Halifa: ‘Gambia Is At A Crossroads’

HalifaTHE GAMBIA’S FUTURE IS IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE

Escalating tensions or a move towards an inclusive Democratic Secular Republic

Issued On Behalf of The Central Committee by Halifa Sallah, Secretary General and Presidential Candidate

7 June 2016

The Gambia is at a crossroads. We either take the route towards escalating tensions or the other route towards an inclusive secular democratic Republic. There is no middle road.

What then are the challenges? What is the way forward?

The Danger of Ethno-linguistic Profiling
The Republic requires a transition from a country of ethno-linguistic groups to a nation of equal citizens who share equal rights and duties in determining their manner of government and in participating to run the affairs of the country.
Hence no Gambian citizen should utter any derogatory remark to ridicule or debase any other citizen based purely on religious, ethno-linguistic, gender or any other status.

In the same vein, no citizen should attribute the action of another citizen to a whole group based on religious, ethno-linguistic affiliation or any other affinity. Any close monitoring of the recent diatribes against different ethno-linguistic groups would not fail to acknowledge the danger of provoking ethno-linguistic hatred and fury. These raw remarks against ethno-linguistic groups may have gone unnoticed if prominence was not given to them by the person occupying the pinnacle of state power.

At his Ebo town meeting, President Jammeh left no stone unturned in claiming that it is the mandinkas who look down on other tribes and want to provoke violence in the country. It is best not to publish the remarks which may incite anger.
The remarks very clearly indicate what constitutes ethno-linguistic profiling. It amounts to attributing the conduct of one person from a particular ethno-linguistic origin to all others who share a common origin. Hence if the act of the person is evil the whole group becomes demonised. In that case there is collective indictment of an ethno-linguistic group, collective castigation, collective guilt, collective punishment and stigmatisation. These lead to discrimination and exclusion at best, in the absence of war and genocide, at worst, during war times. Ethno-linguistic profiling should stop. It is offensive to innocent citizens and very menacing to those who are susceptible to intimidation.
No head of state, leader of a political party, public figure or private citizen, should utter any remarks amounting to ethno-linguistic profiling. No person is elected to speak for an ethno-linguistic group. One should not refer to Pesidents as ethno-linguistic representatives and castigate members of such groups for acts perpetrated by them.Such remarks would be unconstitutional, illegal and immoral and would not help us to cement the relation beween diverse people to prove our common brotherhood and sisterhood. All advocacy groups against political conflict should work diligently and in a concerted fashion to reverse the process of provoking ethno-linguistic diatribes in the media, at home and abroad. This prevents citizens from debating issues on how to ensure a life of liberty and prosperity and focus on divergence caused by status at birth or choice of religion. All hands should be on deck to combat ethno-linguistic profiling by state officials or common citizens, at home or abroad. Derogatory remarks against any ethno-linguistic group being Mandinka, Pulaar, Wolof, Jola, Serahule, Mandiago, Serer, etc are unacceptable.

On April 14 and 16 Incidents

The arrest, detention and trial of the UDP leadership and their supporters is a source of political tension.

It has been emphasised ad-infinitum that the UDP leadership was driven to peaceful action because of information of the death of a member of the party. Action in good faith is assumed when a person has every reason to believe that a particular development has taken place. When a political leader acts instantaneously on the basis of conscience, even if it is later found that the evidence is mistakenly assumed, criminality should not be alleged. Instead any contradiction between the political figures and the state should be taken as political conflict which is managed and resolved through dialogue. This is how matters stand with regard to the April 14 and 16 incidents and their aftermath.

A state whose security has not been threatened by alleged marches and processions does not need to become belligerent and vindictive.
That becomes an act of self defeat. A problem should not be made to be bigger than its size. It should not be blown out of proportion. Those who take to the streets without arms should not be treated as violent opposition. When a government utilises excessive measures to deal with its opponents, it puts it’s own legitimacy to question.
Impunity undermines the legitimacy of a state and ultimately puts dent in the governability of a nation.

The reason why the state has received global attention is because of the manner in which the case is being handled.

Arrests and detentions are bound by laws and rules. No action is legitimate when laws and rules are honoured with disregard.
In another week, the incidents would have lasted for two months. The failure to bring many arrestees to court within 72 hours creates suspicion of torture, deaths and disappearances. This is what must be avoided at all cost. The best way forward is to discharge and release those on trial and open up dialogue with the state and other political parties to avoid future reoccurrences. This would appeal to the sense of justice of the overwhelming majority of Gambians.

