PDOIS STATEMENT ON THE ISSUING OF PERMITS IN CONNECTION WITH POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
The UDP Caravan Does Not
Pose Any Security Threat
Leave It To Go or Provide Them With A Permit to Have Normal Rallies
Issued By Halifa Sallah
On Behalf Of The Central Committee
Political parties are instruments of leadership. They have to employ strategies and tactics which are dictated by times and circumstances to attain their aims and objectives.
Opposition parties have been criticised for waiting until the campaign period to go to the people. No one in the world would understand why a Caravan of few dozen political activists would be blocked from proceeding with a 10 day Nationwide tour when they have even forgone the use of a public address system.
The UDP leader considers the delay in issuing a permit a denial. This is his impression even if the police hold the contrary. It is equally clear that his decision to proceed with his tour is to avoid breaking the expectation of his supporters.
The point is made. There is now an impasse. The state could have allayed the fears of the UDP leader of foul play by simply allowing the Caravan to proceed while prevailing on them to leave someone behind to meet all the terms required by the police to prepare a permit. This would have restored confidence and thus prevent any obstruction in exercising their right to move about to propagate the policies of their party.
What is essential now is to look for swift remedies which will give assurance to the UDP membership that they are free to propagate the values, Policies and programmes of the party and the candidates of their choice without fear.
Our findings during the impasse experienced by the UDP in getting a permit to celebrate its 18th anniversary revealed that some members of the party were given the impression that they cannot go about and promote the interest of their party without being subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. This notion needs to be obliterated since it is detrimental to the very survival of the party and the very existence of a genuine multi party system in this country.
Section 25(e) of the Constitution indicates among other things that “every person shall have the right to freedom of association including freedom to form and join associations and unions, including political parties and trade unions.”
Furthermore, Section 103A of the Elections Act states that: “Subject to the provisions of this part political parties may be established to –
- participate in the shaping of the political will of the people;
- disseminate information of political ideas and on political, economic and social programmes of national character; and
- sponsor candidates for public elections.”
Section 104A subsection 3 adds that,
“The number of political parties shall not be limited by law and every citizen of The Gambia shall have the right freely to choose whether or not she becomes a member of a political party and which party he or she supports.”
No political party could exercise the right enshrined in the constitution and amplified by the Elections Act unless the state provides an environment that is conducive for political parties to propagate their policies, programmes and candidates to enable the people to make a choice.
The obstacle which impedes and obstructs the exercise of rights and freedoms by the UDP to reach the electorate is the delay in the issuing of permits.
The task now is to take concerted action to ensure that the UDP gets a permit to continue its tour without any obstruction. PDOIS will contribute its quota in furthering the attainment of such an objective.
The End
The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all, is the person who argues with him.
.No one annoy me as badly as this so call intellect .
What annoys you so much in this statement…?
Send your members to join Udp as show of solidarity. This is what is important . Acting as mediator between repressive regime and Udp is not going to work because this regime has no respect for any political party . What can PDOIS contribute or do to get the police permit since the repressive police force and the dictator has been refusing permits to opposition parties for a long time ? This is why sometimes , I think pdois needs to show political maturity and sensibility to understand the issues at hand . Apart from writing lengthy letter to the president and the police force , is pdois going to join the Udp in the process to defie useless and unconstitutional police order ? It is time to be realistic and understand that dictator Jammeh meant he said and does . If you keep doing the same thing and expect a different result , then you must be a fool . Time has passed for pdois to understand Jammeh because of their longevity in Gambian politics. This regime is not a democratic regime which believe in petitions and letters to shape its view on any issue . The only language Jammeh understand is his own language . This is what all political parties needs to understand .
Max, ‘send your members to join UDP as a show of solidarity’, in my opinion is a call, a little bit intimidating to make to the PDOIS after all Mr. Sallah did demonstrated positiveness by pointing out the lack of constitutionality in the act of our police authorities in the Gambia.
I think Hon. Sallah, Hon. Darboe, Hon. Bah and all other opposition parties’ leaders are begining to take a common stand in the right direction.
Troy You are not well! You are foolish or a big “fool” to feed you your own medicine and bad mentality.
Max That’s your opinion. In my opinion PDOIS is a dynamic party with dynamic leaders, well inform of political situation, consistent & on track with its advocacy, policies, programmes; among others. PDOIS were defiant before UDP was even born and on right side of history!
“Free from hate, mischief and jealousy” Bob Marley tribute.
Talk to a fool he call foolish, ! Dawda The foolish is he who sees every utterance of nonsense as wisdom , I am so sad that your soul was auctioned without your consent bought and sold to Halifa Sallah in your primary age. I’ll not argue with you, because nothing sways the stupid more than arguments.
Dawda, don’t worry about this coward Troy for disrespecting Hon.Halifa Sallah without any grounds or given reasons. Guy’s actual name is Mr. dis-TROY, probably an enemy to the Gambia.
