA. ** ** Tel :- (604) 822-4540 (Lab.) Fax :- (604) 822-2847 (lab.) ** ** (604) 228-2466 (home) (604) 228-2466 (home) ** ** Email :- saidy@leed.chem.ubc.ca / msaidy@unixg.ubc.ca ** ********************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 05:16:02 -0500 From: TSaidy1050@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: PRINCE CAHRLES URGES 'MATERIALISTIC' WEST TO SEEK GUIDANCE FROM ISLAM Message-ID: <961230051601_910085255@emout19.mail.aol.com>
Gambia-l,
Below is an article published in THE GUARDIAN in London on Saturday December 14, 1996, which some list members might find very interesting.
Tombong.
Prince Charles urges ‘materialistic’ West to seek guidance from Islam
The Prince of Wales last night made a renewed attack on materialism and called on the West to look to Islam for a better way for man to live in harmony with his environment.
In a speech which brought together themes he has been expounding for 10 years, the Prince, a practising Anglican, praised traditional Islamic culture and called for a renewed "sense of the sacred".
Speaking at a private meeting of 70 academics, religious leaders and businessmen at Wilton Park, Sussex, he said he believed Islam had an important message.
"I feel that we in the West could be helped to rediscover the roots of our own understanding by an appreciation of the Islamic tradition’s respect for the natural order".
"In my view a moral holistic approach is needed now. Modern materialism, in my humble opinion, is unbalanced and increasingly damaging in its long-term consequences".
"Science has tried to assume a monopoly, even a tyranny, over our understanding. We are only now beginning to gauge the results of this disastrous outlook".
He blamed the "sombre and horrifying" consequences of separating science from ethical, moral, and sacred considerations for the outbreak of BSE, the disease transmitted from cows to human.
The Prince first expressed his sympathies with Islam in a speech at Oxford in 1993, but yesterday’s address was his strongest statement on the relationship between East and West.
He takes regular advice on Islamic issues from a group of 12 religious leaders and academics.
The Prince said he believed there should be more Muslim teachers in schools.
"There are many ways in which mutual understanding and appreciation can be built. We need to be taught by Islamic teachers how to learn with our hearts, as well as our heads".
Health, architecture, and the environment would also benefit, he said.
"Hospitals need to be conceived and, above all, designed to reflect the wholeness of healing if they are to help the process of recovery in a complete way"
Farhan Nizami, director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, said: "It is a plea that must and should be welcomed equally by Muslims as well as by Westerners".
Last night in Neasden in north-west London, the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, paid his first visit to the largest Hindu temple outside of India.
Dr. Carey, who has visited mosques, synagogues, temples, and shrines over the years, was greeted by the chief priest, Atma Swarup Swami, when he arrived with his wife and the Bishop of Willesden.
Hundreds of worshippers in the temple’s great hall applauded the archbishop as he entered, preceded by children in brightly-coloured traditional costumes, some carrying symbolic swords.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:04:40 -0500 From: TSaidy1050@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: JANUARY 2 1997 ELECTIONS Message-ID: <961230100440_1457853411@emout12.mail.aol.com>
Gambia-l,
The traffic on the list has dropped drastically, it seems that it is due to the holidays and the fact that the most active members are all in Banjul partying. I am sure they will report back to us their observations while in The Gambia.
Monitoring things from London, all indications are the APRC will win by a landslide. The opposition will win a maximum of 10 seats, and this is a very conservative ‘gestimate.' The APRC is already ahead by six candidates, because they are unopposed. I am sure this coming National Assembly Election will testify to the fact that the APRC is the party of the day in The Gambia today.
There are 108 candidates fighting for 45 seats, and APRC already have 6 of them. The race is actually for 39 seats. This is my prediction: NRP might win one seat at Lower Saloum(their only chance), where the party leader, Hamat Bah, is contesting. He was my classmate at Kaur, and he could win Lower Saloum. UDP could have a maximum of 5 seats and nothing more. They could win in Bakau, Central Baddibu, Lower Baddibu, Jarra East and Kiang West. Bakau is 50/50, Dembo ‘by force’ could lose his seat for the first time. PDOIS will not win any seat and none of the independent candidates will win. I will be providing you the results as they are announced.
All parties are enjoying equal access to the media both the television and radio.
Peace Tombong Saidy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 01:52:30 JST +900 From: binta@iuj.ac.jp To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: JANUARY 2 1997 ELECTIONS Message-ID: <199612301648.BAA20486@mlsv.iuj.ac.jp> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Gambia-l,
It is hearty to learn from Tombong that all political parties, irrespective of shade or ideology, are having equal access to the government-controlled media.
Wishes of a memorable and prosperous 1997 to all of us!
Lamin Drammeh.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 06:40:03 -0500 From: TSaidy1050@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: NEWS ABOUT THE GAMBIA Message-ID: <961231064001_2054020326@emout02.mail.aol.com>
31Dec96 TAIWAN: FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TO VISIT AFRICAN NATIONS IN JANUARY. Taipei (CENS)-The Republic of China will send Minister of Foreign Affairs John Chang to Africa next month to secure ties with its diplomatic allies while trying to form the highest possible relations with South Africa, which plans to switch official recognition to Beijing. "At the invitation of our African diplomatic allies, Foreign Minister John Chang will leave for South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Senegal on January 12 for a visit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Cheng said. Chang will continue to negotiate with high-ranking South African officials on future ties between Taipei and Pretoria, Cheng said. In late November South African President Nelson Mandela announced his decision to cut formal relations with Taiwan and establish diplomatic ties with Beijing, a long-time rival of Taiwan. Taiwan almost immediately sent Chang to South Africa on a damage-control trip, but that effort was in vain so Taiwan retaliated by recalling its ambassador, suspending most of its aid and economic programs for South Africa and canceling 80% of its existing agreements with Pretoria. In the January negotiations, Taiwan hopes that it will be able to establish the highest possible relations with South Africa-a representative office that can issue visas and enjoy diplomatic immunity-if the two cannot remain diplomatic allies, ministry officials said. Cheng said Chang will also meet other African leaders after his Pretoria trip to exchange views on issues of mutual concern and to further strengthen friendly ties with those nations. The Foreign Minister will also inspect ROC embassies and aid groups in these nations, Cheng said. Taiwan has offered both economic aid and other technical aid to poor African nations, but authorities here have declined to release the figures on its aid amount to these countries. Beijing has criticized Taiwan's aid for its 30 diplomatic allies as an attempt to use money to win foreign relations. Taiwan has fired back, claiming mainland China is doing the same thing as evidenced by its use of money to woo away South Africa. (LH). EAST ASIA CHINA ECONOMIC NEWS SERVICE 31/12/96