1st & 2nd June Dakar Conference on The Gambia
Many people in the Gambia are informed that the opposition were to assemble in Dakar to form a coalition. The International Civil Society Forum on the Gambia invited prominent Gambians to debate on the current situation.
The West Africa Civil Society Forum is affiliated to ECOWAS and has branches in many West African countries.

Over the years, cases of deaths, torture and detentions without trial have found their way to the ECOWAS court and were widely reported by human rights groups thus leading to advocacy programmes being initiated to support victims.

The declaration of the Gambia as an Islamic state, the amendment to the Elections Act which increases the deposits to stand as candidates for elections and other restrictions and the tensions developing in the aftermath of the events of 14th and 16th April and the call by a sector of the Gambian community abroad for change by any means gave an early warning signal of a deteriorating political situation. The debate was necessary to be able to predict the political climate and its possible outcome.

The Outcome of the Dakar Meeting:
The Dakar meeting should finally make it evident to all Gambians that the future of the Gambia is in the hands of the Gambian people.
It has become very clear to all that if the Gambian people do not know what they want and how to pursue it to fruition no one would be able to give any meaningful solidarity.
It became evident to all that the advocacy and solidarity that the Gambian people need from the UN, AU, ECOWAS, EU and USA to facilitate good governance, democracy and promote respect for and protection of human rights has reached its peak

Hence it is the Gambian people who should know what they should demand for and the type of advocacy and solidarity they want from the region and the world. The type of action plan that is needed should be connected with, dependent on and determined by the will of the Gambian people.

Conclusion
On my part as a resource person I made it clear that the sovereign Gambian people have gone beyond the politics of resistance which belongs to the civil rights movement and should now embrace transformative politics which calls for strategies and tactics to empower them to vote governments out of office ,when they are guilty of impunity, mismanagement and misrepresentation.

Although views do not change automatically participants have seen the need for sincerity in reviewing strategies and tactics adopted by different stakeholders and consider approaches which would earn Gambians the respect and support of all stakeholders at home and abroad.

The Gambian people want a country where human rights, democracy and good governance could be promoted and genuine elections held to give rise to genuine results. Some still have doubts whether elections could bring about change but are yet to give concrete strategies on how to effect change acceptable to the international community without elections.

Hence those who wish to engage in advocacy should urge The Gambia to meet its obligations under the ECOWAS Treaty and AU Constitutive Act and the numerous protocols so that fundamental Human rights would be respected and political expression and association protected to pave the way for genuine elections. Needless to say, a self-respecting government would not wait to be influenced by its peers to comply with international treaties and protocols it has signed and ratified.

The Way Forward
Political parties could best serve the country by establishing an effective and efficient Inter-party institution that would engage in dialogue to create a level ground for free, fair and genuine multiparty contest. They should work in partnership with the IEC, the CSOs and the International Community in order to put in place an electoral system which will deliver results that would be acceptable to all stakeholders.

The Gambia opposition and its supporters in the Diaspora should take note of the terms established by the protocol on democracy and good governance; that to run a government unconstitutionally, or take over a government unconstitutionally, are all unacceptable.

Hence, they should be able to catalogue all unconstitutional behaviour of the government and negotiate with the government to provide remedy and seek solidarity and advocacy from partners of the country to exercise persuasive influence or exert pressure to achieve results as provided for by the existing protocols.

The Gambia opposition should sit and evolve a coalition strategy and tactic that would enable them to establish a formidable opposition force without which the excessive power of the government could not be objectively criticised or effectively scrutinised and restraine.

Civil society should become partners in promoting a non partisan programme to consolidate democracy, human rights and good governance and facilitate the holding of free, fair and genuine elections.

The media should distinguish legal opposition from violent opposition, identify the strategies and tactics that would make the opposition to attain the respect and clout meriting respect and recognition as a partner by the UN, ECOWAS, AU, and the international community. Whenever, a government is confronted with challenges which weakens it an alternative should become visible. This is the challenge before the opposition in the two months ahead. Will it be able take up the challenge? The future will tell.

Ends

45 Comments

  1. Took the man quite a while to realise that(crossroad). The signs were & are everywhere.

    To be fair though and as the saying goes “better late than never “. An ethno-linguistic profiling (true to mr sallah’s own termination) dispensation in the gambia, holds no bright future for any one. I am glad that the ranks are closing.

