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Momodou
Denmark
11512 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Jun 2021 : 21:56:00
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GAMBIA-L Digest 6
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Re: new member
by L Konteh <L.Konteh-95@student.lut.ac.uk>
2) Adding new members ...
by Katim S. Touray <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
3) Re:elections
by binta@iuj.ac.jp
4) Elections postponed?
by Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
5) Re: Elections postponed?
by onjie@gemini.nlu.edu
6) Welcome
by sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
7) Re: Adding new members ...
by sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
8) Re: Welcome
by Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
9) Re: Welcome
by sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
10) Re: Elections postponed?
by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu>
11) Stuff ...
by Katim S. Touray <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
12) Re: Elections postponed?
by binta@iuj.ac.jp
13) Re: Stuff ...
by Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
14) Africa Resources
by Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
15) Re: Stuff ...
by ABDOU <at137@columbia.edu>
16) Fwd: Africa: Multilateral Debt, BFW Alert (fwd)
by momodou@inform-bbs.dk (Momodou Camara)
17) Re: Stuff ...
by sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
18) THERE'S LOTS WRONG WITH THE OVERTHROW OF A CONSTITUIONAL GOVT.
by <JDG.L.LANGE.LWCLK@CO.HENNEPIN.MN.US>
19) Experts Discuss Common Currency For West Africa (fwd)
by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu>
20) Stuff ...
by Katim S. Touray <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
21) Re: Experts Discuss Common Currency For West Africa (fwd)
by "Malanding S. Jaiteh" <msjaiteh@mtu.edu>
22) The Gambia Loses Voting Rights at U.N. (fwd)
by "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu>
23) multiple of issues
by ABDOU <at137@columbia.edu>
24) re: multiple of issues
by "Dana Ott" <dott@usaid.gov>
25) Re: multiple of issues
by "Malanding S. Jaiteh" <msjaiteh@mtu.edu>
26) re: THERE'S LOTS WRONG WITH THE OVERTHROW OF A CONSTITUIONAL GOVT.
by SHAFTR@ucipm.ucdavis.edu
27) Re: THERE'S LOTS WRONG WITH THE OVERTHROW OF A CONSTITUIONAL GOVT.
by Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
28) Re: Stuff ...
by Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
29) Dr. Ndongo added to list
by Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
30) Re: multiple of issues
by binta@iuj.ac.jp
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 96 12:04:00 GMT
From: L Konteh <L.Konteh-95@student.lut.ac.uk>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: new member
Message-ID: <9603031204.AA01937@hpl.lut.ac.uk>
Dear Tony and Katim,
Could you please include Mr. Maja Sonko into the group. Maja is a businessman
in the Gambia. He will introduce himself when you write to him. His mail
address is:( 101377.1007@Compuserve.com )I look forward to hearing from you
all.
Can someone confirm that elections have been postponed until december and
Yahya is now going to stand as a presidential candidate for the July 22ND
Movement which will be transformed into a political party. Is it true? If so
what are the implications for the country? Can someone make a thorough
assessment of this impending scenerio should it happen. I read Dan and Tony's
comments on the issue; at that time it was pure speculation. Perhaps they can
come back to the topic once confirmation is sort.
Lang
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 96 20:47:47 CST
From: Katim S. Touray <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Adding new members ...
Message-ID: <9603040247.AA24453@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
Hi folks,
i'm writing about the issue of adding new members to the list. Latjorr
had mentioned that he'd gone ahead and added a new member in the .com
domain, even though this was on Sarian's plate. there's nothing wrong with
this, as long as the right hand knows what the left is doing. as a
subscription manager, you can add (and delete) anyone to (and from) the
list. the idea of dividing the world, and domains between the subscription
managers was to make life easier, and have a semblance of a system. if
you announce the addition of people to the list, everyone would know, thus
avoiding possible duplication. thus, Latjorr's addition of the new member
from the .com domain was in order given that Sarian was notified through the
list.
in the same vein, i've gone ahead and added Maja Sonko to the list, as per
the request from Lang. we look forward to hearing from him. by the way,
could Sarian send him (Maja) the introductory files. if you have trouble
finding them (the welcome, and user reference files), please let me know.
on the reports or rumors of the AFPRC postponing elections, let me say that
i find them both unexpected and sad, as well as unsurprising and unfortunate.
i've always been very skeptical of claims at handing over power to civilians.
this is for the simple reason that i've always wondered what these guys would
do if and when they hand over power. they are so young, and having tasted
power, it would be difficult to imagine them taking orders from anyone from
now on out.
the problem is our own doing. if people had been more lukewarm, if not
outrightly hostile, to the idea of solving our problems by military might,
they would have been less cocky in their actions. like i always say, we're
slowly realizing that we've replaced Jawara with a younger Jawara. and an
armed one at that. to say that the situation is worrying would be the
understatement of the decade.
have a great week everyone.
Katim
A
A
A
A
A
A
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 17:06:22
From: binta@iuj.ac.jp
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re:elections
Message-ID: <199603040801.RAA27589@mlsv.iuj.ac.jp>
Hi all,
May I get the real story about election postponement. I could not
fully understand what katim and Lang are hinting at. Is it really
true that elections have been postponed or do we anticipate that that
will be the situation? Please provide me with more information. I am
far away from the centre of activities that I hardly get any news about
home except through the List. This is why I find your company very
invaluable.
I am sickened by the mere thought that elections have been postponed
`indefinitely'. I say indefinitely because Yahya and his allies will
inevitably return themselves to power come December 1996. I do not
wish to make any comments without the facts. So, please send me more
information as soon as any of you possibly can.
Lamin.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 04 Mar 1996 12:29:34 -0500 (EST)
From: Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Elections postponed?
Message-ID: <01I1XVMKWDOY000YW0@PSTCC6.PSTCC.CC.TN.US>
Hello compatriots!
I called the Gambia Embassy in Washington, DC, to see if there is an official
statement or a press release relating to the election schedule. Well, the
embassy staff, particularly the First Secretary, said they have not even
heard of rumours of the June elections being postponed. So, let's wait
and see. The embassy plans to get an AOL account soon, I was told. We
should be able to post govt. press releases to the group soon. This will
help us to at least determine "official" thinking.
While on the issue of elections, please recall what I stated to this group
before:
(1) The Gambia will NOT have FREE and FAIR elections any time soon. The process
is already stacked heavily in favor of the July 22nd Movement. The ban on
political activities and parties continue while the AFPRC and its surrogates
embark on political campaigning and setting the stage for the civilianization
of the junta. How can competitive, democratic, and viable political parties
be constituted under the current political climate and with the amount of
time remaining before the scheduled elections? Jammeh ang gang know that the
chances of that happening are slim; hence the delay in releasing even the
draft constitution and the exploitation of national/public resources for
the AFPRC's political gain. Jawara lacked the insight to use TV for this
purpose.
(2) Jammeh will NOT go back to farming; at least not voluntarily. The regime
has entrenched itself too much in the perks of helsmanship to seriously
contemplate life in the barracks or on the farm. Let's not fool ourselves.
(3) We must all contribute to ending militarism in The Gambia and make sure tha
we do not end up in a cycle of violence/coups and counter-coups.
(4) Opposition to the AFPRC should not blind us to the corruption, ineptitude,
and inefficiency of the Jawara regime. I see nothing wrong with the overthrow
of the Jawara Kleptocracy. Thirty years of misrule was enough. Jawara does
not deserve commendation for any thing. The PPP is largely responsible for the
messy situation in which we now find ourselves. What were the chances of
alternation in power under the so-called democratic government headed by Jawara?
The task for us is to end military rule; ensure that the AFPRC accounts for its
activities while in power; make sure that Jawara and his gang also pay for the
decades of misguided policies and corruption; and, finally, put structures and
mechanisms in place that would ensure the consolidation of democracy in our
dear country.
Peace!
Amadou.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 96 21:40:00 WET
From: onjie@gemini.nlu.edu
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Elections postponed?
Message-ID: <9603042140.AA08255@ gemini.nlu.edu >
Like Amadou, I do not condone a military government that have seized power by force.
However, it was time for the Jawara government to step down. I also agree thatJawara
and his gang should pay for the decades of misguided policies and corruption.
Jawara's lack of vision produced people like Jammeh. He created the militrary not to
protect the Gambian people but to make sure that what happend in July 1981 is not
repeated i.e, to guarantee his protection. Very little did he know that the very young army
he created will also lead to his downfall.
As far as I am concerned, The Gambia does not need an army. To protect us against
who? Senegal? Senegal's army is almost half of the Gambian population. All we needed
was strong police force to maintain internal law and order. The huge investments in the
national army could have alternatively be spend on education, a rice irregation project, or
on improving the health care in the country. The army by itself is not any productive for
the Gambian people.
Since Jammeh have started and succeeded in a military coup, any group of soldiers an
existing government will also try to get rid of that government. I hope this does not happen
in The Gambia!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 14:42:28 -0800
From: sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Welcome
Message-ID: <199603042242.OAA05011@thesky.incog.com>
Hello all,
I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Maja Sonko to Gambia-l. I
received his request via Katim to send him our welcome package. Maja
we're extremely pleased to have you on board and looking forward to
hearing from you soon. Please send an introduction to the group so we
can know a little about you. I hope you'll find our company worthwhile
and please feel free to address any issues/concers you may have about
The Gambia as this is something we all have in common. Theres a lot of
diversity in this group in that we all come from different
disciplines/backgrounds and so we tend to approach stuff from different
perspectives which makes the debates more interesting and fun because
we don't always agree on stuff.