30Dec96 TAIWAN: TAIWAN ENVOY TO EMBARK ON SEVEN-NATION AFRICA TOUR. [REUTR] (2907) 30Dec96 TAIWAN: TAIWAN ENVOY TO EMBARK ON SEVEN-NATION AFRICA TOUR. TAIPEI, Dec 30 (Reuter) - Taiwan's top envoy will visit seven African nations in January in a latest damage-control mission following South Africa's plan to switch ties to Beijing from Taipei, the foreign ministry said on Monday. Foreign Minister John Chang was scheduled to leave Taipei for its African allies -- South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia and Senegal -- on January 12, a ministry statement said. "Minister Chang will continue discussions with ranking South African officials on new relations between the two countries in the future," it said. Chang would also exchange views of mutual concerns with officials of six other African allies in order to "strengthen friendly ties", it said. Chang was expected back in Taipei on February 2. Chang is currently visiting Guatemala for the signing of a peace pact between the Guatemalan government and leftist rebels. Earlier this month, Chang visited South Africa, where he sought in vain to reverse Pretoria's November 27 decision to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei by the end of 1997. South Africa is the biggest of the 30 countries -- mostly underdeveloped states in Central America and Africa -- that recognise Taiwan's Republic of China government rather than the communist People's Republic of China on the mainland. Communist China, Taiwan's arch rival since a civil war split them in 1949, regards the island as a rebel province ineligible for foreign ties. It has tightened a diplomatic squeeze on Taipei in its quest to bring Taiwan under mainland rule. Analysts have warned of a possible "domino effect" following South Africa's decision. To evade China's diplomatic embargo, Taiwan officials have been engaging in "secret diplomacy" -- unannounced visits to countries that recognise Beijing instead of Taipei. Chang and Vice-President Lien Chan have between them visited Ukraine, Singapore, Malaysia, and Belgium over the past year in similar trips veiled in secrecy. Chang dropped out of sight in December and surfaced in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan where he met senior government officials to promote unofficial relations. Beijing refuses ties to any country that recognises Taiwan, but has stepped up efforts to win over South Africa and the 29 other states that still do. (c) Reuters Limited 1996
29Dec96 GAMBIA: GAMBIA CHOOSES NEW PARLIAMENT ON THURSDAY. By Pap Saine BANJUL, Dec 29 (Reuter) - Voters in the tiny West African tourist haven of Gambia choose a new parliament on Thursday in elections expected to consolidate former military leader Yahya Jammeh's transition from coup leader to elected president. Supporters of Jammeh, who seized power in July 1994 and was elected president last September, are already assured of six of the new parliament's 45 elected seats as no rival candidate is standing against them there. The president nominates a further four legislators. The opposition denounced Jammeh's September election victory, accusing him of monopolising state media during the campaign, but all parties have enjoyed access to the state media during the parliamentary campaign, which ends on Tuesday. Jammeh's main presidential rival, lawyer Ousainou Darboe, has since called for his resignation, accusing him of transferring $24.7 million illegally to a Swiss bank account. "I am a trained lawyer, I can substantiate before any court of law any allegations I make against somebody, especially a head of state," the United Democratic Party (UDP) leader told supporters on the campaign trail. "Vote my MPs, they will rescue the nation," he added. Darboe, who is not standing for parliament himself, took refuge in Senegal's embassy for several days during and after the presidential poll saying he feared for his safety. Jammeh, 31, who toppled civilian president and independence leader Sir Dawda Jawara accusing him of corruption, brushed aside Darboe's accusation. "This is not true, otherwise the country would have been bankrupt," he told a rally of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) formed by his supporters. "If the APRC candidates are elected, I will keep the promise to carry out the development projects," he told voters. Gambia, a poor, mainly Moslem ex-British colony fronting the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by francophone Senegal, depends on tourism, groundnuts and foreign aid to make ends meet. Jammeh's 1994 coup estranged Western donors, some of whom advised their nationals against visiting on security grounds -- hitting the tourist industry hard. Jammeh has since developed ties with Libya, Taiwan and Cuba. Over 100 candidates are contesting the election with only the APRC standing for all 45 seats. The UDP will contest 34. More than 446,000 of Gambia's just over one million people are registered to vote. Under Jawara, parliament had 36 elected members and eight nominated members. (c) Reuters Limited 1996 REUTER NEWS SERVICE
27Dec96 WEST AFRICA: OTAL PREDICTS CALM AFTER A STORMY YEAR. By David Osler Carrier suggests that region's formerly unsettled market shows signs of stabilising. OT Africa Lines believes calm has returned to the Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, although the company remains "cautious" about these markets Over the last 12 months, the region has witnessed four major coups or coup attempts. And the were widespread arrests of dissidents in Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria. Nigeria also introduced tighter preshipment inspection requirements, and modified customs procedures and documentation, which Otal notes in its latest review, "caused most importers and exporters serious difficulty and confusion" which is likely to stretch into the coming year. Many francophone states notched up marked economic advances in 1996. Some West African countries recorded their highest GDP growth rates in a decade. These included Ghana, 6.9%; Togo, 6.7%; Cote d'Ivoire, 6.6%; and Burkina Faso amd Mali, 6%. The trend was attributed to reduced government expenditure and devaluation of the CFA Franc, which boosted international competitiveness and thus export revenues. In particular, according to Otal, West Africa gained from an increased rate of minerals exploitation and greater competitiveness of agricultural products on world markets. The legacy of empire has ensured that Europe remains the region's number one trading partner, but the recent trend towards sourcing more imports from the Far East is continuing. Liberalisation of maritime trade in Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal has proved a major spur for shipping. Otal research shows that estimated vessel calls for 1994, 1995 and 1996 in Abidjan were 1,711, 1,777 and 2,681 respectively. The figures for Dakar for the same years were 968, 1,155 and 1,309. Since liberalisation, vessel calls in these ports rose by 160% and 135% respectively. Meanwhile, rates dropped at least 16% southbound, and even more northbound, depending on the commodity carried. Otal, which this year celebrates its 21st birthday and its 500th voyage to West Africa, considers these developments an argument against protectionism, and justification for the free market policies persued by the World Bank, the EU and the US in the region. The line purchased two additional multipurpose ro-ros in 1996, bringing its ro-ro fleet to four. Otal said the move enabled it to provide greater flexibility and work to a 10-day frequency. Meanwhile, two containerships operate on an 18-day frequency, serving African cities which cannot handle large ro-ros, and augmenting capacity at major ports such as Abidjan and Tema. Container fleet renewal has brought the average age of Otal's boxes to a relatively young three and-a-half years. Terminal handling equipment has also been updated. Additional calls have been added at San Pedro, the second port of Cote d'Ivoire, primarily handling cocoa and other agricultural commodities. Turning to 1997, Otal predicts new entrants to the trade, particularly from lines seeking solace from other more saturated lanes. However, the relatively few remaining African lines are not expected not prosper, as growth in volumes will not be enough to offset increased capacity. Nigeria, the region's major economy, "will continue to give cause for concern but also room for opportunity, if only this rich and resourceful country's potential can be harnessed properly". Sustained high oil prices could give Nigeria a windfall, worth up to $1bn compared to 1996 budget projections, says the company. But Otal doubts whether the money will be used wisely. There is an urgent need for investment in infastructure. In Ghana, the newly re-elected president Jerry Rawlings will have his work cut out keeping the economy, which has been singled out by the World Bank as a star performer, on course. And Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal stand to reap the benefits of recent liberalisation. In addition, there will be pressure on Cameroon to follow their example. (c) of Lloyd's of London Press Limited 1996. INSURANCE/INVESTMENT LLOYD'S LIST 27/12/96
PEACE TOMBONG
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 11:34:05 -0500 (EST) From: mjallow@st6000.sct.edu (Modou Jallow) To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Happy new Year!!! Message-ID: <9612311634.AA25936@st6000.sct.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Gambia-l,
Happy New Year to all members and their families
Welcome to 1997!!!!!!!