    • I believe PDOIS has stated, as far back as the December 30th incident or even much further back, that The Gambia was at a cross roads. So that realisation is not recent, but goes back a bit into the past…

      • Every time , there is event which threaten the regime. Halifa will come up with stupid press release which indicate that The Gambia is at crossroad . He will hypocritically make a case for pdois while trying to castigate those who staged actions or event . He did the same thing when December statehouse attack happened and the peaceful protest recently . He is an opportunist and each of these events he felt he should be consulted . When December statehouse attack happened he and his disciples indicated that the attackers should have consulted relevant stakeholders before such attack , such a brainless thinking and self righteous perception is the character of a man who think he has the best ideas in The Gambia. In fact in term of his paper qualification , what is his highest education because I know he is not a Ph.D. Holder and he didn’t study subject areas such as physics or math or economics or medicine or law ? Few weeks ago, a confused disciple claimed Mr Sallah teach economics , political science and sociology at UTG , when I refuted his lies I didn’t hear from him any more . Yes mr sallah is eloquent but he is not an intelligent politician .

  2. Dodou Jawneh

    ‘When a political leader acts instantaneously on the basis of conscience, even if it is later found that the evidence is mistakenly assumed, criminality should not be alleged.’ The evidence is not ‘mistakenly assumed’. The evidence is incontrovertible. They were unlawfully detained, tortured, raped and killed. Please avoid spin doctoring.

    • This is a general (open ended) statement, which does not necessarily refer to the UDP leader’s actions.

      • Dodou Jawneh

        Why open ended statement? Why not closed ended one which is to the point. We want factual politics in our country not politics of spin. It is antithetical to our culture. Obviously Halifa is referring to Darbo in this case because it is only Darbo and his party colleagues who went out to protest and what happened to them was clear to everybody including the outside world. They were unlawfully detained and tortured and even killed. By the way why don’t you be your own man. Why do you have to come and defend Halifa. The most you have right to do is to suggest to Halifa to defend his position. For me whatever you said in defending his statement will be seen as without foundation because you did not write the statement for him. The argument is between me and Sallah himself.

        • I am not defending Halifa. I am incapble of that task. I am only pointing out what is blatantly obvious.

          And if you think the issue is between you and Halifa, then you are in the wrong place, Mr EGOCENTRIC.

          I believe this forum has been created to allow interactive discussions on all issues published on the pages of Kaironews, by us common folks.

          So off you go to the appropriate forum, if you can find one..

          “Between you and Halifa…!” What cheek…!!!

          • Why he write open-ended , evasive and general statement . He is a political hypocrite because he refused to state the facts .

          • Bax , all you do in this forum is to defend Halifa and Jammeh but you never defended the peaceful protesters who put their lives on the line for the entire country . What is more patriotic than someone who put his life for the sake of the country . When I heard you claimed that Halifa is scacrificing for The Gambia but you refused to even support peaceful protesters who sacrificed more than Halifa , I wonder what is wrong with you.

    • “… on the basis of conscience, even if it is later found that the evidence is mistakenly assumed, criminality should not be alleged.”

      Jawneh, I support the view that this is a general statement. And the emphasis here is “on the basis of conscience”.

      The weight of the whole argument is that you cannot indict one’s conscience. In matters of conscience it is what you truthfully believe to be true. Therefore your conscience cannot act against what is right, it act against what is wrong. And if you act against what is wrong there is no criminal intent.

      There is no criminal intent, because criminality and acting against what is wrong, are two opposites. Criminality justifies an act that is wrong. Acting against what is wrong justifies an intent that is not criminal.

      Obviously something must lead to an act. But if the act is primarily based on one’s conscience, even if the evidence leading to the act is “mistakenly assumed” it doesn’t necessarily make the act wrong. The act was done based on your conscience. And your conscience is always right. It is your ability to know right from wrong.

      So the evidence can be “mistakenly assumed.”‘ One can act on a wrong assumption but done in good faith.

      There is a wollof parallel saying to that effect: “the lie that builds is much better than the lie that destroys. The emphasis here is not on the lie but what builds and what destroys.

      The evidence after the fact is incontrovertible. The evidence before the fact may have been “mistakenly assumed.” And the fact is acting on the basis of one’s conscience.

      Your incontrovertible evidence is what it is. Nobody is arguing with that.

  3. Halifa is a man of great wisdom and his statements are coded in a language that you have to be at your best to be able to read between the lines.