If you know of any Gambians interested in joining us, please send them
our way especially females because we are in desperate need of them
inorder to balance the sexes and also hear from their perspectives
about issues in Gambia, so if you can try to recruit as many females
and males that would be greatly appreciated. Also for those of us in
the U.S. lets try to drag in females, I feel like a minority amongst
us.
----- Begin Included Message -----
>From GAMBIA-L-owner@u.washington.edu Mon Feb 19 16:47 PST 1996
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 96 18:46:35 CST
From: "Katim S. Touray" <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
To: "GAMBIA-L: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List" <gambia-l@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Welcome
X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.2 -- ListProcessor by CREN
YOU'RE ON ...
WELCOME to GAMBIA-L, a mailing list for discussions on The Gambia,
and related issues. The Gambia is a small country in West Africa with a strong
tradition of peacefulness, in a generally turbulent region. GAMBIA-L is geared
toward providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information between people interested in developments in The Gambia, and issues relevant to the welfare of the country.
The mailing list is an open, collaborative one aimed at being as inclusive as
possible, and at the same time fostering an atmosphere for healthy dialogue and
debate. It is our sincere hope that you find the list enjoyable, and worthy of your
while. This file describes the background, purpose, and features of GAMBIA-L, as
well as guidelines on getting the most out of the service.
THE GAMBIA
The Gambia is a small (4,000 square miles or 11,295 sq. km) country in West
Africa. It is surrounded by Senegal on all sides, except on the Atlantic coast, and for this reason the two countries have a lot of ethnic and cultural ties. In contrast to Senegal, a former French colony, The Gambia was colonized by Britain and gained it's Independence on February 18, 1965.
From Indepdence in 1965 to April, 1970 the country had a parliamentary
democracy with a Prime Minister, and the Queen of England as the Head of State.
The country became a Republic in April 1970, with an Executive President as the
Head of State, and the Parliament as the Legislative body. In contrast to a number of African countries, The Gambia retained a democratic tradition, holding universal
adult suffrage elections every 5 years. These elections were contested by a number of political parties, again in contrast to the single-party 'democratic' systems that were popular in a variety of African countries. The election system was slightly modified in 1982, with a change to the direct election of the President, rather than indirectly by the Members of Parliament.
The democratic tradition of The Gambia was briefly interrupted in July, 1981
with an abortive attempt to overthrow the government by the paramilitary Field
Force. This attempt was crushed by Senegalese troops, who intervened on the
pretext that the coup attempt was foreign inspired, and a threat to the welfare of the Senegalese community in The Gambia. President Jawara was restored to power, and in the aftermath of the events, entered into a Conferedation called Senegambia with Senegal. This confederation however, was to be dissolved in September, 1989 following irreconcilable differences between the parties.
A major milestone in The Gambia's political history was the overthrow of the
Jawara government in July, 1994, by young, and junior officers of the Gambian
military which had been built, following the July 1981 coup attempt, by Jawara
himself. The military officers, under the leadership of then Lieutnant Yaya Jammeh, alleged rampant corruption and incompetence as the main reason for overthrowing the Jawara government. The military takeover was roundly condemned by the International community, most especially because Jawara had in the almost 30 years of his rule managed to establish an international reputation for adherence to democratic rule and human rights. Following intense pressure from both within The Gambia, and without, the military-led government announced a timetable for transferrring power to civilians in 1996, following a review of the constitution, probes in the wealth of public servants, and elections. The transition program is presently on.
On the economic front, The Gambia has been a primarily agricultural country. An estimated 81% of the population is engaged in agriculture, wihle groundnuts (peanuts) account for about 85% of export earnings (Country Profile 1993/94: The Gambia, and Mauritania. The Economist Intelligence Unit. 1993). With a trade policy traditionally more liberal than it's neighbors, because of a smaller industrial base to protect, The Gambian economy has always had a brisk re-export sector. Tourism, has been a large component of the service sector, which has accounted for up to 60% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The Gambia is relatively densely populated, with a predominantly Mulsim
population of slightly over 1 million (1993 census figures), and growing at an annual rate of approximately 3%. Major ethnic groups are Fula, Jola, Mandinka, Serahule, and Wollof. The illiterary rates is very high (73%), and this generally reflects the low Human Development Index (HDI) scores the country has. Thus, for 1992 The Gambias' HDI ranked 173 out of 192 countries. Per capita income, estimated at $360 (US) in 1991 was also amongst the lowest in the world.
Despite the economic poverty and political setbacks, The Gambia has always
active in the International arena, being a member of the United Nations, the
Organization of African Unity, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Gambia has also provided troops to regional peace-keeping
efforts, most notably in Liberia, as well as being an active participant in mediation
efforts. This strong tradition of peacfulness, and respect for human rights was the
reason why The Gambia was chosen as the Headquarters of the African Center for
Democracy and Human Rights Documentation.
Given the relatively short but eventful history of The Gambia as an Independent nation, it is obvious that fostering debate and dialogue is not only a Gambian tradition, but also particularly important now that the country is embarking on a transition that will lead to a return to civilian and democratic rule. It is our hope
that GAMBIA-L will provide another forum for such much needed debate and
exchange of ideas.
GAMBIA-L
Developments in communications technology in general, and the Internet in
particular has resulted in great opportunities for people in far-flung places in engage in almost instantaneous exchange of ideas. The most popular, and probably most powerful, of these technologies is electronic mail, e-mail for short. It is around this technology that an off-shoot service, mailing lists, have developed.
A few years ago, mailing lists linked people all over the world who had
common interests about which they wanted to exchange ideas and conduct debates on. The focus of these interest-groups varied from recreational activities, to regional political developments. For example, a number of lists focusing on African and development-oriented issues were formed, and some of them continue to thrive.
With increased access to the Internet, it wasn't going to be long before the
interest groups became more specialized. Thus, a variety of specialized, and
country-specific groups started cropping up. These mailing lists generally were
geared to linking nationals of different countries, as well as Internationalists with
particular interest in these countries. Examples of these country-specific mailing
lists include SENEGAL-L, and ZAIRE-L.
You can add GAMBIA-L to that list.
Although GAMBIA-L is only being formed in early 1996, much after a number of lists have left the gates, it has an respectable pedigree based on voluteerism and cooperation. The fact of the matter is that a manual mailing list on Gambian issues has been running for since August, 1994, following the overthrow of the Jawara government. The time has now come to formalize the list, and thus open
opportunities for more people subscribe, thereby enriching the debate.
GAMBIA-L is aimed providing Gambians and those interested in Gambian
and related issues, a means to communicate with each other, and exchange ideas and information of common interest. In the process, it is hoped that a spirit of
cooperation, of exchange of ideas, of healthy debate and dialogue for the National good will be cultivated. True, ours might the one of the more recent lists, but be sure that we intend to make it one of the very best lists in cyberspace.
To attain the excellence we're talking about, GAMBIA-L will make maximum use of it's #1 ingredient: subscribers. Thus, management of the list will be shared by a number of volunteers, that will be rotated as and when needed. Further, the list will be organized such that all subscribers will be visible to others. We will
not habor any concealed subscribers on this list. GAMBIA-L will also provide a
rudimentary directory service, based on the requirement that each request for
subscription be approved conditional on completion and submission of an introductory form by the applicant. These intros will be archived, and accessible to all list members. For this very reason, each applicant will be expected to have an intro on file.
Subscribers will be expected, and required to maintain a mature, and responsible tone in the contributions they send to the list. Political partisanship is definetly out. Further, slandering and libelling of people will not be tolerated, and will result in immediate and permanent loss of subscription.
The main features of GAMBIA-L are:
1. Subscription is open to all, conditional upon submitting a self-introduction
form to the list
2. Subscribers will be able to get a list of other subscribers, and their e-mail
addresses
4. Subscribers will NOT be able to conceal their e-mail addresses and from
other subscribers
5. The list will be unmoderated, that is, all contributions will be distributed
without intervention by listowners
6. The list will be published globally, meaning that it will be added to the
global list of lists
7. The mail sent to the list will be archived, to enable subscribers access
messages
The above features, and other more mundane ones such as the maximum
number of messages to be sent out per day, have been chosen to provide the greatest convenience, security, and use to subscribers. Thus, sending contributors a copy of their submissions will enable them to keep track of debates going on. Also, denying subscribers the option to CONCEAL their subscriptions will ensure that everyone knows everyone on the list, or would if they so chose. This will hopefully allay fears about who is snooping, and who isn't.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE LIST
We are sending a file called INFO under seperate cover, detailing simple
instructions on how to communicate with the mailing list. If you have any further
questions, please do not hesistate to contact the list owners, or the list itself.
Alternatively, you can also send an e-mail to the following address:
listproc@u.washington.edu
Leave the 'Subject' field empty, and put the word 'help' as your message.
CONCLUSIONS
The above was aimed at providing a brief introductory overview of the purpose, uses, and features of GAMBIA-L. It is hoped that all subscribers to the list
will find it most useful, and enjoyable. In addition, it is hoped that the list will
provide great opportunities for subscribers to not only get to know new people, and each other more, but also to find it a valuable resource for getting information about The Gambia.
Finally, all this would come to naught if subscribers do not discharge their
responsibilities with diligence. It is absolutely important that an atmosphere of
cooperation, collaboration, and mutual respect be created and maintained. That,
quite simply, is the only way to ensure that GAMBIA-L grows to be the very best it
can be.
On behalf of all subscribers, we would like to welcome you to GAMBIA-L, and wish you a most rewarding experience.
Listowners
February, 1996.