Regards, Moe S. Jallow
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 16:33:13 -0800 (PST) From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Gambia chooses new parliament on Thursday (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.961231163244.26466H-100000@saul6.u.washington.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
FYI - Tony
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 29 Dec 1996 8:30:26 PST From: Reuter / Pap Saine <C-reuters@clari.net> Newsgroups: clari.world.africa.western, clari.news.features, clari.world.gov.politics Subject: Gambia chooses new parliament on Thursday
BANJUL, Dec 29 (Reuter) - Voters in the tiny West African tourist haven of Gambia choose a new parliament on Thursday in elections expected to consolidate former military leader Yahya Jammeh's transition from coup leader to elected president. Supporters of Jammeh, who seized power in July 1994 and was elected president last September, are already assured of six of the new parliament's 45 elected seats as no rival candidate is standing against them there. The president nominates a further four legislators. The opposition denounced Jammeh's September election victory, accusing him of monopolising state media during the campaign, but all parties have enjoyed access to the state media during the parliamentary campaign, which ends on Tuesday. Jammeh's main presidential rival, lawyer Ousainou Darboe, has since called for his resignation, accusing him of transferring $24.7 million illegally to a Swiss bank account. ``I am a trained lawyer, I can substantiate before any court of law any allegations I make against somebody, especially a head of state,'' the United Democratic Party (UDP) leader told supporters on the campaign trail. ``Vote my MPs, they will rescue the nation,'' he added. Darboe, who is not standing for parliament himself, took refuge in Senegal's embassy for several days during and after the presidential poll saying he feared for his safety. Jammeh, 31, who toppled civilian president and independence leader Sir Dawda Jawara accusing him of corruption, brushed aside Darboe's accusation. ``This is not true, otherwise the country would have been bankrupt,'' he told a rally of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) formed by his supporters. ``If the APRC candidates are elected, I will keep the promise to carry out the development projects,'' he told voters. Gambia, a poor, mainly Moslem ex-British colony fronting the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by francophone Senegal, depends on tourism, groundnuts and foreign aid to make ends meet. Jammeh's 1994 coup estranged Western donors, some of whom advised their nationals against visiting on security grounds -- hitting the tourist industry hard. Jammeh has since developed ties with Libya, Taiwan and Cuba. Over 100 candidates are contesting the election with only the APRC standing for all 45 seats. The UDP will contest 34. More than 446,000 of Gambia's just over one million people are registered to vote. Under Jawara, parliament had 36 elected members and eight nominated members.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Jan 1997 13:13:30 -0500 From: ABALM@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: New year greetings. Message-ID: <970101131329_1089191701@emout05.mail.aol.com>
Gambia-l, Happy new year to all list members. I wish you all a wounderful 1997. Tony, Abdou and all the others, keep up the good work you are doing. Thank you. Abba Sanneh
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 09:15:34 -0500 From: TSaidy1050@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: PRESIDENT JAMMEH'S NEW YEAR MASSAGE Message-ID: <970102091534_1189958328@emout19.mail.aol.com>
01Jan97 GAMBIA: GAMBIA PRESIDENT URGES PEACEFUL POLLS FOR THURSDAY. BANJUL, Jan 1 (Reuter) - Gambia's president, Yahya Jammeh, has urged voters in the tiny West African tourist haven to turn out peacefully and in force on Thursday for parliamentary elections wrapping up the transition from military rule. Jammeh, who seized power in 1994 and was elected president last September, told the nation in a New Year message that the transition had registered "impressive successes" despite "genuine fears and even pessimism" of those watching it. "The voter turnout for the (constitutional) referendum and the presidential elections was, in each case, very good, but I invite you to make the one for the coming general elections the best ever," he said in a late Tuesday broadcast. Supporters of Jammeh, 31, who toppled independence leader Sir Dawda Jawara accusing him of corruption, are already assured of six of the new parliament's 45 elected seats as no rival candidate is standing against them there. The president nominates a further four legislators. Gambia, a poor, mainly Moslem ex-British colony of just over a million people, fronts the Atlantic Ocean and is surrounded by Francophone Senegal. It depends on tourism, groundnuts and foreign aid to make ends meet. Jammeh banned established politicians before the presidential poll, denouncing their links with Jawara. Opposition in the nation has since gathered around lawyer Ousainou Darboe and his United Democratic Party. (c) Reuters Limited 1997 REUTER NEWS SERVICE
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 09:03:02 -0800 (PST) From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Young ex-soldier expected to win Gambia election (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.970102090242.3867A-100000@saul7.u.washington.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 7:21:16 PST From: Reuter / Pap Saine <C-reuters@clari.net> Newsgroups: clari.world.africa.western, clari.world.gov.politics, clari.news.features Subject: Young ex-soldier expected to win Gambia election
BANJUL, Jan 2 (Reuter) - Gambians voted for a new parliament on Thursday in elections expected to consolidate the rule of President Yahya Jammeh who seized power in a coup in 1994 and won a disputed presidential poll last September. Jammeh, a 31-year-old soldier turned politician who toppled independence leader Sir Dawda Jawara accusing him of corruption, banned established politicians from politics before the presidential poll, denouncing their links with Jawara. Opposition has since gathered around lawyer Ousainou Darboe and his United Democratic Party. Two minor opposition parties are also contesting seats along with six independents. Darboe, who is not standing for parliament himself, took refuge in Senegal's embassy for several days during and after the presidential poll saying he feared for his safety. Campaigning this time has been peaceful, although Darboe's party has complained of the arrest of party militants. The campaign focused on whether Jammeh or more established politicians should run the country, with Darboe accusing Jammeh of corruption. Jammeh dismissed the charge. The Gambian parliament has 49 seats. Jammeh has the right to nominate four legislators, so 45 seats are up for election. Of these 45, five are already in the bag for the president because the opposition is fielding candidates only in 40 seats. Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction is the only party contesting all 45 seats. With 107 candidates in the contest, early turnout was light. More than 446,000 of Gambia's one million or so people are registered to vote in the small West African nation which is heavily dependent on tourism. Election officials said most of the 561 polling stations opened on time at 7 a.m. (0700 GMT). Polls close at 6 p.m. (1800 GMT). First results were expected Thursday evening. Jammeh urged voters in a New Year message to turn out peacefully and in force for the election. ``The voter turnout for the (constitutional) referendum and the presidential election was, in each case, very good, but I invite you to make the one for the coming general elections the best ever,'' he said. Gambia fronts the Atlantic and is surrounded by Senegal. Its economy is based on tourism, groundnuts and foreign aid. Jammeh's coup estranged Western donors. Some advised nationals against visiting on security grounds, hitting tourism. Jammeh has since developed ties with Libya, Taiwan and Cuba.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 02 Jan 1997 20:14:34 +0100 From: Chris Foxwell <foxwell@globalxs.nl> To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Introduction Message-ID: <32CC091A.4156@globalxs.nl> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Dear members of Gambia-l,
We're members of Gambia-l for a couple of weeks now, and we still haven't replied to the request of an introduction, So here it is: We are Ineke and Chris Foxwell, we live in Holland. We both work for Dutch television, in different areas. We've visited the Gambia a couple of times and we like it very much, we would like to go there for a longer period and thought it would be wise to obtain as much information as we could. That's the reason we joined Gambia-l. So far we've really enjoyed this discussion group. We hope everyone who went to the Gambia for a holiday had a great time, please tell us what is was like. We would have liked to have met you on the beach, maybe next year!,
greetings, Chris and Ineke
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 22:37:32 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: AFRICA-POLITICS: Civil Society Grows Stronger And Stronger Message-ID: <19970102213631.AAA12594@LOCALNAME>
/* Written 3:08 PM Dec 30, 1996 by newsdesk@igc.org in africa.news */ /* ---------- "IPS: AFRICA-POLITICS: Civil Society" ---------- */
Copyright 1996 InterPress Service, all rights reserved. Worldwide distribution via the APC networks.