Dawda , everyone has rights to their opinion that is why we have freedom of expression as constitutional guarantee . What pdois did here is to give their understanding of standoff and constitutional rights of Udp or any political party. They failed to tell us how or what they would do to contribute to this situation positively ? How can they help Udp to get permit when in past when Udp was denied , they couldn’t do anything about it ? What is the logic in that explanation ? Did pdois has any influence over the police or dictator Jammeh to issue permit to Udp or any political party? What concerted action are they talking about to get the permit for Udp to continue its country wide tour?
Dawda, no one is saying that pdois is not dynamic party with its programes and policies and has not been defiant to evil system in our country , I am talking about their maturity and sensibility to understand the situation at hand and do what is right by showing complete solidarity with Udp . This is what we need so that dictator Jammeh will clearly get the message. In this press release , it look like pdois is acting as a mediator , when in fact they are also a victim of the very system they want to mediate with ? Is that not political hypocrisy ( my friend Bax don’t like this phrase lol) ? Please tell me what they are going to do ?
Maxs: you are very right that PDOIS is also a victim of the system but that does not necessarily mean that they cannot play a part in solving the problem. Mark you, PDOIS has been confronted with this permit issue since the first republic, so they have a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with the system. Do you hear PDOIS complaining of permit? No, because they know exactly what to do to overcome the huddles that are always placed before them in pursuing it.
You see those who are enmeshed with anger and hatred can hardly make a headway. How many times do you say in this forum that PDOIS hijacks others’ initiatives?
I believe that pdois would have solved this permit issue easily if it were them and i wouldn’t doubt it when they say they could help in the situation.And what is more, they are showing willingness to partake in it which is important.
Maxs is underrating the letter writing and to him that is useless but i must tell you that the writing in most cases is to inform the people who are the owners of power to know and who must take the responsibility to change their society. If you want to involve the people, the people must know where the truth lies before they could side with it through whatever means. Despite all its flaws, the regime is interested in protecting its interest and amplifying that interest do make it to make concessions even if such concessions are technically disjointed from the incident at play.
Troy, do not have an inferiority problem, Halifa is no saint and does not claim to know everything but he is deeply concerned on issues that particularly affect the opposition because in the final analysis, the crucial work needed to be done is being distracted or derailed by such unnecessary incidents which ultimately affect all irrespective of party affiliation. So just be a little bit open-minded sometimes.
@Max. …”( my friend Bax don’t like this phrase lol) ?”
That’s right Maxs…I do.have an issue with this phrase when.it is improperly used….Even if the way you interpret this position from PDOIS is right (ie..They are offering to mediate), how does that constitute “hypocrisy”.?
The PDOIS statement identifies the root cause of this stand off, stated how it could be resolved and pledged to do its quota, in.a concerted effort, to see that the UDP gets a permit to conduct its tour…Whether that happens or not is not in PDOIS’ hands because they are not responsible for issuing permits…
What we mustn’t also forget is that this is a UDP caravan on a party political activity.. The fact that it is obstructed does not change that….If it wasn’t obstructed, no one would have been talking about other parties joining it….Unless the UDP authorises others to send their members there, I do.not think it will be proper for any party to do so….Of course, all need to show solidarity with the UDP and be ready to join them on the ground when invited to do so…
The fact that PDOIS offered to play its quota in a concerted effort is ample evidence that there will be contact between the parties to plan how to resolve this crises…
There is strong indication that the parties are willing to work together to resolve this crisis, and hopefully, prevent a future recurrence…We all need to recognise that, encourage it and support it…
What we must not do, is to try to find fault with PDOIS and create suspicion where there is none because that benefits no one except Yaya Jammeh and his criminal regime..
I have listened to a radio presenter trying very hard to insinuate what is not in PDOIS statement and this is indicative of the undermining role that the online media and the diaspora sometimes plays without even realising it…
Let’s avoid being an obstacle to opposition efforts to operate in a difficult and challenging terrain…..
Stop the blame game. There is nothing wrong with the PDOIS statement if one looks at it objectively. It is equally a sign of solidarity and is exposing Jammeh’s lack of respect of the constitution to which he swore to as president. This is the time to encourage team work and let’s avoid the attitude of do it my way or you are an enemy. Team work, objectivity and perseverance is the way forward for now. So let us all act maturely and professionally to avoid shattering the unity that is emerging from this impasse.
Max,……..’it looks like Pdois is acting as a mediator’. All parties in my viewpoint should be acting ‘mediators’ right now for this matter and make a press release. To me this sounds a louder unifying trumpet. ‘Political hypocrisy’?………no Max,…noooo…thats a bitter phrase…..,you know Hon. Halifa himself won’t like …….lol
Thank you Maxs and Troy for genuinely talking about the issue at hand and giving the solution to the problem in hand. As the saying goes that the truth will set you free. Please guys don’t spend too much time responding to these PDOIS Almudos because they never agreed to anything said about PDOIS even though it is true. All parties need to work together to get rid of our Gambian problem and stop wasting reckless time arguing about irrelevant things. Time is not waiting and Gambians are suffering everyday.