----- End Included Message -----
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 14:51:17 -0800
From: sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Adding new members ...
Message-ID: <199603042251.OAA05013@thesky.incog.com>
Katim - I tried setting up myself to receive copies of what I send out but I keep getting mailer-daemons (error messages).
command issued was set gambia-l mail ack
Sarian
> From GAMBIA-L-owner@u.washington.edu Sun Mar 3 18:46 PST 1996
> Date: Sun, 3 Mar 96 20:47:47 CST
> From: "Katim S. Touray" <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
> To: "GAMBIA-L: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List" <gambia-l@u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Adding new members ...
> X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.2 -- ListProcessor by CREN
>
> Hi folks,
>
> i'm writing about the issue of adding new members to the list. Latjorr
> had mentioned that he'd gone ahead and added a new member in the .com
> domain, even though this was on Sarian's plate. there's nothing wrong with
> this, as long as the right hand knows what the left is doing. as a
> subscription manager, you can add (and delete) anyone to (and from) the
> list. the idea of dividing the world, and domains between the subscription
> managers was to make life easier, and have a semblance of a system. if
> you announce the addition of people to the list, everyone would know, thus
> avoiding possible duplication. thus, Latjorr's addition of the new member
> from the .com domain was in order given that Sarian was notified through the
> list.
>
> in the same vein, i've gone ahead and added Maja Sonko to the list, as per
> the request from Lang. we look forward to hearing from him. by the way,
> could Sarian send him (Maja) the introductory files. if you have trouble
> finding them (the welcome, and user reference files), please let me know.
>
> on the reports or rumors of the AFPRC postponing elections, let me say that
> i find them both unexpected and sad, as well as unsurprising and unfortunate.
> i've always been very skeptical of claims at handing over power to civilians.
> this is for the simple reason that i've always wondered what these guys would
> do if and when they hand over power. they are so young, and having tasted
> power, it would be difficult to imagine them taking orders from anyone from
> now on out.
>
> the problem is our own doing. if people had been more lukewarm, if not
> outrightly hostile, to the idea of solving our problems by military might,
> they would have been less cocky in their actions. like i always say, we're
> slowly realizing that we've replaced Jawara with a younger Jawara. and an
> armed one at that. to say that the situation is worrying would be the
> understatement of the decade.
>
> have a great week everyone.
>
> Katim
>
>
> A
> A
> A
> A
> A
> A
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 18:05:00 -0500
From: Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Welcome
Message-ID: <199603042305.SAA27677@auc.edu>
Sarian,
You may want to inform Maja that he needs to send e-mail to:
GAMBIA-L@u.washington.edu
so he can be linked to the group. The 'Welcome' message does not inform new
members about this, nor does the 'User Manual'.
Katim you may want to take note of this. I believe you were going to send us
an 'INFO' text on issues of this sort. If so I did not get it. Are they in the
Archives?
The Group
I would also like to welcome Maja as well as Chris and Bamba to the group. Hope
to hear from you soon.
LatJor
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 15:33:32 -0800
From: sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Welcome
Message-ID: <199603042333.PAA05024@thesky.incog.com>
Will do.
Sarian
> From GAMBIA-L-owner@u.washington.edu Mon Mar 4 15:16 PST 1996
> Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 18:05:00 -0500
> From: Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
> To: "GAMBIA-L: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List" <gambia-l@u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: Welcome
> X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.2 -- ListProcessor by CREN
>
> Sarian,
>
> You may want to inform Maja that he needs to send e-mail to:
>
> GAMBIA-L@u.washington.edu
>
> so he can be linked to the group. The 'Welcome' message does not inform new
> members about this, nor does the 'User Manual'.
>
> Katim you may want to take note of this. I believe you were going to send us
> an 'INFO' text on issues of this sort. If so I did not get it. Are they in the
> Archives?
>
> The Group
>
> I would also like to welcome Maja as well as Chris and Bamba to the group. Hope
> to hear from you soon.
>
> LatJor
>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 17:44:37 -0800 (PST)
From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Cc: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List <gambia-l@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Elections postponed?
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91l.960305163036.29662A-100000@saul7.u.washington.edu>
I share 100 % the same sentiments that Amadou touched upon
regarding the AFPRC and the former Jawara regime. I have not heard nor
seen any documentation from any official sources about the postponement of
the general elections till December. However, I will investigate more on
that subject to verify it.
Amadou also mentioned that the embassy in DC will soon get an AOL
account. I am sure that they will be welcome to join us but they need to be
reminded in advance that Gambia-l is an objective,independent list that will
not and is not being used for any government propaganda. Infact, both the
AFPRC and the deposed Jawara administration are constant targets of
criticism in this list which is highly warranted. So, if they will not be
able to stand the heat, maybe they should not be in the kitchen.
Dana responded affirmatively to my query of inclusion of the
remnants of the PPP party in the next election. I can see his point that
everybody should be included in the democratic process. But let me take a
controversial and dissenting position. Personally I think that both the
AFPRC and all those who have been associated with the PPP in the past
including Sheriff Dibba and Assan Musa Camara etc should be banned from
all future political process. That is a radical idea, but these are the
very people who have been part of this vicious system that has screwed the
Gambia and Gambians for 32 years. They had their turn in the past but
never delivered the goods, instead they plagued us with a corrupt,
inefficient and inept system as Amadou acurately pointed out. The AFPRC
would have gone down in the annals of Gambian history as the saviours
that delivered us from such a cruel system if they had not stayed in
power that long or had transferred it to an interim civilian government
until elections could be held and in the meantime return to the barracks
and conduct their military duties. They could have gained more legitimacy
in the eyes of Gambians and the world.
I also agree with Amadou's position that there was nothing wrong
with overthrowing the Jawara government. I do not condone military
governments but I strongly believe that Yaya Jammeh and his gang had the
moral authority to get rid of the cancer, but should have transferred
power earlier to civilians. Thus, in my opinion they overstayed their
welcome, and indications are that they will manipulate the system to
entrench themselves longer. The way I see it is that they have already an
unfair competitive advantage over any of their potential opponents or
politicals parties who would not be intimidated to oppose them in a
general elections. Besides, who will control the electoral machinery.
Although, Jawara had successfully planted the image to the West of his
democratic nature and government, I strongly believe that all those
elections were rigged and could have qualified as fraudulent, as I have
once documented the 1972 elections in my constituency of Banjul South.
By the way, the three members of Gambia-l in the Seattle area - Sarjoe
Bojang, Modou Kolley and myself had a cursory glance of a video taped
interview of Yaya Jammeh interview by two Senegalese journalists. It
was in this interview that the famous response, from where the money
came from for all the developmental projects in progress was asked. Off
course, you all know the answer -- " From God " and God passed it
through his hands. Anyway, whenever I get my own copy of it, I will
watch it more carefully with notes and furnish the list with a summary
and analysis.
Thanks
Tony
========================================================================
Anthony W Loum tloum@u.washington.edu
Supervisor, Business Administration Library 206-543-4360 voice
100 Balmer Hall 206-685-9392 fax
University of Washington
Box 353200
Seattle, Wa.98195-3200
=========================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 96 23:18:13 CST
From: Katim S. Touray <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Stuff ...
Message-ID: <9603060518.AA26927@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
Hi folks,
a couple of issues:
1. Sarian and i believe Malamin Jaiteh have been saying that they've been
having problems setting the list to return copies of their submissions.
here's the command to send to: listserv@u.washington.edu
set gambia-l mail ack
by the way, if you don't want to receive a copies of what you send to the
list, replace 'ack' above, with 'noack', meaning no acknowledgement.
also, the 'set' command also takes the digest option, meaning that you'll
get mail from the list once a day. this mail will be a compilation of all
the mail received during the preceeding period (24 hrs). the command for
the digest option is:
set gambia-l mail digest
sent to the same listserv address at U.Washington.
2. i Latjor had a typo error in adding one Christoper something to the list.
for this reason, we are getting some error messages. to fix this, if it
hasn't already been done, send (this is for Latjor) a review command to get
a list of subscribers, and if the wrong address is still there, delete it,
and resubscribe the guy.
3. i just noticed that i was using 'listserv' rather than 'listproc' in
the above paragraphs. please replace all instances of 'listserv' with
'listproc'.
4. the other issue is the debate about the AFPRC. let me say that like
Tony, i agree with Amadou. however, i strongly disagree with you guys
regarding the overthrow of the Jawara regime by force. i categorically
oppose the intervention of military people in government. as far as i'm
concerned, there can never be any justification for military intervention
in politics. please remember that Jamaica had open warfare between political
parties elections in
mid- to late-70s and this wasn't reason enough for the army to intervene. also,
military intervention is always proof positive of the failure of reason and
dialogue. what we had in The Gambia on July 22 when Jawara was overthrown
was nothing sort of lawlessness. simply because the rule of law was overthrown
and replaced by a military dictatorship. the only legitimacy the govt. had,
and still does, was based on the rule of force, not the democratic consent of
the people being ruled. we can argue until tomorrow about how 'democratic'
the
Jawara govt. was. it wasn't. but it was based on the democratic process. i
strongly believe the Gambian people should have been left to their own devices
(even if it meant running the country to the ground), and not rely on the
'wisdom' of 30-year olds. the fact of the matter is that even though Jawara
did not faithfully execute the dictates of the constitution (at least in
spirit), that wasn't proof that there was something fundamentally wrong with
the constitution. the case is similar to equating the viability of the country
as a nation with the ability of Jawara, or anyone else for that matter, to
lead the country to it's full potential. in summary, let me repeat that i have
absolutely no desire to entertain, for even one second, the thought that the
military option can sometimes be justified.