*** 27-Dec-96 ***
Title: AFRICA-POLITICS: Civil Society Grows Stronger And Stronger
By Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki and Toye Olori
HARARE, Dec 27 (IPS) - No longer content to let African governments continue to rule without consulting the people, the continent's civil society is poised to play a more active role in governance.
Human rights, gender, environment, housing, children, and land rights are just a few of the plethora of issues that civic groups have banded together around in order to keep African governments accountable.
''There is increasing awareness among people that we have the right to have a say in matters of national importance and that our say doesn't have to be through our MPs(members of parliament) or parliament,'' says Atsango Chesoni of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Kenya chapter.
''We are gradually legitimizing citizens' rights to play a role in politics and whatever's happening,'' Chesoni adds.
In countries like Nigeria where the military has ruled for the majority of the country's 36 years of independence, civic organisations have become the main channel through which the people can air their views.
''They (NGOs) are the only group that can speak out for us since most of us have been cowed by the military,'' says a Nigerian civil servant who declined to be named.
According to Ola Akagbosu, a researcher at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Africa's civil society has strengthened, because it is the true representative of the people's views.
Unlike governments which wantonly make policy without consultation, civic groups ''hold seminars and workshops and receive inputs from the different segments of society for their policy formulations,'' Akagbosu says.
''They are forced by circumstances to voice the views and opinions of citizens, as well as champion the course of the people. In a way, they are the voice of the people,'' she adds.
Non-government organisations also have taken on this role, because the majority of Africa's people are often too tied down in the daily struggle of survival.
''...Ngos and civil society are in the vanguard of campaigns against constitutional violation of lives and the freedom of the citizens,'' says Kolawole Olaniyan of the Constitutional Rights Project in Nigeria.
''More often than not, the citizenry cannot respond to these violations because of many reasons. Among them are poverty, fear of repression by the gun and lack of education,'' Olaniyan adds.
During the 1970s and early 1980s in many African countries, the challenge to African governments came mainly from student movements and the trade unions.
According to analysts, the changes in Africa's political and economic scenario during the past 10 years have opened up more space for people's participation.
''Many people from civil society moved into the new political parties and those who remained re-defined civil society's role out of frustration with the political party system,'' says Maina Kiai, executive director of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission.
''We are now finding solutions in the churches, in NGOs, even in business, but not in government. We now know the government is not all-being, all-knowing and all-powerful,'' Kiai adds.
The economic reform programmes which swept across the continent have also created a climate where governments were forced to take a back seat and civil society stepped in to fill the void.
''This is not to say that liberalisation is a good thing, but it has had some positive impact,'' Kiai says. ''Before the government was everywhere. Now, the reduction of government's role in all areas of life, the fact that the government has had to scale down, has enabled people to empower themselves.
''We are more self-confident, self-assured, more responsible for our own lives,'' Kiai says.
According to Kiai, the people's power and confidence to change their own situations is evident in many ways.
''Aviation workers going on strike and taking their employer to court, farmers refusing to pick their coffee because they believe the Kenya Coffee Board to be corrupt, members of the Kenyan Creameries Cooperative voting in their own board not just once but twice in defiance of presidential interference, parents challenging education costs and the running of government schools are all examples,'' the Kenyan human rights activist says. ''People are becoming aware that they hold the solutions''.
Analysts agree that the trend will continue, and that African governments must confront not only the challenge from the international community to be more transparent and democratic, but also the challenge from within.
''Civil society has an energy that the State cannot control. There are symptoms of a healthier, more vibrant civil society...,'' Chesoni says. (end/ips/lwm/to/pm96)
Origin: Harare/AFRICA-POLITICS/ ----
[c] 1996, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS) All rights reserved
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 16:48:50 -0600 (CST) From: Alieu Jawara <umjawara@cc.UManitoba.CA> To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: PRINCE CAHRLES URGES 'MATERIALISTIC' WEST TO SEEK GUIDANCE FROM ISLAM Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.970102162846.6829A-100000@castor.cc.umanitoba.ca> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Happy New Year all list members, thanks very much Tombong for forwarding this piece to the list. I must I was very exited to read it but I wasn't the least surprised. I would Appreciate if the list members will bear with me for a second to express my feelings about this article even though this isn't a religious forum. Prophet Muhamad(PBUH) had said some 1400 years ago that this religion, Islam, will reach every corner of the earth reached by morning and night, i.e., every place. Now brothers and sisters it is the turn of the Buckingham Palace. I would direct your attention to verses in the Quran, chapter 9, (Tawba) verses 32 & 33. Please read this and think about it for a second. If you don't have a copy of the Quran and you would want one please e-mail mail me, I'll make sure you get one, it's on me bro!