    • Dodou Jawneh

      I am at my best but still find his statement too economical with the truth.

      • Dodou, you are pathetic if this is your best. You should know that the statement above is referring to the state and not you and me. The state feels that Darboe and co are wrong and have violated the law and Halifa is telling them not to allege criminality; that if Darboe acted instantaneously as a political leader based on the information he had believing it to be true, the state should not allege criminality against him for doing so. If you were at your best you would have understood as such..

        • Dodou Jawneh

          Is that an insult or what? I do not believe there is any place for such language.

        • Dodou Jawneh

          I think you need to apologise to me. All I did was to comment on a statement made by another person. I never met you and certainly have never done anything wrong to you.

          • Mr Ba I am still waiting for my apology. I cannot answer back in kind, because we are Jakhanka; we do not insult. However I should ask you, are we not a part of the state – you and me? Is Jammeh acting on our behalf? For me I consider myself more of the state than criminal Jammeh whose criminality knows no bounds. He used criminality to take power and carries out killings and stealing to keep it. I think these are the issues that Halifa Sallah need to confront in order to put the country on a proper road to regaining our freedom. Sallah admits the country is at a crossroad, but what put it there is Jammeh’s abuse of power culminating in the killing and rape of protesters and these are the issues we have to highlight as a starting point for seeking to re-position Gambia on the right trajectory. I felt offended by his statement because it failed to pinpoint the crimes of the thuggish regime yet insinuated the possibility of the opposition UDP acting on misleading information. Another misleading part of Sallah statement is when he suggested that Jammeh’s Mandinka bashing is improper because he (Jammeh) should not blame the whole ethnic group with the action of an individual. This statement could be interpreted as, at least, there is a particular Mandinka whose action can fit Jammeh’s description of their group. But the reality is that mandinkas are simply being used as a political tool in Jammeh’s divisive politics which we expect Sallah to be aware of at this stage.

          • They are meticulously crooked Mr. Jawneh. Snowball Of Owell is not a much better liar and stiff necked owl. This is just a small chunk out of the Pdois intellectual debris.
            I won’t write any better so I’m saying,’rubbish, rubbish’

      • Halifa deals a lot with logic in his arguments. Truth has an objective evidence and it also has a criterion.

        If you understand the logic of Halifa’s argument there is nothing economical with the truth. Truth can be relative.

        We see much of the stuff that Max writes here and coached as the truth, that when it is thoroughly interrogated and challenged is found to be untrue.

        He passed opinion as fact and his own judgment as the truth.

        • Kamalo , I am amaze how you are willing to Change truth to lies in broad day light . I am sure you learned that from pdois . You guys have more hatred for udp than jammeh , why you and your party never condemn jammeh . All of you are an agent of dictatorship .

          • Max, what do you know about truth? You are the last person who should talk about the truth.

            All the garbage that you spew here endlessly is the definition of what is a lie. And you do that with a straight face.

            You are engaged in this futile campaign to discredit Halifa. Unfortunately, you do not have the caliber neither do you command the respect to so.

          • Kamalo , can you tell us what Halifa achieve in the 50 years he has been in politics . I said 50 years because he has been in politics since he was a teenage . He got elected one time thanks to udp . If he is such a good politician he would have won so many elections in serekunda but people of serekunda did not even notice his presence in the area . Mr sallah is noticeable only on foroyaa newspaper than anywhere else . He claimed that the era of civil rights movement is gone , do you really believe that ? Do we have all our political and civil rights in The Gambia ?

  4. Mr Halifa sallah is the second biggest political opportunist that Gambia has ever known . Here is why ;
    For the past 21 years , mr sallah has been strategically reluctant to any meaningful effort for unity to unseat Jammeh’s regime from power. For far too long , he has refused to attend all the meeting or conferences organized by diaspora. His recent attendance of Dakar conference when the entire leadership of UDP is in mile two central prison , is an indication that he is most opportunistic and self-centered politician apart from his progeny , Dictator Yaya Jammeh. The fundamental question is : why Halifa sallah of all people who refused to honor any invitation from diaspora and concerned Gambians in the country suddenly decided to attend recent conference in Dakar when Gambia is in political turmoil ? There are few reasons why I believe he has attended this conference :

    1 . He want to position himself as the key player and overshadow udp , other politicians and diaspora . . This is evidence in the press release mr sallah write as the report of the conference and show pdois position. If pdois is geniunely interested in regime change , mr sallah would have showcase and protested and asked the unconditional release of udp members and also continue to strongly call for electoral reforms which the protest was all about . But instead , he embark to castigate the diaspora and failed to admit that the Gambian oppositions has no chance of winning election under current political environment.