5. where do we go from here?. what i find worrying is that it seems we've
not learnt from our mistakes. the same attitude of complacency that caused
the
Jawara govt. to be big-headed is creeping into our mentality. as Amadou
alluded to, this is the time to really get up and be involved. i think the
AFPRC should be made to understand that there are people out there who are
just as committed to seeing the right things done for the country. the
initiatives don't have to be their monopoly anymore.
6. before i forget, i'm sorry for the delay in responding to some of your
questions about configuring your list options, i.e. the mail ack thing. i'll
try to stay on top of things some more. also, i'll work on the welcome text,
as suggested by Latjor.
7. bye,
Katim
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 16:59:19
From: binta@iuj.ac.jp
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Elections postponed?
Message-ID: <199603060758.QAA15362@mlsv.iuj.ac.jp>
Hi,
I think I am one of the few list members who was in the Gambia when the
PPP fell. At that time, I had my reservations about the young soldiers
taking over the realms of power(this arose from my experience about the
military boys in Sierra Leone), but my joy at the overthrow of Jawara
was greater. The simple truth about our democracy was that it could not
have dislodged the PPP. It lacked the effectiveness required to bring
about political change.
We must not also forget that most of us contributed to the `status quo
ante'through our silence and reticence.I am sorry if any one felt
offended, but I consider this the fact. By July 1994, many people were
so dissatisfied with the system that they were willing to accept
anything as a substitute. This backdrop provided AFPRC the requisite
moral legitimacy they sought. The concern I had then, and which seems
to be exemplified by the recent actions of the junta, was that the
`boys' will be unemployed the moment the relinquish power. It is this
fear and uncertainty about their future that is keeping them in power.
Can any of you share with us a tangible and cogent suggestion about
what the AFPRC can do when it leaves power? I mean, will they have
an acceptable role in society that will urge them to leave office? To
my mind, unless the AFPRC sees a role for itself in the new Gambia they
WILL be reluctant to quit State House.
They have already exhausted their mandate and must let the Gambian
people on their own. I am losing sympathy for them, and they should
be packing their bags. I do agree with the previous comments that it
is Jawara and his PPP that brought us all this trouble in the first
place. Had they paid adequate attention to their critics, we may not
be in this situation today.
Lamin Drammeh.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 08:44:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Stuff ...
Message-ID: <01I20GDM45WI000398@PSTCC6.PSTCC.CC.TN.US>
Katim:
Why the indictment of "30-year olds"? :)
Amadou.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 12:01:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Africa Resources
Message-ID: <01I20N8XPAQS000FUZ@PSTCC6.PSTCC.CC.TN.US>
Return-path: <owner-africa-n%UTORONTO.BITNET@UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU>
Date: Tue, 05 Mar 1996 11:41:09 -0500
From: Faraz Fareed Rabbani <frabbani@epas.utoronto.ca>
Subject: Africa: Getting News from Africa (fwd)
Sender: AFRICA-N Africa News & Information Service
<AFRICA-N%UTORONTO.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list AFRICA-N
<AFRICA-N%UTORONTO.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu>
Reply-to: AFRICA-N Africa News & Information Service
<AFRICA-N%UTORONTO.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu>
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Comments: To: LIST AFRICA-N <africa-n@utoronto.bitnet>
Africa: Getting News from Africa
Date Distributed (ymd): 960304
The number of sources of on-line news from and about Africa is
increasing rapidly. Most concentrate on one country or
region. Many are available only on the World Wide Web or only
through e-mail. Some are free, others require a subscription.
And there are rapid changes, as new initiatives emerge or
volunteer efforts lapse after the initial enthusiasm wanes,
which make keeping track of what is currently available and
how to get it a time-intensive process. APIC's own selective
Africa Policy Electronic Distribution List is not designed to
provide current or comprehensive news coverage, but we receive
frequent inquiries asking where to get more information on
particular topics or countries. The following note, listing a
few on-line sources for news with a continent-wide scope, is
one installment in what will hopefully be a series of
occasional pointers to more extensive information sources.
The sources covered in this posting are
(1) Africa News Online, available free on the World Wide Web
and for a fee through a variety of commercial services, which
serves as an outlet for the Pan African News Agency, the All
Africa Press Service, and a variety of other African media, as
well as Africa News' own reporting.
(2) The APC africa.news conference and the parallel Peacenet
World News Service (PWN), featuring primarily the regular news
wire of Inter Press Service (IPS). The africa.news conference
is available free to anyone with an account on IGC or other
APC networks. PWN also has an Africa digest and five digests
for different African regions available by e-mail to anyone
with an e-mail address for $4/month for one digest and
$2/month for each additional digest.
(3) University of Pennsylvania African Studies WWW site, one
of the most comprehensive and up-to-date academic sites for
Africa information.
***********************************************************
AFRICA NEWS ONLINE
A SHOWCASE FOR AFRICAN REPORTING
AFRICA NEWS ONLINE, an electronic distribution network created
by AFRICA NEWS Service to secure a high profile for African
issues in the expanding world of digital information, offers
a unique window on developments across the African continent.
AFRICA NEWS SERVICE, a non-profit agency which for two decades
has been a leading information source on Africa in the United
States, is working in partnership with African news agencies
and periodicals to make available current and background
material on topics ranging from politics and economics to
science, health, culture and sports.
Tune into AFRICA NEWS ONLINE for:
* News bulletins several times daily from the Panafrican News
Agency, which has 36 correspondents across the continent and
working relationships with national news agencies in 48
African countries.
* Selected stories from the African press, including major
dailies and such well-known independent publications as
Nigeria's Newswatch magazine, the Ugandan Monitor, Kenya's
Nation, the Post of Zambia, the Gambian Observer, and South
Africa's Mail and Guardian and New Nation.
* Special reports, investigative stories and wide-ranging
interviews by the award-winning Africa News team.
* Lively features and reports on topical and human-interest
issues from the Nairobi-based All Africa Press Service, an
affiliate of the All Africa Conference of Churches.
* In-depth business reporting, including updates on Africa's
currencies and rapidly growing stock markets.
Look for AFRICA NEWS on the World Wide Web
(http://www.afnews.org/ans) and on DataTimes (800-642-2525),
Lexis/Nexis (800-227-4908), and NewsNet (800-345-1301). Other
services distributing AFRICA NEWS ONLINE include American
Cybercasting (216-498-5100) and Comtex Custom Wires
(703-820-2000), as well as CompuServe (go Newsgrid) and
infoMarket (Lotus/IBM).
Recipient of three national reporting awards in the last two
years, AFRICA NEWS SERVICE is widely recognized as a
pacesetter in specialized journalism. AFRICA NEWS reporting is
used by major U.S. print and broadcast media, including the
Washington Post and other newspapers, National Public Radio
and network television, and by international outlets such as
the BBC.
___________________________________________
Box 3851 Durham, North Carolina 27702 USA
Telephone: 919-286-0747 Fax: 919-286-2614
Washington, D.C. Office (202) 546-3675 (phone/fax)
Internet: ans@afnews.org
************************************************************
** PEACENET WORLD NEWS SERVICE **
PeaceNet World News Service (PWN) is a electronic mail
delivered news publication covering either a specific area of
the world or an issue of global importance. ... The anchor of
the PeaceNet World News Service is the Inter Press Service
(IPS). IPS is ranked the world's fifth largest in terms of
media clients. Virtually invisible in the United States, IPS
aims to improve South->South and South->North news flows.
While western news agencies tend to focus on political
affairs, coups, crises and conflicts, IPS delivers news that
is analytical and contextualized, news that strsses global
interdependence. IPS's writers are all local people covering
the areas in which they live. IPS articles appear three days
after copyright.
PWN has digests covering Africa as a whole, Southern Africa,
West Africa, West Central Africa, North Africa and Eastern
Africa. The first digest costs $4/month, and each additional
digest $2/month, payable for three months in advance by credit
card.
For an automatic reply with more detailed information about
PWN, send an e-mail message to pwn-info@igc.apc.org. To see
sample PWN digests before you subscribe, connect to the
address gopher.igc.apc.org; port 7014, or the URL
<gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7014/11>
For information on the Institute for Global Communications
(IGC) in the U.S. and the Association for Progressive
Communication (APC), a worldwide network of affiliated non-
governmental networks, send e-mail messages to igc-
info@igc.apc.org and apc-info@igc.apc.org respectively.
************************************************************
University of Pennsylvania African Studies WWW
This is certainly among the most comprehensive, if not the
most comprehensive, academic sites with Africa material. It
is now fully searchable. For those with full Web access, and
time to hunt around, this is one of the best starting points,
with links to many other sites.
The home page URL is:
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/AS.html
For those seeking current information on a particular topic or
country, the best links on the home page are probably either
"What's New?"
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/
Whats_New.html
or
"Country-Specific Pages"
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Home_Page/
Country.html
[Note: For those without Web access, it is possible even if a
bit tedious to access these URLs by e-mail. Home-page URL's
such as these will give you additional URLs which you can
request in separate messages. Send a one-line e-mail message
to webmail@www.ucc.ie, containing the word "get" followed by
the URL. Each URL must fit on one line and be typed exactly
as is. For more information on using WebMail, send the
message "help" to webmail@www.ucc.ie.]
************************************************************
This material is produced and distributed by the Africa
Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary objective is
to widen the policy debate in the United States around African
issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by concentrating on
providing accessible policy-relevant information and analysis
usable by a wide range of groups and individuals. APIC is
affiliated with the Washington Office on Africa (WOA), a
not-for-profit church, trade union and civil rights group
supported organization that works with Congress on
Africa-related legislation.