Peace, Alieu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 17:12:26 -0800 (PST) From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Reuters Africa Highlights / [Jan 2] (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.970102171214.24747A-100000@saul6.u.washington.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 2 Jan 1997 11:31:06 PST From: Reuters <C-reuters@clari.net> Newsgroups: clari.world.top, clari.world.africa.eastern, clari.world.africa.northwestern, clari.world.africa.southern, clari.world.africa.western Subject: Reuters Africa Highlights / [Jan 2]
KIGALI, Rwanda - Rwandan authorities have arrested as genocide suspects more than 2,500 Hutus who were among some 460,000 refugees who returned home from Tanzania last month, the U.N. human rights office said. Human rights spokeswoman Marie van der Elst told Reuters that 2,609 refugees had been detained by Dec. 27 for their role in the 1994 genocide of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
BANJUL, Gambia - Gambians voted for a new Parliament in elections expected to consolidate the rule of President Yahya Jammeh who seized power in a coup in 1994 and won a disputed presidential poll last September. Election officials and party leaders reported a slow turnout in the mainly Muslim West African nation's capital Banjul and other urban areas but brisker polling in the provinces. There were no reports of trouble although main opposition leader Ousainou Darboe said one of his supporters had been arrested in the town of Basse in Upper River Division.
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar - Madagascar's former military ruler Didier Ratsiraka held on to a slim lead in the race for the presidency of the Indian Ocean island with two-thirds of the votes counted. Ratsiraka, a 60-year-old ex-Marxist and retired admiral, led with 51.4 percent of the vote against 48.6 percent for former President Albert Zafy, 69, according to results issued by the Interior Ministry. It said 51 percent of Madagascar's 6.5 million registered voters turned out for Sunday's second-round runoff compared with a turnout of 60 percent in a Nov. 3 first round.
N'DJAMENA, Chad - Nomads in Chad began voting for a National Assembly, launching the central African nation's much-delayed parliamentary election, electoral officials said. The remainder of the former French colony's 3.5 million or so voters will cast their ballots for the 125-seat assembly Sunday. Electoral officials estimate that around 300,000 nomads are eligible to vote. President Idriss Deby, the northern former guerrilla leader who seized power in a French-backed coup in 1990, won a long-delayed presidential election in July against southern rival and fellow general Wadal Abdelkader Kamougue.
MORONI, Comoros - Civil servants on the Comoros islands went on strike, shortly after President Mohamed Taki named a new government, to protest against salary arrears of up to a year. On the island of Anjuan, the civil servants heeded calls by union leaders and took to the streets to protest against the salary delays. In other parts of the Indian Ocean archipelago, medical services and schools were disrupted after unions declared an indefinite strike.
RABAT, Morocco - Despite shipwrecks and deaths, the lure of Europe draws thousands of North Africans to perilous boats and, at best, an uncertain future as illegal immigrants. The risks were again highlighted this week when Italian police picked up 40 would-be immigrants crammed in a motorboat. They were drifting at sea after eight days and said four of the group had died of cold and their bodies had been pushed overboard.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - South African police said they were hunting three fugitive right-wingers in connection with a Christmas Eve bomb attack that killed four people in a small farming town. Spokesman John Sterrenberg said the three whites had already been convicted of murder in absentia for planting bombs that killed 20 people on the eve of South Africa's historic all-race election in April 1994.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 13:03:16 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: New Member Message-ID: <19970103120219.AAA13512@LOCALNAME>
Gambia-l, Yvan Russell has been added to the list and as a custom, we expect to have an introduction from him. Welcome to the Gambia-l Yvan please send an introduction of your self to the list.
Regards Momodou Camara
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 09:06:11 -0500 From: TSaidy1050@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS RESULTS Message-ID: <970103090611_1190122721@emout19.mail.aol.com>
Gambia-l,
The National Assembly Elections results stand as follows: The APRC candidates won in the following constituencies: 1. Foni Bintang - Fansu Sanneh 2. Foni Bondali - Ansumana Sanneh 3. Foni Brefet - Karafa Badgie 4. Foni Jarrol - Musa Baldeh 5. Foni Kansala - Kawsu L. Gibba 6. Nianija- Dawda Bah 7. Banjul South - David Jones 8. Banjul Central - Musa Sinyan 9. Banjul North - Skeikh Omar Njie 10. Lower Baddibu 11. Serrekunda West - Sulayman Joof 12. Jarra Central - Phoday Lang Sarr 13. Janjanbureh- Daddy Kaba Dampha 14. Lower Fulladu West - Saikou Foday Njie 15. Lower Saloum- Fafa Touray 16. Niamina Dankunku - Sanna Jallow 17. Niamina Esat - Eliman Malick Secka 18. Sami - Idrissa Samba Sallah 19. Basse - Momodou Sellu Bah 20. Tumanna - Netty Baldeh 21. Kombo Central - Abdou Badjie 22. Kombo East - Kebba M Touray 23. Jokadu - Amadou Khan 24. Lower Baddibu - Alhaji Ablie Suku Singateh 25. Upper Niumi - Ousman Jallow
UDP, so far captured five seats and they are as follows: 1. Bakau- Demba Sanneh Bojang 2. Central Baddibu- Abou Karamba Kassama 3. Jarra West- Kemeseng M. Manneh 4. Kiang East- Buba Samuara 5. Kiang West- Omar Kebba Mass Contrary to my predictions, PDOIS won one seat so far. Mr. Sidia Jatta, party leader, won his seat in Wuli constituecy.
NRP, won in Upper Saloum constituency as I predicted, and they surprisingly won in Kiang Central too. So for Hamat Bah, the party leader, won in Upper Saloum and Musa Gallel Jabou Njadoe won in Kiang Central.
Two Independent candidates are in and they are: 1. Kantora - Hassan Jallow 2. Niamina West
Out of the 45 National Assembly seats contested, the APRC has won 25, UDP 5, NRP 2, PDOIS 1 and 2 Independent candidates. This means that 35 seats(constituencies) have been won and there are 10 more constituencies to go. I will post the results of the remaining 10 as soon as they are counted.
Peace Tombong
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 11:35:05 -0500 From: TSaidy1050@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <970103113504_1756349228@emout10.mail.aol.com>
Gambia-l,
This is the final result of the National Assembly Elections and as one can see it is a land slide victory for the APRC, the party of the people. The APRC captured 33 seats out of 45. UDP captured 7 seats, NRP 2 seats, PDOIS 1 seat and 2 Independent candidates. The elections were open, free and fair. Now is time to work together to build a better Gambia for all.