    2. His attendance was to undermine the entire diaspora who call for Jammeh’s removal by any means necessary even though he was invited in good faith .

    3. It is done to legitimize dictatorship by his antagonistic attitude to every proposal .
    Halifa has no interest in the removal of Jammeh . Mr sallah’s hatred for udp and diaspora is evidently displayed by the following statement below:

    ” The Gambia opposition and its supporters in the diaspora should take note of the terms established by the protocol on democracy and good governance , that to run a government unconstitutionally or take over a government unconstitutionally are all unacceptable ”

    To analyze the above , mr sallah is referring to a specific opposition party which is why he wrote his description of ” The Gambia opposition ” in a singular noun , if he was referring to all the oppositions , he would have spoken in prural noun.
    In the same quote , he referred to opposition party which he believe has strong support and connection with diaspora which is why he spoke to undermine the relationship between diaspora and the political party ( in this case udp which has more support and connection with diaspora )
    His press release is general political commentary which no serious politician will do . He should be a political pundit .
    In fact he speak in coded language as a way of supporting the tyrant . Halifa is worst than Jammeh because with Jammeh you know what is in his mind and speak his mind in plain language for all to understand .
    If you take each of mr sallah statements , they are completely based on lies and deception .
    Did he honestly believe that oppositions can win in the curent environment , if his answer is yes then he is the most dishonest and untruthful politician in The Gambia .

    • Just a little help Max…The word “opposition” can be both a singular and plural noun. In other words, you can use the word “opposition” to describe different entities, particularly political parties, as a single group.

      In parliaments, for example, you can have the government bench and the opposition (Not oppositions) bench…

      You can also have the leader of the “opposition” (NOT oppositions) describing the head of all opposition parties in parliament…

      I hope this helps…

      To expose your lies, I have copied a statement with a similar style to show that Mr Sallah was referring to the entire opposition and not UDP, as you lied above.

      Quote: “The Gambia opposition should sit and evolve a coalition strategy and tactic that would enable them to establish a formidable opposition force without which the excessive power of the government could not be objectively criticised or effectively scrutinised and restrained…”

  5. Dodou Jawneh, I like your intellectual ability to analyze Mr Sallah’s deceptive nature and his coded language. The way you pinpoints his statements is exactly what he meant. He never blames Jammeh or condemns him. Smart people like you can easily understand his deception and that has been the way of his political propaganda for the last 30 years he has been in politics. Politics of deception and dishonesty is the hallmark of his character. Majority of his followers are high school graduates but when some of them get higher education and development intellectual curiosity, they abandon him and his decay political beliefs and deception. It is unfortunate that he came to Gambia’s political scene when we do not have many educated Gambians and Mr Sallah used that to fool so many Gambians who thought he is genuine but the truth is that he is a fraud and biggest political opportunist ever to live in the Gambia. He is the Ted cruz of the Gambia and he is “Lucifer in the flesh “.

    • Max…

      The falsity of your statement is established, beyond all doubts, by the report of the Dakar Conference, which is eliciting these interactive discussions and exchanges.

      Allow me to quote one or two (quotations) from Mr Sallah’s statement from the said Report, to make a point or two, before I proceed to my main point..

      Quote: (1)…”All hands should be on deck to combat ethno-linguistic profiling by state officials or common citizens, at home or abroad. Derogatory remarks against any ethno-linguistic group being Mandinka, Pulaar, Wolof, Jola, Serahule, Mandiago, Serer, etc are unacceptable.”

      Comment : This is a straightforward, direct and brilliant statement from a brilliant politician and statesman and if his accusers, as far as ethno-linguistic politics is concerned, have any iota of decency and truthfulness in them, this quotation should shut them up permanently. But alas, truth and decency are rare qualities which many are not endowed with and there seems to be a noticeable shortage of it here.

      Quote : (2)… “On my part as a resource person I made it clear that the sovereign Gambian people have gone beyond the politics of resistance which belongs to the civil rights movement and should now embrace transformative politics which calls for strategies and tactics to empower them to vote governments out of office ,when they are guilty of impunity, mismanagement and misrepresentation.”