Note: If you did not request to be on our distribution list,
you were suggested by someone else as likely to be
interested, or you are receiving this on another list or
bulletin board or as forwarded by someone else. If you wish
to be removed from our list or to receive postings directly
rather than through a bulletin board, please send an e-mail
message to apic@igc.apc.org. Please be patient :-).
Documents previously distributed are available on the Web at:
http://www.igc.apc.org/apic/index.shtml. To receive a
description of the list, send an e-mail message to
africapolicy-info@igc.apc.org. To receive information about
APIC, with a list of publications, send an e-mail message to
apic-info@igc.apc.org. Messages requiring more than an
automatic response must instead be sent to apic@igc.apc.org.
For additional information: Africa Policy Information Center,
110 Maryland Ave. NE, #509, Washington, DC 20002. Phone:
202-546-7961. Fax: 202-546-1545. E-mail: apic@igc.apc.org.
************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 12:29:45 -0500 (EST)
From: ABDOU <at137@columbia.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Stuff ...
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960306120940.23356A-100000@sawasdee.cc.columbia.edu>
Hello,
I think Katim touched on an important issue. The fact remains
that if it becomes the army's duty to overthrow every corrupt government,
chaos would reign in most of the country's in the world. What is to
prevent the army from sequentially overthrowing each government it deems
"corrupt" ?
While countries have prospered and survived under corrupt
civilian governments, none, with the possible exception of Chile, has
ever done so under even the most "benevolent" military regime. The
inexperience of Jammeh and his boys, combined with their brutality,
forebears hard times ahead for the country.
Yes Jawara ran a kleptocracy (in six years, I have met only two
people who like Jawara), but he had a semblance of legitimacy ; an
important element in nation-building. I hope as Gambians, we would learn
our lesson and avoid the fate of Nigerians who would dance on the streets
after each coup only to start crying a few weeks later.
And I think this is no time for passivity. For those of you who
would like to write to members of COngress and express support for the
democratc process in The Gambia, you can get e-mail addresses on my
homepage at my URL below. We should also lobby the so called "aid"
agencies who are the lifelines for most of the dictatorship in the
world. They continue "lending" money to The Gambia even though Jammeh is
filling his Swiss account with this money that would have to be repaid by
average Gambians later on.
*******************************************************************************
A. TOURAY.
(718)904-0215.
MY URL ON THE WWW= http://www.cc.columbia.edu/~at137
A FINITE IN A LAND OF INFINITY.
SEEKING BUT THE REACHABLE.
I WANDER AND I WONDER.
ALL RESPITE IS FINAL.
*******************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: 06 Mar 1996 20:04:13 GMT
From: momodou@inform-bbs.dk (Momodou Camara)
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Fwd: Africa: Multilateral Debt, BFW Alert (fwd)
Message-ID: <345894878.2502624@inform-bbs.dk>
Forwarded by Momodou Camara.
---forwarded mail START---
From: AFRICA-N@UTORONTO.BITNET,Internet
To: Africa News
Date: 06.03.96 18:05
Subject: Africa: Multilateral Debt, BFW Alert (fwd)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Africa: Multilateral Debt, BFW Alert
Date Distributed (ymd): 960306
BREAD FOR THE WORLD ACTION ALERT
FEBRUARY 5, 1996
Bread for the World National Office, 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite
1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Phone: 301-608-2400, Fax:
301-608-2401, E-mail: bread@igc.org.
EASING AFRICA'S DEBT BURDEN
I. Issue
Enormous foreign debt has had a devastating impact on the
development of most African countries in the last decade.
Twenty-five of the world's poorest countries in Africa owe
enormous debts, primarily to foreign governments and to
international lending institutions such as the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Much of the debt was
acquired by corrupt, undemocratic governments and originally
used to purchase military weapons or finance wasteful or
ineffective projects. Now, instead of investing in food
production, health care, housing and education, African
countries must make huge debt payments.
The international response to Africa's huge debt burden has
been inadequate. But in June 1995, there was a breakthrough
when political leaders from industrialized nations called for
a new debt reduction strategy for the world's poorest nations.
In response, the World Bank and IMF are discussing a proposal
that would ease the foreign debt burden of the world's poorest
countries.
The proposal recognizes the extent of the problem and
acknowledges that both creditors and debtors share
responsibility. The proposal would create a new fund, the
Multilateral Debt Facility (MDF), to help poor countries
reduce billions of dollars in debts they owe to the World
Bank, IMF and other international institutions. More
important, administrators of the MDF would also assess a
country's total debt and coordinate its reduction with
governments and private creditors.
But the MDF faces several obstacles. First, the IMF,
unrealistically projecting strong economic growth and the
steady flow of foreign aid, questions the need for a new
solution. Second, there is controversy regarding debtor
countries' eligibility for debt relief through the MDF. The
World Bank and IMF want it tied to structural adjustment
policies that have not worked very well in Africa. Bread for
the World favors conditions that require debtor nations to
demonstrate commitment to development and poverty reduction.
Additionally, Bread for the World supports funding the MDF
through existing reserves of the World Bank and IMF, without
diverting available resources from development aid. Poor
countries in Africa need both debt reduction and aid in order
to escape the cycle of poverty and indebtedness.
II. Action
Write to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the U.S.
representative on World Bank and IMF policy committees.
Commend him for his support of a comprehensive solution to the
debt problems of the poorest countries in Africa. Urge him to
press the World Bank and IMF to ensure that:
* funding for debt reduction comes from existing reserves of
the World Bank and IMF, NOT diverted from development aid;
* the borrowing government's commitment to poverty reduction
be a major condition for reducing its debt; and
* total debt is addressed and reduced to manageable levels in
the near future.
III. Write
Robert Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury, 15th and Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20220 Fax: 202-622-2599
Send copies to:
James Wolfensohn, World Bank President, World Bank, 1818 H
Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Fax: 202-477-1305
and
Michel Camdessus, IMF Managing Director, International
Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20431 Fax:
202-623-4661
Also send a copy to: Bread for the World, Issues Department
IV. Background
Poor countries in Africa are saddled with heavy debts, many of
which were unjustly accrued. Since the debt crisis in the
early 1980s, Northern creditors have responded by
restructuring loans and providing new loans to service debts.
With new loans, stringent policies enforced by the IMF and
World Bank require governments to cut social spending programs
and reduce government subsidies. Poor people, particularly
women and children, pay the heaviest price for the debt
burden. For many poor countries, this approach has resulted
only in increasing debt.
In 1982, Sub-Saharan Africa's total debt was $80 billion.
Despite endless rounds of rescheduling, it rose to $210
billion in 1994. Africa's debt to the World Bank, IMF and
other multilateral institutions has increasingly become
problematic, since countries are obligated to pay this debt
first. Repayments to the multilateral institutions are now
equivalent to more than half of the World Bank's new loans.
Thus, aid intended for development is used for debt payments.
Even so, Africa has only been able to pay half the principal
and interest owed to creditors since the mid-1980s. Meanwhile,
dependence on aid is reinforced, and the indebted country
continues in perpetual indebtedness.
The debt burden has had a significant impact on poor people in
Africa. The $13 billion annually repaid by African governments
to Northern creditors represents more than double their
spending on health and primary education combined. Each year,
the government of Uganda spends approximately $2.50 per capita
on health, compared with $30 per capita on debt payments. In
addition, Africa's unsustainable debt burden has deterred
private and foreign investment.
The proposed MDF offers an important opportunity to address
this problem, if it is appropriately financed, linked to
poverty reduction and requires the participation of all
multilateral institutions, including the IMF.
************************************************************
For additional information on this issue contact either Bread
for the World in Washington or, in Toronto, the Inter-Church
Coalition on Africa (iccaf@web.apc.org). See also the
document "Multilateral Debt Reduction: A Proposed Framework,"
from the Inter-Church Coalition on Africa, 129 St. Clair Ave.
W. Toronto, ON M4V 1N5, Tel: 416 927 1124 Fax: 416 927 7554,
E-mail: iccaf@web.apc.org, which was reposted by APIC on
January 26 in two parts. It is available by Web or Gopher at
the following URLs:
<URL=gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7040/00/docs96/debt9601.1>
<URL=gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:7040/00/docs96/debt9601.2>
These and other documents on Web or Gopher sites can also be
retrieved via e-mail by using the WebMail server (for
instructions send a message "help" to webmail@www.ucc.ie) or
the Agora server (for instructions send a message "help" to
agora@kamakura.mss.co.jp).
************************************************************
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by the
Africa Policy Information Center (APIC). APIC's primary
objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States
around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by
concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant
information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and
individuals. APIC is affiliated with the Washington Office on
Africa (WOA), a not-for-profit church, trade union and civil
rights group supported organization that works with Congress
on Africa-related legislation.
Note: For additional information on the content of material
cited from another source, please contact directly the source
mentioned in the posting rather than APIC. If you did not
request to be on our distribution list, you were suggested by
someone else as likely to be interested, or you are receiving
this on another list or bulletin board or as forwarded by
someone else. If you wish to be removed from our list or to
receive postings directly rather than through a bulletin
board, please send an e-mail message to apic@igc.apc.org.
Please be patient :-).