The APRC candidates won in the following constituencies: 1. Foni Bintang - Fansu Sanneh 2. Foni Bondali - Ansumana Sanneh 3. Foni Brefet - Karafa Badgie 4. Foni Jarrol - Musa Baldeh 5. Foni Kansala - Kawsu L. Gibba 6. Nianija- Dawda Bah 7. Banjul South - David Jones 8. Banjul Central - Musa Sinyan 9. Banjul North - Skeikh Omar Njie 10. Lower Baddibu 11. Serrekunda West - Sulayman Joof 12. Serrekunda East - Fabakary Tombong. Jatta 13. Jarra Central - Phoday Lang Sarr 14. Janjanbureh- Daddy Kaba Dampha 15. Lower Fulladu West - Saikou Foday Njie 16. Upper Fulladu West - Churchill Falai Bandeh 17. Lower Saloum- Fafa Touray 18. Niamina Dankunku - Sanna Jallow 19. Niamina Esat - Eliman Malick Secka 20. Sami - Idrissa Samba Sallah 21. Basse - Momodou Sellu Bah 22. Jimara - Kanimang Sanneh 23. Sandu - Abdoulie K. Jawla 24. Tumanna - Netty Baldeh 25. Kombo Central - Abdou Badjie 26. Kombo East - Kebba M Touray 27. Kombo North - Musa Suso 28. Kombo South - Paul Mendy 29. Jokadu - Amadou Khan 30. Lower Baddibu - Alhaji Ablie Suku Singateh 31. Illiassa - Arabou Ansu Kanyi 32. Lower Niumi - Jane Colley Faye 33. Upper Niumi - Ousman Jallow
UDP captured the following 7 seats : 1. Bakau- Demba Sanneh Bojang 2. Central Baddibu- Abou Karamba Kassama 3. Jarra West- Kemeseng M. Manneh 4. Kiang East- Buba Samuara 5. Kiang West- Omar Kebba Mass 6. Jarra East - Seedy Amang Kanyi 7. Niani - Almamy Abubacarr Touray Contrary to my predictions, PDOIS won one seat. Mr. Sidia Jatta, party leader, won his seat in Wuli constituecy.
NRP, won in Upper Saloum constituency as I predicted, and they surprisingly won in Kiang Central too. Hamat Bah, the party leader, won in Upper Saloum and Musa Gallel Jabou Njadoe won in Kiang Central.
Two Independent candidates are in and they are: 1. Kantora - Hassan Jallow 2. Niamina West
The interesting thing about all this is that for the first time in Gambian history, every tribe or ethnic group and every political party that participated has at least one representative in the National Assembly.
Peace Tombong
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 08:35:54 -0800 (PST) From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Gambian president's party wins parliamentary poll (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.970103083543.29076E-100000@saul4.u.washington.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 4:01:31 PST From: Reuters <C-reuters@clari.net> Newsgroups: clari.world.africa.western, clari.world.gov.politics Subject: Gambian president's party wins parliamentary poll
BANJUL, Jan 3 (Reuter) - President Yahya Jammeh's party won a majority in Gambia's new parliament on Friday after elections that complete the return of the small West African country to civilian rule, partial results showed. Results from Thursday's poll, broadcast overnight by state radio and television, showed that Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) had 26 of the assembly's 49 seats -- an outright majority. With 80 percent of results declared in the mainly Moslem nation, Ousainou Darboe's main opposition United Democratic Party had six seats and the opposition National Reconciliation Party (NRP) two. Independents had two seats. Jammeh, a 31-year-old soldier turned politician, toppled the former British colony's civilian independence leader Sir Dawda Jawara in 1994 accusing him of corruption. Jammeh won a presidential election in September.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 08:38:53 -0800 (PST) From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu> To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Gambia returns to civilian rule under ex-soldier (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.95.970103083838.29076F-100000@saul4.u.washington.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 4:52:51 PST From: Reuter / Pap Saine <C-reuters@clari.net> Newsgroups: clari.world.africa.western, clari.world.gov.politics Subject: Gambia returns to civilian rule under ex-soldier
BANJUL, Jan 3 (Reuter) - President Yahya Jammeh's party won a majority in Gambia's new parliament on Friday after elections that complete a return to civilian rule in the small West African nation following his 1994 military coup. Partial results from Thursday's poll, broadcast by state radio and television, showed that Jammeh's Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) had 26 of the assembly's 49 seats -- an outright majority. With 80 percent of results declared in the mainly Moslem nation of a million people, lawyer Ousainou Darboe's main opposition United Democratic Party had six seats. The opposition National Reconciliation Party (NRP) of hotel manager Hamat Bah, like Darboe a defeated presidential contender in September, had two seats. Independents had two. Jammeh, a committed Moslem who had military training in the United States, staged a coup as a 29-year-old lieutenant in 1994, toppling the former British colony's civilian independence leader Sir Dawda Jawara. Jammeh said at the time he had no political ambitions and that he simply wanted to put an end to government corruption, the tourist sex trade in Gambia and drugs. But he banned established politicians with links with Jammeh and then won a presidential election last September. Jammeh's party won five of its 26 seats on Thursday by default in constituencies where no one stood against it. The president has the right to nominate a further four assembly members. Political commentators estimated Thursday's turnout at 60 to 67 percent, compared to up to 90 percent in the presidential poll. More than 446,000 Gambians were registered to vote. Hotel manager Bah was one of his party's two new assembly members. Darboe, who did not stand for parliament himself, took refuge in Senegal's embassy for several days during and after the presidential poll saying he feared for his safety. Thursday's poll was peaceful and without incident. Under Gambia's new constitution, approved by referendum in August, parliament can impeach the president on a two-thirds majority. It can also block ministerial appointments. Gambia fronts the Atlantic and is surrounded by French-speaking Senegal. Its economy is based on tourism, groundnuts and foreign aid. Jammeh's coup estranged Western donors. Some advised nationals against visiting on security grounds, hitting tourism. Jammeh has since developed ties with Libya, Taiwan and Cuba.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 18:17:52 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <19970103171657.AAA14416@LOCALNAME>
Mr. Saidy, Thanks for the election results. Can you please send the number of votes each candidate got? My best regards to every one. Momodou Camara