      Comment: As clearly evident above, it is the absence of desperation for political power (through the ballot box ) by any means, and the principled commitment to empowerment politics, that explains the evolutionary progress and gains of PDOIS, since its emergence onto the scene. Nonetheless, progress is being registered, despite all the concerted sinister distractions, and the party deserves credit for it. So next time a big mouth wants to talk about numbers, they should put the gains into context.

      Now, to my main point.

      It is quite apparent that the intention of the other side within, is to distract from what is definitely, a tremendous achievement for the struggle and the genuine efforts to bring back the rule of sanity to our dear and once, envied motherland.

      It is almost impossible to understand why people who profess their desire for change in The Gambia, would not see anything positive in an International Conference convened to discuss The Gambia, but it is not hard to see that their indifference is due to the attendance of a man whose prominence in Gambian politics and the struggle for true democracy, they grudgingly resent, and for no other reasons, than adhering to what he believes in, and stands for.

      We on this side must not allow their sinister designs to distract us from what is an important and watershed event for the struggle, even if their futile attempts and malacious propaganda must be responded to, when and where necessary. Their aim is to mask this achievement in Dakar because it exposes their lies, which they constantly spread about Hon. Halifa Sallah, but we should counter that by celebrating it because it portrays Hon. Sallah for what he truly is and represents.

      The West Africa Civil Society Forum is a very important organisation in the region because it is an umbrella network of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in almost all ECOWAS member states and affiliated to the Regional Body itself, ECOWAS, under whose auspices it was established. The convening of this meeting by such an important organisation to discuss The Gambia’s political and governance situation is significant because it could signal a change in attitude of how ECOWAS approaches the malgovernance regime in The Gambia.

      Also of significance is the invitation of Mr Sallah, as a RESOURCE PERSON, to this International Conference and this is a testimony, not only to his lofty position and respectable standing amongst his contemporaries in the Regional, SubRegional, Continental and International socio-political fraternity, but also to the fact that his strategies and tactics for the solution of The Gambia’s political and governance problems are highly valued and respected.

      It is a proclamation that we on this side must make and shout about, at the top of our voices, with all the emphasis we can command, because it shatters the lies of the liars, that he is insignificant, as the hammer smashes glass. Like a contributor on our side stated elsewhere, the lies are catching up with the liars..Let’s make sure it is noticed by all sincere persons.

  6. Janjanbureh

    Max, I totally agree with you that Halifa is a fraud and a political opportunist. Some of his leftover disciples will see it one by one because the brain washing is too deep and it cloud their judgements. Dodou Jawneh don’t worry yourself about Yero’s cursing you because that how they are trained by their master to be an attack dogs. Barked now and find out later.

  7. alhagie@yahoo.co.uk

    Well said Maxs. Halifa is a clueless n useless wannabe opposition who stands for nothing other than an agent of dictatorship. A cowards who even fails to called jammeh by his name. He’s worthless.

  8. Freak politicians of the Pdois! I am telling you that you can’t be more intelligent and peace loving than Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Going for what is right is not always as peaceful as you Pdois takes it to be. Is there anyone amongst them as crooked, evasive and pathetic as Yerro?

    • Ggapm , you are a wise man . Pdois think peace and democracy is cheap and you can get democracy through writing confused and disjointed ideas with coded language . Halifa is preaching to protect jammeh and his selfish interest . The regime of jammeh will be toppled and mr sallah business will come to an end . He is not a true freedom fight because he is not like lawyer Darboe , dr King or Nelson Mandela . His claimed that the era of civil rights movement is gone is another lie . Every day Gambians civil rights are violated and there is no rule of law in The Gambia . How can he dishonestly stated that the era of civil rights movement is over. Why are we fighting to restore human right and rule of law in the Gambia when civil rights movement era is gone . We need our civil rights which includes our rights to live in Liberty free from physical and mental abuse from the tyrant , right to fair trial , due process , freedom of expression , association and assembly . Is mr sallah telling us we have all these in The Gambia ? Is he telling us we have political rights and individual freedom ? Is he telling us citizens are not discriminated by the tyrant based on their tribe ? Is mr sallah telling us individual rights are respected under curent regime ? This man has no damn idea what a civil rights is or he must be lying again . Gambia need civil rights movement more than ever . Why did he attend the conference if he believe that we are not in the era of civil right movement because the conference was about civil rights .Mr sallah is a fraudulent politician who is spinning lies after lies for jammeh . Civil rights are freedom of press , speech and assembly . Why did they killied solo Sanderg if the era of civil rights movement is gone and resistance is not needed ., this man is a joker and an agent of dictatorship . We must engage in politics of resistance so that we can have our rights back when we take back our country .