Documents previously distributed are available on the Web at:
http://www.igc.apc.org/apic/index.shtml. To receive a
description of the list, send an e-mail message to
africapolicy-info@igc.apc.org. To receive information about
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apic-info@igc.apc.org. Messages requiring more than an
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For additional information: Africa Policy Information Center,
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************************************************************
---forwarded mail END---
Momodou Camara
--- OffRoad 1.9n registered to Momodou Camara
**************************************
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**************************************
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 18:09:55 -0800
From: sarian@osmosys.incog.com (Sarian Loum)
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Stuff ...
Message-ID: <199603070209.SAA06234@thesky.incog.com>
Hi Katim,
That was the command I issued. I even send mail to the help desk but they say they don't have the resources to support people who are not associated with the U. of Washington. I'll ask our system administrator to take a look at it.
Sarian
> From GAMBIA-L-owner@u.washington.edu Tue Mar 5 21:16 PST 1996
> Date: Tue, 5 Mar 96 23:18:13 CST
> From: "Katim S. Touray" <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
> To: "GAMBIA-L: The Gambia and Related Issues Mailing List" <gambia-l@u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Stuff ...
> X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.2 -- ListProcessor by CREN
>
> Hi folks,
>
> a couple of issues:
>
> 1. Sarian and i believe Malamin Jaiteh have been saying that they've been
> having problems setting the list to return copies of their submissions.
> here's the command to send to: listserv@u.washington.edu
>
> set gambia-l mail ack
>
> by the way, if you don't want to receive a copies of what you send to the
> list, replace 'ack' above, with 'noack', meaning no acknowledgement.
>
> also, the 'set' command also takes the digest option, meaning that you'll
> get mail from the list once a day. this mail will be a compilation of all
> the mail received during the preceeding period (24 hrs). the command for
> the digest option is:
>
> set gambia-l mail digest
>
> sent to the same listserv address at U.Washington.
>
> 2. i Latjor had a typo error in adding one Christoper something to the list.
> for this reason, we are getting some error messages. to fix this, if it
> hasn't already been done, send (this is for Latjor) a review command to get
> a list of subscribers, and if the wrong address is still there, delete it,
> and resubscribe the guy.
>
> 3. i just noticed that i was using 'listserv' rather than 'listproc' in
> the above paragraphs. please replace all instances of 'listserv' with
> 'listproc'.
>
> 4. the other issue is the debate about the AFPRC. let me say that like
> Tony, i agree with Amadou. however, i strongly disagree with you guys
> regarding the overthrow of the Jawara regime by force. i categorically
> oppose the intervention of military people in government. as far as i'm
> concerned, there can never be any justification for military intervention
> in politics. please remember that Jamaica had open warfare between political
> parties elections in
> mid- to late-70s and this wasn't reason enough for the army to intervene. also,
> military intervention is always proof positive of the failure of reason and
> dialogue. what we had in The Gambia on July 22 when Jawara was overthrown
> was nothing sort of lawlessness. simply because the rule of law was overthrown
> and replaced by a military dictatorship. the only legitimacy the govt. had,
> and still does, was based on the rule of force, not the democratic consent of
> the people being ruled. we can argue until tomorrow about how 'democratic'
> the
> Jawara govt. was. it wasn't. but it was based on the democratic process. i
> strongly believe the Gambian people should have been left to their own devices
> (even if it meant running the country to the ground), and not rely on the
> 'wisdom' of 30-year olds. the fact of the matter is that even though Jawara
> did not faithfully execute the dictates of the constitution (at least in
> spirit), that wasn't proof that there was something fundamentally wrong with
> the constitution. the case is similar to equating the viability of the country
> as a nation with the ability of Jawara, or anyone else for that matter, to
> lead the country to it's full potential. in summary, let me repeat that i have
> absolutely no desire to entertain, for even one second, the thought that the
> military option can sometimes be justified.
>
> 5. where do we go from here?. what i find worrying is that it seems we've
> not learnt from our mistakes. the same attitude of complacency that caused
> the
> Jawara govt. to be big-headed is creeping into our mentality. as Amadou
> alluded to, this is the time to really get up and be involved. i think the
> AFPRC should be made to understand that there are people out there who are
> just as committed to seeing the right things done for the country. the
> initiatives don't have to be their monopoly anymore.
>
> 6. before i forget, i'm sorry for the delay in responding to some of your
> questions about configuring your list options, i.e. the mail ack thing. i'll
> try to stay on top of things some more. also, i'll work on the welcome text,
> as suggested by Latjor.
>
> 7. bye,
>
> Katim
>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 16:20:59 CST
From: <JDG.L.LANGE.LWCLK@CO.HENNEPIN.MN.US>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: THERE'S LOTS WRONG WITH THE OVERTHROW OF A CONSTITUIONAL GOVT.
Message-ID: <9603072220.AA18397@mx5.u.washington.edu>
AMADOU:
1) If you see nothing wrong with the overthrow of our constitutional
govt.(assuming that your eyes are wide open) I suggest you take a short
trip to Vision World . . . (hahahah)
I was never a Jawara enthusiast, but my disdain for him was no
basis for an advocacy or endorsement of a military dictatorship.
Bearing in mind that political misjudgments are not necessarily
constitutional breaches, would you be so kind as to state the
constitutional bases for Jawara's overthrow?
Assuming that you can articulate sufficient constitutional bases for
the overthrow of the Jawara regime, take it a step further and outline
an objective criteria for when a people may overthrow a lawful govt.
(Your task should be half done . . . identifiable and sufficient
bases for the overthrow of the Jawara govt. should be part of the
criteria right?) I pose the question because I would like to know
exactly when you and I should prepare to kick Yahya's Black ass . . .
2) I continue to be concerned about the company we keep. Latjor
emphatically pointed out that "intelligence gathering is a fact of life;
thus no one needs be concerned that intelligence gatherers may be in our
midst. Errrr...wrong! Thieves are all about us. Should one be
concerned that we may at some point have one in our midst through
some malfeasance or misfeasance on our part? I think so.
Along the same lines, I am concerned about allowing the Gambian embassy
to subscribe. I suspect it will have a chilling effect on the
exchange of ideas and opinions. Moreover, I don't think it necessarily
wise that for the sake of obtaining "official thinking" (we know what
the official thinking is) we should keep the company of murderers
and known accessories to murders. We are not that lonely and we don't
need trash that badly. And remember, if the devil is your playmate,
don't be surprised if you are gored . . .
Morro.
(PS: I have reason to believe that this was not received by Gambia-l.
Amadou, I'll send a copy to you directly. If this has been received
by everybody else, sorry . . .)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 17:33:13 -0800 (PST)
From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu>
To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Experts Discuss Common Currency For West Africa (fwd)
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91l.960307173158.3382A-100000@saul1.u.washington.edu>
FYI -
Tony
========================================================================
Anthony W Loum tloum@u.washington.edu
Supervisor, Business Administration Library 206-543-4360 voice
100 Balmer Hall 206-685-9392 fax
University of Washington
Box 353200
Seattle, Wa.98195-3200
=========================================================================
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 7 Mar 1996 21:56:54 GMT
From: Stephen B. Kennedy-IV <kennedy@biochem.dental.upenn.edu>
Newgroups: soc.culture.african, soc.culture.sierra-leone,
soc.culture.liberia, soc.culture.nigeria
Subject: Experts Discuss Common Currency For West Africa
07 Mar 96 - African-Currency
Experts Discuss Common Currency For West Africa
DAKAR, Senegal (PANA) - West African countries have been told to
consider setting up a West African currency as Europe moves closer
toward monetary Union.
Experts at a workshop held Wednesday in Dakar said the common
European currency, to be called the euro and billed to begin
circulation by 2002, would almost certainly dislocate the CFA franc,
the only convertible currency in the 16-nation Economic Community of
West African States, or ECOWAS.
"The disappearance of the CFA franc has already been programmed"
from Europe, Said Prof. Karamoko Kane of the Dakar-based United
Nations African Institute For Economic Development and Planning, or
IDEP.
Kane was delivering a lecture on "The CFA vis-a-vis European
Monetary Union" at a workship organised by IDEP at its heaquarters
in the Senegalese capital.
Giving a run-down of the links between the CFA (African Finance
Union) and the French treasury, he said the possibility of making a
similar arrangement with the euro was far-fetched.
Since 1948, the French treasury has guaranteed the convertibility
and the exchange rate of the CFA, in use in its former colonies in
West and Central Africa.
The CFA was devalued for the first time in January 1994 bringing its
exchange rate to 100 CFA to 1 French franc from 50:1 previously.
Kane said that Paris may still be able to help the currency but the
ideal was for the 16 ECOWAS countries to come up with modalities of
a common currency which would require harmonising certain finance,
budgetary and debt issues.
The Seven West African countries which use the CFA -- Benin, Burkina
Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo - already have
the West African Monetary Union, known by its French acronym UEMOA.
The Union was established after the devaluation in 1994.
ECOWAS also has provision for the creation of a common currency for
the sub-region. Kane said that efforts should be found to merge the
two to get a common currency acceptable to the nine other countries
in the area which use different national currencies.
In an introductory lecture earlier, Prof. Philip Quarcoo, in charge
of the training division at IDEP, said the CFA zone had demonstrated
financial discipline and monetary stablility for quite some time.
The zone, he said, enjoyed considerable proserity from 1980-1985 but
lost competitivity thereafter, leading to the devaluation of the
CFA.
French-speaking Central Africa also uses the CFA now issued by the
Economic and Monetary Union of Central African States, or CEMAC.
Though potentially richer than its West African equivalent, it has
performed much worse after the devaluation.
UEMOA countries recorded 2.9 percent GDP growth in fiscal 1994-1995
compared to minus 2.3 percent in CEMAC states.
