By Saul SaidykhanThe one thing that has stunned me throughout the Jammeh madness is the utter lack of courage of the Foni intelligentsia (forget the politicians, the late Shingle Nyassi did an honorable job politically, but that’s about it) because of its failure to stand up to Jammeh WHEN IT MATTERED and let the world know he doesn’t speak for Foni. This did NOT happen! Instead, what we saw is a general embrace of a murderous kleptocrat by the people of Foni. That he was embraced by all ethnicities within Foni, or had company and enablers among all those groups does not make this failure any less shameful or egregious. It also stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor’s era. This is precisely why I find it a little too convenient that anyone would now play up this unnecessary tragedy as if it’s a case of innocent Foni victims against a marauding government. That narrative is far from the reality. Some of the agitators have been posting both audio and video messages on different fora inciting a rebellion for a couple of months now. Yet the legitimacy of this government is not in doubt.
Given what Yahya Jammeh has put our country through, it is simply stunning to see or hear some of the callous things many of his people say about those glad to see his back. Even the images we keep seeing from outside the court house in Banjul with his supporters cheering on accused cold-blooded murderers, and mocking the relatives of their victims is jarring enough. How much more insensitive and uncivilized can anyone be? I hear the clamor for Reconciliation, but how does one reconcile with someone who has not only unjustly wronged you, but sees nothing amiss about what they did or given the opportunity, will do so again? What kind of ridiculous Reconciliation game are we engaged in here?
It’s time to draw a line in the sand for the crazy followers of Yahya Jammeh! They need to understand a few things: The days of silly hedonism at Gambian public expense for one SPECIAL part of our country is gone for good. As is lawlessness, and infantile projection of ethnic-chauvinism. More importantly, they need to stop pushing their luck!
The Barrow administration needs to buckle up, and get serious on all fronts! It needs to slow down on this Reconciliation chimera, and go on the offensive against Jammeh’s allies who are still in important positions in the military, judiciary, and the Civil Service, as well as Business. As long as such elements continue to wield influence in The Gambia, this government will continue to be frustrated and sabotaged at each turn in the pursuit of its goals. (Take a page from the experience of the ANC government in SA in its Land Reform agenda: the very people publicly praising the government for being reconciliatory, are the ones privately sponsoring Land Reform opponents to frustrate government in every conceivable way. Over 25 years after Apartheid ended, less than 20% of land has been transferred to the targeted communities. Conveniently, the same people, in tandem with their international allies, blame ANC government corruption and incompetence for the slow progress of the Land Reform agenda, not the devious machinations they engage in secretly.) The Barrow administration need to be cognizant of being undermined in a similar fashion which will inevitably, lead to it losing credibility.
The government needs to move quickly to pursue justice in ALL cases beginning with the November 11th, 1994 Yundum Camp murders. Internationally, the government has some options on Jammeh himself. It could petition the New York State Attorney General or the Manhattan District Attorney to UNSHIELD the indictment in the case of the former Guinea Bissau naval Commander Bubo Na Tchuto who is currently in prison in New York. This man is known to be a major partner of Yahya Jammeh in the international drug trafficking ring in our region during his time in office. Countless Gambian military and NIA officers can testify to this. As can the CIA. Plus, the Guinean himself is believed to have mentioned Jammeh during his interrogation by American authorities which was the main reason they sealed the indictment at the time (Jammeh being a sitting president.) The Barrow administration now has the opportunity to learn the truth. Also, the government can invite British Investigators who discovered $2 Billion worth of drugs in Bonto several years ago back in the country to conduct a more thorough investigation as to the Who’s Who in that case. One of these two planks would at the very least knock some sense into Jammeh to call off his goons, and who knows, if we send someone with balls to make our case, he could spill the beans on the Codes to the Panama loot. By the way, everything I’ve heard suggests, the Panama stash wasn’t his idea at all. It is in the best interest of Gambians for the Barrow government to get Jammeh to talk. But first, it needs to put the screws on him.
In terms of securing the territorial integrity of the country, if left with no other option, it should use whatever force is necessary to enforce its mandate ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
Culled from www.mantankara.com
Ends
You wrote “To begin with, the protest wasn’t spontaneous. It was planned by ethnic militants for a while, and they made no secret of their intention to be confrontational, as some of their videos in response to the Asset Forfeiture Order against Yahya Jammeh suggested”. This all speculation though, or is it not?
If indeed it was all planned as you allege here, then there is a problem. The logical question that must be asked, is why was the Government not properly informed of the planned [violent] protest in time for it to take preemptive action to disrupt it before it went ahead, or to minimise its effect on the community if it went ahead – to, for instance, prevent the carrying of weapons, or indeed the loss of life.
Scared , you are absolutely being dishonest and hypocritical in your defense of Rebels protest against legitimacy of president Barrow, and their destructive calls to withdraw Ecomig forces who were in the country because of Ebola evil dictator infestation of our civilization with his evil deeds. The question I have for you and your types , why these people never protested against militarization of Foni , many killings that happened in their backyards, raping of women , disappearance of kanillia natives like Haruna Jammeh . Is it because they missed free food , free sex , free meat and free electricity? I heard the kanillia alkalo’s son complainined about not getting food from Jammeh this time around , hence they are suffering now . The good news is that they will continue to suffer to the gate of hell unless they take personal responsibility to work hard for their living just like the rest of The citizens are working hard in the last 22 years. Yaya Jammeh will never come back to Gambia as president. Jammeh spoiled these people because he offered sex party , free music and women to green boys in kanillia. You should be ashamed of yourself for supporting these protesters when they never cared about many of their own people who were killed in kanillia. If they are truly interested in the welfare of the entire country, they should have been concerned about five disappearances in kanillia and many more in the last 23 years .
I suggest you go back and read what i wrote. This was not a defence of anyone, but a question posed “Why if a potentially violent protest was on offer, and this was known, did not anyone take steps to either disrupt it before it went ahead, or to minimise its impact if it does? I think that is a reasonable question to ask. Its better to stop a protest, and save lives, rather than let it go and cause death. Prevention is always better than cure! In any case two wrongs don’t make a right!
Protest are not illegal, All over the world, everyone is protesting all the time, that is how society evolves and gets better. Violent protests on the other hand are illegal, and the best strategy for handling them is to make use of any intelligence one has to either disrupt it before it starts, or try and minimise its damage. Foni is still part and parcel of the Gambia and everybody’s contributions must be respected and valued, irrespective of how one may feel about those people, or their past. No body deserves to be violated as you so graphically describe here, and no body deserve to be shot at either!
Sacred, you failed to answer simple questions , why people of Foni never complained, protested or demonstrated when many people in Foni or kanillia were killed? Why they never protested about the militarization of Foni all these years? These are simple questions you should answer rather than telling us people protest all the time all over the world. Is Foni now begin to know that people protest all over the world when in the past they supported, and even banned the opposition parties in Foni? . Stop making Foni new self proclaimed victims. They aided and abetted the dictator for 22 years even when he killed their own people. These people were pounding their chest all over the place but today they are talking about being victimized . They think Gambian tax payers money will continue to be spend on free sex , free food and electricity when the rest of the country suffered. Foni people should be grateful that Gambian people are so naive in their thinking because the new administration failed to bomb kanillia to Stone Age. The housing complex built by jammeh should be destroyed and all his properties taken away from him except his father’s old house which has been there before he illegally installed himself as a criminal Leader.
Please answer my questions above.