      • Max, you are making me die with laughter here although this is not funny. At least you bring a smile to my face, and believe it or not, sometimes you are very funny with the stuff that you write.

        How do you bring about peace and democracy? How is the concept of peace and democracy popularized and advanced?

        Yes, the era of civil rights movements are gone. People no longer fight for civil rights, but they make sure that their civil rights are respected. Their civil rights have been legislated and are now part of the body of laws.

        Dr. Martin Luther King was not a politician but a civil rights leader. He helped to make civil rights as part of the body of laws.

        Barak Obama is not a civil rights leader but a politician. The civil rights that are part of the body of laws helped to make him elected to the position of President. And leader of the free world.

        And yes, the question is not about rights, but defending those rights. The question is not about power but owning that power.

        And you Max, and your other die hard militants do not know how to own that power. That is why you appear so helpless.

        The politics of resistance. Why should you engage in a politics of resistance? You should engage in the politics of winning hearts and minds to win an election.

        Go and get the help of the people who really have and own that political power.

    • Gandhi, King and Mandela belong to a different era: The Resistance era. (as Hon. Sallah has rightly observed)

      • Bax, did we have complete civil rights and political freedom in the Gambia ? please i like to know.

      • They are blatant liars @Max! @Bax then must then be telling us that this is the Halifa Sallah and Sedia Jatta era, so you think Ghandi, King and Mandela all struggled and died for people only for them to be forgotten about. In fact, what the wreck do you mean by ‘the resistance era’? I have never heard of or known an ‘era’ for resistance.
        @Bax, yourself aren’t believing what you are writing so don’t tell me you do.

  9. A concerned Gambian

    I love reading the comments on here, but sometimes I found them too long and boring.
    The other thing I seems to notice is that, people will come in their thousands to defend any comments made on Halifah Sallah. Why is this?.
    People are entitled to their opinions-this could be right or wrong to you- but it is the way they feel or they see things unfolding in front of them. So why not allow them that little space in the room and if you chose to, use the other space for a more constructive opinion, rather than going back and forward.
    Gambia is bigger than you,me and Halifah Sallah.
    I used to Adore Halifah Sallah when I was in high school in the 90s.
    The guy is a great person and loveable when you meet him – but the Gambia and Gambian’s have come so far in their life’s that he shouldn’t and will not be the be all or end all.
    Him and his fans are entitled to their opinion about how they want to be in power and are entitled to that.
    Us the rest should move on with what we believe will make the Gambia a better place for everyone.
    The fact that most people want to make him the focal point in The Gambian politics is just not bearing any fruit for anyone.
    Just carry on rowing your own boat and let him deal with his- if you are using the same tool for 30 years trying to catch a rat and you couldn’t- why don’t you change the tool. Halifah’s & PDOIS choice of tools hasn’t work and will not work for Gambia and Gambians.
    Writing essays and etc trying to mesmerize The Gambians will not work anymore
    We are now more educated, traveled and more exposed than that.
    Just an opinion.

    • Dodou Jawneh

      I agree with you the concerned Gambian. These people should for once bring their own ideas and not just attack and curse anyone who has objection to Halifa’s statement as they have done with me. Halifa should come himself and answer our queries rather than these people who subject us to abuse. We are thinking now whether this is a party policy to unleash fanatics to subject people with dissenting views to this kind of ignoble methods, specifically to silence alternative opinion.

      • I hope too, Mr. Jawneh, that in the future, the opposition leaders and the incumbents can meet for open public debates. Taking contrary opinion as hate is not a good way to handle a democratic national discourse, much more those who will tell you stop saying this to Mr. Sallah but will not give any genuine reason why you shouldn’t be saying that to Mr. Sallah. Pdois is not at all in the center of the national debates but a snitch in it.

    • Thank you a concerned Gambian . You have seen my point . for the past years we have been debating the same thing here because his supporters think he is always right and he has the best ideas . I used to like and support him but after my high school , i realized his is not what he claimed to be . It is unfortunate that he came to our political scene when we do no have many educated Gambians and he took advantage of that , they established their party and newspaper which is why they are still spinning for their selfish interest . This man is a fraud , a political opportunist at best and political hypocrite at worst . Most of his supporters are high school students just like i used to support him when i do not develop intellectual curiosity and critical thinking at high school. Many people abandoned him when they reach political maturity . Mr sallah is indeed a disgrace and dishonest politician.