"The devaluation was a good thing. But the adjustment strategy must
focus on a balanced budget and a favourable environment to check
capital flight and the possibility of floating the CFA," Quarcoo
said.
The monthly workshop is organised by IDEP to sensitise African
planners and policy makers on pressing economic issues facing the
continent.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 20:53:48 CST
From: Katim S. Touray <touray@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Stuff ...
Message-ID: <9603080253.AA28577@hope.soils.wisc.edu>
Hi folks,
i gotta run, but ...
1. what's my gripe with 30-year olds? well, let's say that i think The Gambia
deserves leadership that we know people will look forward to what they have to
say. can you imagine the UN general assembly *looking* forward to hearing what
the wisdom of a 30-year old is on a burning international isssue?. i insist
on a leader that's going to command respect outside. i can expand later ...
2. i've removed the troublesome christopher.r address. and added
Mr. Phillips' proper address. so all should be well now. knock on wood, or your
keyboard.
3. on Morro's concern about the Embassy joining our list. i have no problems
with that. if it comes down to fearing these people, we are all in trouble. and
i mean big trouble.
4. about what the military should do if not rule the country. they should get an
education. let's not forget that they most probably joined the army because they
did not have any scholarships to further their education. also, the education they
get when they go back to school will last them their *entire* lifetime. that's a
much better deal than the shaky business of heading a military government. the
problem is that they're creeping into the Jawara hole: the point where and when the
only thing you hear is what you want to. simply because you only hear what you want
to, and ensure that by surrounding yourself with people who would tell you nothing
else.
5. i really gotta go. have a great weekend, y'all.
Katim
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 22:11:06 -0500 (EST)
From: "Malanding S. Jaiteh" <msjaiteh@mtu.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Experts Discuss Common Currency For West Africa (fwd)
Message-ID: <199603080311.WAA02058@aspen>
I am not schooled in currency matters but what do our crippling
economies need unified currency for. Is it another fashionable thing
from Europe? How will the new currency supports itself or competes
with Euro? May be we should save our money and happily use the dollar.
just an opinion!
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 09:13:34 -0800 (PST)
From: "A. Loum" <tloum@u.washington.edu>
To: Gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: The Gambia Loses Voting Rights at U.N. (fwd)
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91l.960308090827.22846A-100000@saul1.u.washington.edu>
FYI-
We have not paid our UN dues and are consequently among the the list of
outstanding nations that have lost their voting rights.
Thanks
Tony
========================================================================
Anthony W Loum tloum@u.washington.edu
Supervisor, Business Administration Library 206-543-4360 voice
100 Balmer Hall 206-685-9392 fax
University of Washington
Box 353200
Seattle, Wa.98195-3200
=========================================================================
---------- Forwarded message ----------
UNITED NATIONS: 35 Nations Lose Voting Rights at U.N. /CORRECTED
REPEAT/
by Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 4 (IPS) - Thirty-five of the 185 countries at
the United Nations have lost their voting rights at the world body
because they have failed to pay their dues.
Some countries have run up millions of dollars in arrears.
Yugoslavia, for one, has to pay about 9.8 million dollars before
it can regain its voting rights, while Georgia owes 3.5 million
dollars.
''Some countries don't realise how far behind they are.'' said
U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa. ''When they see their names on the
list or don't get their ballot papers, they say, 'Oh, my God', and
quickly the cheque is sent along.''
Jolted by a cash crisis, the United Nations is even thinking of
taking plastic money from member states.
''Right now, we are thinking of taking credit cards,'' Foa
said. ''It just might help.''
Of the 35 countries that have lost their voting rights, 17 are
from Africa: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros,
Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia,
Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and
Principe, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
Other defaulters include Afghanistan, Bolivia, Dominica, the
Dominican Republic, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq,
Latvia, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekestan, Vanuatu, Yemen
and Yugoslavia.
Foa said that the U.N. Committee on Contributions was holding a
special session to look at the appeals of countries that point to
circumstances beyond their control.
''And they're looking at these and turning a sympathetic ear to
those countries that are having serious problems,'' she said.
Aside from Yugoslavia and Georgia, the biggest defaulters are
Iraq (2.7 million dollars), Latvia (1.5 million dollars) and
Tajikistan (1.0 million dollars).
Foa said that in 1995, 22 countries lost their voting rights in
the General Assembly, the United Nations' highest policy-making
body.
Article 19 of the U.N. Charter says that a member of the United
Nations which is in arrears will have no vote in the General
Assembly if the amount equals or exceeds the contributions due
from the country for the preceding two years.
The biggest single defaulter is currently the United States,
which owes 1.5 billion dollars. But Foa said the United States had
not lost its voting rights because it had made payments towards
1994.
As of Mar. 1, countries owed the United Nations 3.1 billion
dollars -- 1.3 billion dollars for the regular budget and 1.8
billion dollars for peacekeeping operations. And as of last week,
only 33 of the 185 member-states had paid their dues in full to
the regular budget for 1996.
Seeking a solution to the organisation's ongoing financial
crisis, the Secretary-General told delegates last month that there
should be a change in the scale of assessments which stipulates
how much each of the 185 member-states pay to the regular budget.
For 1996, the United States is to pay 25 percent of the regular
budget, followed by Japan (15.4 percent), Germany (9.0), France
(6.4) Britain (5.3), Italy (5.1), Canada (3.1), Spain (2.3),
Russia (4.4), and Brazil (1.6).
The scale of assessments is based is the ''real capacity'' of
member-states to pay. The General Assembly has fixed a maximum of
25 percent of the budget for any one contributor and a minimum of
0.001 percent for most developing nations.
''The realities of international relations today differ from
those which pertained at the time of the United Nations'
founding,'' Boutros-Ghali said. ''The scale of assessments should
reflect current political and economic realities,'' he said.
Boutros-Ghali also told delegates that the financial crisis has
''brought the United Nations to the edge of insolvency.'' ''The
Organisation is totally dependent on cash inflows from member
states's assessments to provide liquidity.''
The non-payment of dues has exacerbated the cash crisis.
Boutros-Ghali said he plans to appeal to heads of government of
those countries in arrears. ''I will also ask each of those
countries which are in arrears now to provide me with their
proposed payment plan to make up those arrears.''
The Secretary-General has also proposed a special session of
the General Assembly to discuss the financial crisis. Thirty-five
of the member-states would have no decision-making role at such a
session because of the loss of their voting rights.
(END/IPS/TD/YJC/96)
Origin: Washington/UNITED NATIONS/
----
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 13:57:54 -0500 (EST)
From: ABDOU <at137@columbia.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: multiple of issues
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960308133631.18871B-100000@inibara.cc.columbia.edu>
HI,
I am writing on a couple of developments. Firstly, I think
having the embassy subscribe to the list would have unfortunate
consequences. First of all, those people are the lackeys of a
dictatorship. One of the cardinal rules of living and working for a
dicatatorship is that you are obligated to tell the dictator, as a
government "official", about all his "enemies" (read: critics). I have
little doubt that some semi-illeterate CID agent would be reading our
discussions and coming to conlcusions about treason.
Secondly, in regard to the guy with the MIL domain I think we
should reexamine his presence in the list. Correct me if I am wrong; he
has not introduced himself, has not participated in any of the discussions
and seems only interested in listening. At Columbia, we frequently have
people sent to the Institute for African Studies by the U.S. government.
Most of these guys have little interest in or knowledge about Africa and
are taking this training for intelligence purposes. I am not accusing
anyone of anything, but we should be wary of the fact that the CIA and the
U.S. military have done uncountable damages to the continent of Africa.
If somebody therefore wants training for this purpose, we as Africans,
should facilitate it for him. Of course one does not have to have
interest in The Gambia to subsrcibe, but we should be discriminating in
the type of company we keep lest our list lose distinctive character.
FYI, The Gambia has also lost its voting rights in the OAU for
unpaid dues. It seems like Jammeh source of money is drying up. And
Katim, I think you are right on the issue of the age and inexperience of
th junta. We need maturity not bravado.
Peace to you all, and please excuse my long vitriol for sometimes
I get animated and just let loose.
Thanks,
-Abdou
*******************************************************************************
A. TOURAY. (718)904-0215. MY URL ON THE WWW=
http://www.cc.columbia.edu/~at137
A FINITE IN A LAND OF INFINITY.
SEEKING BUT THE REACHABLE.
I WANDER AND I WONDER.
ALL RESPITE IS FINAL.
*******************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 96 16:18:54 -0500
From: "Dana Ott" <dott@usaid.gov>
To: <gambia-l@u.washington.edu>
Subject: re: multiple of issues
Message-ID: <vines.WBy7+tJ8Elb@BASA14037.usaid.gov>
With all due respect to Abdou - I don't think failing to participate in a
discussion automatically qualifies one as a "spy" or anything else. I
understand your unease about the Gambian Embassy because of the potential for
the information to travel to the wrong ears, but I personally feel that once
you begin excluding participation for any reason (even a good one) you have
headed down a dangerous path.
Again, I understand your reasoning, but one does not need the designation
..mil to be capable of nefarious deeds, nor does the designation imply
anything other than a current access point to the internet. How can you be
sure about anyone on a list such as this? That is part of the risk of
participating in an open forum.
Just my .02 cents
Dana Ott Phone: (703) 312-7192
Research Analyst Fax: (703) 312-7199
Africa Bureau Information Center Email: dott@usaid.gov
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 18:14:58 -0500 (EST)
From: "Malanding S. Jaiteh" <msjaiteh@mtu.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: multiple of issues
Message-ID: <199603082315.SAA02602@aspen>
Abdou, it is not unsual for any country, including the Gambia to keep
track of whoever is living in that country. This may not necessarily
mean spying or any other bad intension. The benefit of that could be
shared by both the country and the group. Groups with ill-intent can
be identified and ofcourse controlled. I think that is and should be a
right to any government.