> Gambia-l, > > This is the final result of the National Assembly Elections and as one can > see it is a land slide victory for the APRC, the party of the people. The > APRC captured 33 seats out of 45. UDP captured 7 seats, NRP 2 seats, PDOIS 1 > seat and 2 Independent candidates. The elections were open, free and fair. > Now is time to work together to build a better Gambia for all. > > The APRC candidates won in the following constituencies: > 1. Foni Bintang - Fansu Sanneh > 2. Foni Bondali - Ansumana Sanneh > 3. Foni Brefet - Karafa Badgie > 4. Foni Jarrol - Musa Baldeh > 5. Foni Kansala - Kawsu L. Gibba > 6. Nianija- Dawda Bah > 7. Banjul South - David Jones > 8. Banjul Central - Musa Sinyan > 9. Banjul North - Skeikh Omar Njie > 10. Lower Baddibu > 11. Serrekunda West - Sulayman Joof > 12. Serrekunda East - Fabakary Tombong. Jatta > 13. Jarra Central - Phoday Lang Sarr > 14. Janjanbureh- Daddy Kaba Dampha > 15. Lower Fulladu West - Saikou Foday Njie > 16. Upper Fulladu West - Churchill Falai Bandeh > 17. Lower Saloum- Fafa Touray > 18. Niamina Dankunku - Sanna Jallow > 19. Niamina Esat - Eliman Malick Secka > 20. Sami - Idrissa Samba Sallah > 21. Basse - Momodou Sellu Bah > 22. Jimara - Kanimang Sanneh > 23. Sandu - Abdoulie K. Jawla > 24. Tumanna - Netty Baldeh > 25. Kombo Central - Abdou Badjie > 26. Kombo East - Kebba M Touray > 27. Kombo North - Musa Suso > 28. Kombo South - Paul Mendy > 29. Jokadu - Amadou Khan > 30. Lower Baddibu - Alhaji Ablie Suku Singateh > 31. Illiassa - Arabou Ansu Kanyi > 32. Lower Niumi - Jane Colley Faye > 33. Upper Niumi - Ousman Jallow > > UDP captured the following 7 seats : > 1. Bakau- Demba Sanneh Bojang > 2. Central Baddibu- Abou Karamba Kassama > 3. Jarra West- Kemeseng M. Manneh > 4. Kiang East- Buba Samuara > 5. Kiang West- Omar Kebba Mass > 6. Jarra East - Seedy Amang Kanyi > 7. Niani - Almamy Abubacarr Touray > > Contrary to my predictions, PDOIS won one seat. Mr. Sidia Jatta, party > leader, won his seat in Wuli constituecy. > > NRP, won in Upper Saloum constituency as I predicted, and they surprisingly > won in Kiang Central too. Hamat Bah, the party leader, won in Upper Saloum > and Musa Gallel Jabou Njadoe won in Kiang Central. > > Two Independent candidates are in and they are: > 1. Kantora - Hassan Jallow > 2. Niamina West > > The interesting thing about all this is that for the first time in Gambian > history, every tribe or ethnic group and every political party that > participated has at least one representative in the National Assembly. > > > Peace > Tombong > >
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 20:22:00 -0500 From: MJagana@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Cc: MJagana@aol.com Subject: Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <970103201257_1458537799@emout12.mail.aol.com>
THANKS FOR THE ELECTION RESULTS. HOWEVER THE POINT IS NOT THAT EVERY TRIBE HAD A REPRESENTITIVE, BUT THOSE REPS. ARE FREE TO EXERCISE THIER RIGHT AND RUN THE COUNTRY AS IT SHOULD BE.
DEMOCRACY HAS A VERY FUNNY INTERPERTATION; DEPENDING ON WHO IS IMPLEMENTING THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
I HOPE THE GOVERNMENT STANDS UP AND LET THE GAMBIANS SPEAK THIER MIND.
PEACE ! FREEDOM ! LIBERTY ! TO ALL GAMBIANS
MJ
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 97 15:13 GMT+0200 From: "Peter K.A. da Costa" <ipspdc@harare.iafrica.com> To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu, GAMBIA-L:@harare.iafrica.com Subject: Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <m0vgVue-0012YMC@harare.iafrica.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi there
Great news. We had an election and there was no violence, and lots of people tuned out to vote, and the APRC won a big majority.
But what difference does that make to the price of bread?
Peace, Freedom, Liberty to all Gambians is precisely what democracy is all about. Well said, Jagana.
And managing to stage elections alone -- while a necessary condition in this world of Westminster model conditionalities imposed by those from whom we beg -- is not by any means a sufficient condition for the above.
Along with civilian rule should come accountability -- something The Gambia has never had in sufficient measure, and without which we can forget all this hogwash about transitions, multipartyism, level playing fields, etc.
What I am waiting for is to see a responsible, mature governance that works in the interest of the country and all its citizens, a governance that does not suppress freedom of expression and that is ready and willing to come to terms with the excesses of the past (and by past I mean pre-Jammeh as well as the transition period).
In the scheme of things, The Gambia is a tiny drop in the ocean (someone once described it as a geographic and economic absurdity). So if we want to get ahead in this globalised economy, with little to offer anyone but our beaches (which are being devastated by coastal erosion) and our groundnuts (which are not the world's most profitable commodity right now), we'd better get real and put factionalism, tribalism, sectarianism, and all other destructive -isms on the backburner.
Those whose job it now is to run The Gambia Inc, will have to find ways of making it economically viable and sustainable.
The mainstream international community will not sustain us forever. Neither will Libya and Taiwan.
So let's get real.
Best Peter 04.01.97
At 20:22 03/01/97 -0500, MJagana@aol.com wrote: > > >THANKS FOR THE ELECTION RESULTS. >HOWEVER THE POINT IS NOT THAT EVERY TRIBE HAD A >REPRESENTITIVE, BUT THOSE REPS. ARE FREE TO EXERCISE THIER >RIGHT AND RUN THE COUNTRY AS IT SHOULD BE. > >DEMOCRACY HAS A VERY FUNNY INTERPERTATION; DEPENDING ON >WHO IS IMPLEMENTING THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. > >I HOPE THE GOVERNMENT STANDS UP AND LET THE GAMBIANS >SPEAK THIER MIND. > >PEACE ! FREEDOM ! LIBERTY ! TO ALL GAMBIANS > >MJ > >
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 15:13:34 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <19970104141247.AAD5412@LOCALNAME>
> THANKS FOR THE ELECTION RESULTS. > HOWEVER THE POINT IS NOT THAT EVERY TRIBE HAD A > REPRESENTITIVE, BUT THOSE REPS. ARE FREE TO EXERCISE THIER > RIGHT AND RUN THE COUNTRY AS IT SHOULD BE. > > DEMOCRACY HAS A VERY FUNNY INTERPERTATION; DEPENDING ON > WHO IS IMPLEMENTING THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. > > I HOPE THE GOVERNMENT STANDS UP AND LET THE GAMBIANS > SPEAK THIER MIND. > > PEACE ! FREEDOM ! LIBERTY ! TO ALL GAMBIANS > > MJ
You are right, I don't see any point in "every tribes or ethnic group" being represented. Members of the National Assembly should not see themselves as representatives of any tribe but as Gambians belonging to a certain political party with a manifesto.
Peace! Momodou Camara
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 15:13:33 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: New Member Message-ID: <19970104141247.AAF5412@LOCALNAME>
Gambia-l, Jainum Jatta has been added to the list and as a custom, we expect to have an introduction from him. Welcome to the Gambia-l Jainum, please send an introduction of your self to the list.
Regards Momodou Camara ******************************************************* URL http://home3.inet.tele.dk/mcamara
**"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible"***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 15:29:00 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: New Member Message-ID: <19970104142811.AAA24212@LOCALNAME>
Gambia-l, Lamin Sabally has been added to the list and as a custom, we expect to have an introduction from him. Welcome to the Gambia-l Lamin, please send an introduction of yourself to the list.