    • Concerned Gambian, you remark about “thousands” coming here to defend any comments made by Halifa is an exaggerated lie. Apart from Bax, Yerro, Gambian and a few others your count should not be more than ten people.

      And we do not make comments to defend Halifa, because Halifa is more than able and capable to defend himself. We only comment to refute the lies and propaganda that is being spread to malign the character and person of Halifa.

      I thought psychological warfare was a weapon at the theatre of war, but people like Deyda and Max are using psychological warfare as a weapon of hate and distrust against Halifa.

      Spread as much rumor as possible; spread as much untruthful statements as possible, and hope that it will either stick or create doubt in the minds of readers.

      In wollof they say: SAISAI WOHOT DEKA WANDE YAHA NA HOL. This can translate as a naughty person may not tell the truth by spreading misinformation and lies, but he definitely can create doubt and suspicion.

    • Concerned Gambian….So you only notice the “thousands” that come here to “defend” Halifa, but you don’t seem to notice the other “thousands” that come here to misrepresent, misinform and sometimes, lie about Halifa..

      You surely cannot miss the fact that the exchanges are always in response to what the ANTI-PDOIS contingent writes..

      If you sincerely believe in what you say about, “Just carry on rowing your own boat and let him deal with his…”, then your objection should be the attitude of those who continually attack Halifa and PDOIS, for “rowing their boat”, in the way they chose.

      I actually agree with you on that one, and have said it many times, but they will never accept that, and I’m sure you know that too.

  10. Concerned Gambian

    Kamalo it is nice to see that you ve got all the time in the world to actually count the number of people coming here to defend Halifa/ what is being said about him.
    I just used the ‘ thousands’ to emphasize my point.
    Does that make my point an exaggerated lie -no.
    You are busy taking it leterally rather than the context on which it was used.
    You also sounded very angry about me making this point.
    It doesn’t bother me at all.
    All I was doing was saying the way I saw it and am entitled to it.
    And what do you mean by saying that -Halifah is more than able to defend himself-So is anybody.Halifa is a great person but that doesn’t make him the creme of the month.
    The point I was making was-why are you sitting there tearing your head out, wasting your own time, probably time that could have been used soliciting for more hours/shifts etc- than fighting somebody else’s fight.
    Are you Halifa Sallah-are people here talking about kamalo-no.
    Please stop wasting this valuable space for people to make good use of.
    Ramadan mubarak-me mate

    • Dodou Jawneh

      Bari Baxi wo, Ate nyanta a siso feering na le.

    • Concerned Gambian , kamalo is being coached how to respond and what to said here . He never used his brain to make independent thinking . When I joined this forum , I quickly realized that these people were just here to showcase the greatness of a political hypocrite who has no desire to see change in The Gambia . Every time , Halifa release his statement , I will find questionable comments , dishonesty and outright lies . Kamalo , Bax and Yero are regular propagandists for mr sallah . They all make outlandish claims . As for kamalo , he is not a smart propagandist as he will always put his foot in his mouth . Bax is indeed a con-artist who will trun truth into a lie and he is very crafty , when pressure is build on him he will change position for one minute and later come back to defend his previously position . He can be demented at times and he will offer his sympathy to Jammeh and all his officials . So you cannot tell exactly whether he is even Jammeh’s supporter even though he sympathize and defend him . Bax is indeed a weird supporter . Yero has no shame because he will say anything to defend pdois and Halifa . When pressure is build on he will resort to playing interplay cooperation as a way of diverting pressure . Yero makes the most outlandish claim here and he is an extreme and fringe element of pdois . He is a diehard supporter of mr sallah . He will quote no other source to make his points but only foroyaa , the newspaper control and directed by mr sallah . These three people cannot be convinced by anyone . Even though they propaganda for pdois but when they put their foot in their mouth , they would distant their comments from the position of the party and that’s the only time you will see their sense of independence .

    • Ramadan Mubarak mate, concerned citizen.

      I got it. The “thousands” was a hyperbole. I never take it literally. That is why I said that it is an exaggeration. A figure of speech.

      We are not defending Halifa. We are refuting the allegations and untruthful statements that are made against him. If we know that what is being said about him is not true, we should say something. That is all.

  11. A concerned Gambian

    We are now square kamalo – it was nice while it lasted.
    No hard feelings – me old mate.
    Bye.

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