Nevertheless such monitoring should not be confused with spying or
harassment. Believe me someone from a .com or .edu or .GAm if such
address exists, could very well be a spy. What is important is the
list members to be prepared to keep the integrity of the list. Discussions
should be open and fair. All members should be aware that the list
is not responsible for any opinion expressed by its members. Afterall
what does a dictator need to justify his actions against his
opponents?
On the issue of whether or not the embassy members join in. I think
any one even Capt Jammeh can subscribe to list. Any attempt to deny
them the chance to participate would make us guilty of the crime we
are acusing Jammeh- abandoning the democratic process.
Have a good weekend!
------------------------------
Date: 08 Mar 96 15:37:54 PDT
From: SHAFTR@ucipm.ucdavis.edu
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: re: THERE'S LOTS WRONG WITH THE OVERTHROW OF A CONSTITUIONAL GOVT.
Message-ID: <9603082335.AA09122@mx3.u.washington.edu>
Ah Sama Mboka yee,
Nah gen deff? Man, I'll be damned! Reasonable
minds may differ but for Tony and Amadou to attempt
to justify in any way the military overthrow of the
democratically elected PPP government seems to me to
be unconscionable. You guys deserve to be whacked upside
(American english) the head. Like Katim, Abdou and
Morro, i believe there can be absolutely no justification
for the military to interfere in the affairs of government.
Since the Kukoi episode, I knew the country was cursed
and that a repeat attempt at overthrowing the PPP govt
was only a matter of time. I guarantee you that once
the cycle of military coups has started, it will never
stop. Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone and Liberia are
uneviable examples.
Whatever your indictment of the PPP and the
fledgling democratic process in the Gambia, we saw
over the years candidates (from the opposition, from
the ruling party and independents) win and lose seats
in parliament, suggesting that the process was working.
It might have been imperfect but my take is that voter
fraud was far from pervasive (come up with contrary evidence
guys). Otherwise PPP candidates would have won all the seats
in parliament. All candidates were present at polling
stations and at the counting of ballots by mostly
unbiased civil servants (my dad and a number of my
friends have been polling officers and followed the
law to the letter) to guarantee fairness. My critique
of the process is that it was not driven by issues but
by client/patron relationships (borrowed that from
my political science friend further north) and most
importantly suffered from apathy on the part of me and you
and the those who had the most to offer. How many of us
has ever voted in the general elections? The fact that
voters were more interested in what goodies a candidate
could deliver to his constituency, while in no way demeaning
the process, skews the debate more towards 'pork' and away
from what's best for the country. As a consequence, the issue
at election time was never Jawara's record vis-a-vis an
opponent's vision for the country.
My beef with the Jawara regime was that it
allowed, even condoned, an atmosphere where people
(politicians, civil servants, businessmen) could rob govt
coffers without fear of being punished. Most of the blame,
however falls back squarely on a culture/mentality that believes
and I quote "sheep can only eat grass where it's tethered"..
(direct translation). We come from a culture that says if
you don't enrich yourself in office (whatever level it may be),
you are a fool and you have no one to blame. Consequently
the rampant corruption in govt and at all levels of
society. We saw some initial change with the recent whistle
blowing and sometimes good investigative reporting of
papers like the Observer, but we have miles to go. Even
with Jammeh who has vowed to retrieve every butut, with
just over a yr at the helm, there are rumours of stashes
in Swiss bank accounts and secret slush/development
funds outside the purview of the Accountant General's
office. Still on the subject of the AFPRC, despite the shaky
record of the PPP, these new guys are far from being better.
These guys are behaving like the gestapo..orchestrating
political murders (what happened to Koro?), murders of
opponents in the military (in the guise of squelching
an attempted coup), stiffling & beating up the press
(bringing trumped up charges against reporters-Pap
Saine and Co.), the intelligence agency picking up civilians
and detaining them at will, restricting free movement
of ordinary citizens and just an overall trampling of the
civil rights of Gambians. My question is if the AFPRC
is out to fight corruption, can't it be done while at
the same time according people due process? Why the police
state? Let's not be so gullible ..building edifices to
commemorate July 22 and starting a TV station shouldn't impress
anybody. For God's sake, the majority of Gambians have
no electricity, no running water and can't even afford
transistor radios let alone television. Seems to me these
guys like their predecessors are catering to the Banjul elite.
Is the AFPRC going to handover to a civilian
govt? I don't think so. These guys think that as long as they
are the ones who put their lives on the line to uproot
the PPP, they are the ones who should rule, come what may.
Can stick my neck out on this one, Jammeh & Co. will never
return to barracks nor to farming for that matter. As the
saying goes, 'Beware the devil that you don't know ...'
Do I sound like a PPP buff? Nada! At some point, we have
to take stock and be more grounded about our expectations
of this country and those who govern it. For a country with
no resources, a dearth of skilled manpower and counting on
peanuts, tourism and external aid to bank role its development,
we sometimes expect damn too much. Care a great deal about
the friendly and peaceful country I used to know, though.
Tony or Katim, Prof. Omar Ndongo, the Senegalese visiting
professor (Ondongo@benfranklin.hnet.uci.edu) at the University
of Cal. Urvine, has been trying to join Gambia-L but keeps
getting his message returned/error messages. Can you contact
him and give him pointers regarding how get on board. Jah
Gen Jeff, Chi Wahtani Ahjuma be. Chi Jama!
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 18:43:18 -0500
From: Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: THERE'S LOTS WRONG WITH THE OVERTHROW OF A CONSTITUIONAL GOVT.
Message-ID: <199603082343.SAA14059@auc.edu>
MORRO:
In response to your concern about the company we keep; let me state again that
it was our of my concern on this same issue that I brought it to the attention
of the group. I had hoped that by doing so we would focus on this issue again
since we had not previously come to and resolution on this matter. In the
ensuing discussions which I was monitoring, in order to get a concensus, the
majority of the group that contributed to the discussion were in favor of
making the group as open as possible. Of course majority is not always right,
but alas this is the democracy many are fighting and dying for.
My other concern is that you may have mis-interpreted my statements:
...........
Latjor emphatically pointed out that "intelligence gathering is a fact of life; thus no one needs be concerned that intelligence gatherers may be in
our midst.
.........
Here is what I said:
About the concern I raised as to what our policy on accepting new subscribers
was, I agree with Tony that we should resolve the matter quickly. My own view
is that since we wish to make it an open forum to discuss matters relevant to
Gambia (and Africa), it is going to be very difficult to develop any meaningful
screening method. Perhaps the case at hand is the example we were awaiting. If
this guy's address did not end with .army.mil, I probably would not have thought
twice about accepting his application. What if he had a pc at home and wanted to
subscibe from that address? How would I have known who he was?
The reason I brought this up in the first place was not so much out of concern
for letting someone in the US army (or any other army for that matter) join
Gambia-l, rather to alert all subscribers of the reality that the group is
indeed very very open! Intelligence gathering is a fact of life!
LatJor.
...........
What I was hinting at is to temper your statements since the group has agreed to
open the flood gates, as long as it flows in one direction (i.e. focus on Gambia).
Perhaps you can come up with an effective means of screening potential subscribers,
it would make mine and other subscription managers' jobs ever so sweeter (laugh).
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 18:57:09 -0500
From: Gabriel Ndow <gndow@auc.edu>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Stuff ...
Message-ID: <199603082357.SAA14092@auc.edu>
Katim/Tony:
I believe the problem with the new guy chris has been fixed. He just has a very
long address and I did make a typo while adding him. Abdou this may be the reason
he has not introduced himself yet. (Let us not panic!)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 09 Mar 1996 21:01:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Amadou Scattred Janneh <AJANNEH@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu, ondongo@benfranklin.hnet.uci.edu
Subject: Dr. Ndongo added to list
Message-ID: <01I25CYTLIPE000C15@PSTCC6.PSTCC.CC.TN.US>
This is to formally inform you of Dr. Ndongo's addition to our list.
We look forward to reading an introduction as well as his contributions.
Suuto diyaa.
Amadou Scattred-Janneh
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 15:57:55
From: binta@iuj.ac.jp
To: gambia-l@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: multiple of issues
Message-ID: <199603100658.PAA13040@mlsv.iuj.ac.jp>
Hi all,
Abdou's concerns may be a bit on the high side, but I think there is
something we can learn from what he wrote. The list should be made
open to as many people as possible. However, the list should not be
taken for granted and used as a one-way communication medium like the
radio or TV. On the contrary, all members should try and contribute to
the discussions. What can we think of a member who has not even
introduced him/herself? Are those people interested in discourse, or
do they intend to be mere readers.
I want to suggest that,if possible, every potential member must first
send an intro to the subscription managers before he can be added to
the list. This suggestion did not spring out of fear, rather it will
act as a true indication of one's intentions to join the group as a
discussant and not only a reader. This is a participative discussion
group for all to share ideas and opinions.
Let us permit the embassy to join the group. In this way we may be
able to know, informally though, what the central authorities think
about us and about the way they are doing things at home.
The Gambia in arrears? Is it very surprising to us? It does not
surprise me that much. Let us reorder our priorities!
Lamin Drammeh.
------------------------------
End of GAMBIA-L Digest 6
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gambia-l: LOG9603C - Digest 6