Regards Momodou Camara
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 12:22:01 -0500 From: ABALM@aol.com To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: new member Message-ID: <970104122200_1223863805@emout12.mail.aol.com>
Tony,Momodou or Abdou. Please add Mamadi Corra to the list .His address is Mkcorra@vm.sc.edu. Thank you. Abba
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 19:22:28 +0000 From: momodou.camara@post3.tele.dk (Camara, Momodou) To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: New Member Message-ID: <19970104182142.AAA11650@LOCALNAME>
Gambia-l, Mamadi Corra has been added to the list and as a custom, we expect to have an introduction from him. Welcome to the Gambia-l Mr. Corra, please send an introduction of yourself to the list.
Regards Momodou Camara ******************************************************* URL http://home3.inet.tele.dk/mcamara
**"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible"***
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 13:58:02 -0500 From: "Malanding S. Jaiteh" <msjaiteh@mtu.edu> To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Cc: msjaiteh@mtu.edu Subject: Re: New Members Message-ID: <199701041858.NAA03355@oak.ffr.mtu.edu>
A HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. Momodou Camara, keep up the good work!
Malanding
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 22:13:51 +0300 From: BASS KOLLEH DRAMMEH <KOLLS567@QATAR.NET.QA> To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <30EC26EF.56F8@QATAR.NET.QA> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Peter K.A. da Costa wrote: >=20 > Hi there >=20 > Great news. We had an election and there was no violence, and lots of p= eople > tuned out to vote, and the APRC won a big majority. >=20 > But what difference does that make to the price of bread? >=20 > Peace, Freedom, Liberty to all Gambians is precisely what democracy is = all > about. Well said, Jagana. >=20 > And managing to stage elections alone -- while a necessary condition in= this > world of Westminster model conditionalities imposed by those from whom = we > beg -- is not by any means a sufficient condition for the above. >=20 > Along with civilian rule should come accountability -- something The Ga= mbia > has never had in sufficient measure, and without which we can forget al= l > this hogwash about transitions, multipartyism, level playing fields, et= c. >=20 > What I am waiting for is to see a responsible, mature governance that w= orks > in the interest of the country and all its citizens, a governance that = does > not suppress freedom of expression and that is ready and willing to com= e to > terms with the excesses of the past (and by past I mean pre-Jammeh as w= ell > as the transition period). >=20 > In the scheme of things, The Gambia is a tiny drop in the ocean (someon= e > once described it as a geographic and economic absurdity). So if we wan= t to > get ahead in this globalised economy, with little to offer anyone but o= ur > beaches (which are being devastated by coastal erosion) and our groundn= uts > (which are not the world's most profitable commodity right now), we'd b= etter > get real and put factionalism, tribalism, sectarianism, and all other > destructive -isms on the backburner. >=20 > Those whose job it now is to run The Gambia Inc, will have to find ways= of > making it economically viable and sustainable. >=20 > The mainstream international community will not sustain us forever. Nei= ther > will Libya and Taiwan. >=20 > So let's get real. >=20 > Best > Peter > 04.01.97 >=20 > At 20:22 03/01/97 -0500, MJagana@aol.com wrote: > > > > > >THANKS FOR THE ELECTION RESULTS. > >HOWEVER THE POINT IS NOT THAT EVERY TRIBE HAD A > >REPRESENTITIVE, BUT THOSE REPS. ARE FREE TO EXERCISE THIER > >RIGHT AND RUN THE COUNTRY AS IT SHOULD BE. > > > >DEMOCRACY HAS A VERY FUNNY INTERPERTATION; DEPENDING ON > >WHO IS IMPLEMENTING THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. > > > >I HOPE THE GOVERNMENT STANDS UP AND LET THE GAMBIANS > >SPEAK THIER MIND. > > > >PEACE ! FREEDOM ! LIBERTY ! TO ALL GAMBIANS > > > >MJ > > > >
Mr.Da Costa! Don't you think it would be almost impossible for those whose job it is to run Gambia, to help it "get ahead in the Globalised=20 Economy" if all of them believe,as you and the unmentioned person you quoted do, that it is "a geographic and economic absurdity"?! Capitalism does not succeed by mineral wealth and numerical preponderance alone.Before pouring scorn on what beaches could do for us perhaps you should first check with the citizens of Mauritius and some of the carribean countries.In the final analysis,the part played by what you have is secondary in your success to the part played by what you intend and are prepared to do with it.If that were not the case,Zaire would have been the Sweden of Southern Africa,and Singapore the coolies of Asia.Gambia is neither a geographic absurdity nor an economic invalid.All it needs to succeed is a self-confident and hardworking people determined to rely on themselves to make their dreams of securing a respectable standard of living for all a reality.
Regards Bassss!! --=20 SZDD=88=F0'3Af=A8=03
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 23:50:27 GMT+1 From: "Famara A. Sanyang" <famaraas@amadeus.cmi.no> To: KOLLS567@QATAR.NET.QA Cc: gambia-l@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: FINAL ELECTION RESULTS Message-ID: <17048521242@amadeus.cmi.no> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT
Hello Brothers & Sisters,
A happy new year to every one. Thanks to Mr. Saidy for posting the results of the elections, and all the others for their contributions. It feels good to learn that the elections went on peacefully and that the turn out was good. The average voter turn out in the last two elections is higher than in many so called "developed democracies". Somebody requested the number of votes each candidate got, I think it will be very interesting to make an analysis of this. My hypothesis was that the number of MPs from the opposition could have been more, if they have been more selective in the constituencies they contested (and don't "fight" each other). Anyway I believe that 12 seats in the hands of the opposition is a good start for our young democracy. Above all, every political got a representative in parliament. That leaves "no voice" out. I am exceptionally glad for the fact the party I sympathise with PDOIS got a seat. I think the Gambian people will one day thank the voters in Wuli for voting in Mr. Sidia Jatta. I am tempted to call this a new page in the Gambian Parliamentary system. It is true most MPs have some kind of ethnic and or regional identity, but I think it important that we point out that members of parliament are in voted in to make wise decisions for all Gambians, regardless of" ethnicity", regional, political or religious affiliations.
Mr. Da costa asked "What difference does it make for the price of bread?" I think these are the type of questions we should continue to ask. The party programme of APRC was unfortunately not posted to Gambia-l, and I did have any access to it. I will here base my argument on my observations of the period they have been in power. As far as am concern I did not see any fundamental changes in policy since the AfPRC took over in 1994. It's only difference is the anti-corruption signals(this is of course a necessary condition for progress but not a sufficient one). Those who are familiar with the manifesto of APRC, can you kindly enlighten us on how our coming government plans to make a difference for the average Gambian. I will stop here for now. Shalom, Famara.
------------------------------
End of GAMBIA-L Digest 49 *************************
|
|
|
Bantaba in Cyberspace |
© 2005-2024 Nijii |
 |
|
|