This continuous political bickering and mud throwing against opposition parties shows lack of maturity and good vision for the country at a time when we have a huge and dangerous common problem. This stupidity must stop.
Ggamp Agamp, for your information I am an independent minded guy who doesn’t have membership in any political party . I am in the camp of all options on the table to get rid of Jammeh . This is not to say I don’t support democratic means of getting rid of him from power . I am interested to see what is feasible , rational and possible to get Jammeh out by any means . This is because having study Jammeh for past 20 years , I think it is naive and inconceivable to think that Jammeh will leave power without a fight , violent overthrow , aggressive collective efforts of opposition parties or citizens uprising against Impunity which will lead to his removal.
What is intimidating than what Jammeh is doing to opposition parties ? Pointing out unconstitutionalilty of police action is not enough to solve the problem. This problem is Gambian problem and I think pdois should show solidarity just like PPP and gmc did so that they can send a clear message as a collective force to dictator jammeh. For how long do you think this intimidation should continue ? In any african politics , there must be aggressive and collective efforts to get rid of authoritarian and dictatorian regime , example recent election in senegal , wade attempted not step down but collective efforts of opposition activists led to his downfall from power. We need to demystify jammeh and be courageous enough to face him . Remember The Gambia military will never kill thousands just for Jammeh. If there is significant threat towards the general population from the Jammeh, the military will intervene to protect and safeguard the interest of gambian people. We are in the 21st century , international community is currently watching all the developments in the Gambia. Mr Darboe has taken a courageous step which if aggressively supported by opposition parties can lead to Jammeh demise from power .
Max, of course I have never had a doubt before when it comes to your independent mindedness, being a follower of the Kairo news forums a couple of months ago. Yes, there is nothing more intimidating than Yaya and his junta’s ignorant attitudes, but are we intimidators like Yaya and his Junta? Opposition parties cannot borrow Jammeh’s foul intimidation tactics in a time like this.
In reality, what I am thinking of now is that; our inappropriate comments might only bring obstacles in our reconciliation or unity efforts of the opposition parties. Come on…………we cannot p… them off, though we can express our lack of trust or confidence in them. Max honestly speaking, I don’t know which opposition party I will actually vote for in the forthcoming elections even if we could have voted in the diaspora, being mine or not. I have no dogmatic approach to any opinion, being mine or not. I cannot justify any aggressive oppositions’ support or reaction in the Udp/police standoff in the Gambia unless I am present there to be part of it. I have a lot of concern for our beautiful people and at the same time I want the urgent change at the inevitable cost of its people.
Meant to write, …………….I don’t have a dogmatic approach to any idea or opinion, being it mine or not.
I want the urgent change at the inevitable cost of its people???
PLUS
For your information, I appreciate and thank you and the rest of contributors for keeping me well intouch and informed.
Dawda , how can a victim offer to mediate for another victim and its captor ? What power does pdois has in this process? You engage in mediation efforts when you have influence on parties involved . As you said , pdois has experience of refusal of police permit and they would have handle this issue easily , really , in what way can they handle it ? Dawda , don’t you know JAWARA regime is completely different from current dictatorship we have in The Gambia. You have no idea the nature of this regime and that is why you are comparing the two regimes. The previous government is a democratic government which respect human rights and rule of law while the current one is military dictatorship lead by tribal military president who has no regards for any human rights , life or rule of law . The confusing role to mediate on this issue is tantamount to lack of understanding of the role they can play to enhance their own party . Yes , pdois has been writing lengthy letters to the president with little attention being paid to it if there is any. I am sure if those letters would have Make any impact , by now jammeh will quit and he wouldn’t be called a dictator who continue to murder , exile , disappear and inprisoned innocent Gambians. Honesty and real understanding of political issue with right approach result to political victory . This is the fundamental problem of pdois and this is why they cannot make significant progress even though they have good programs and policies, but their approach is sometimes wrong.
Maxs: I think you are very confused and have no clue what you are saying on this matter.You think if the government is going to act on PDOIS’ letters on any issue, they would inform the world that it is because of PDOIS so and so that’s why we are acting on this. The government is clearly informed by the PDOIS letter that they should either provide a permit to UDP or allow it to proceed; that there is no reason why they should not do that because the caravan does not pose any security threat. Is this above statement strengthens the government or weakens it? How could any government have moral authority after this explanation on the issue? How many times are you told that UDP did not give any guidance to any party to do either this or that in any way?
PDOIS experienced the same permit problem from the PPP government which inherited the defunct legacy from the colonial government and used it for its interest. You cannot deny that but PDOIS always had a way of solving it.
What PDOIS told the government to do is what they are doing, to provide UDP a permit to continue with its tour which you said you do not appreciate but whether you know it or not UDP does.PDOIS is also in touch with the UDP leaders at the camp since day one and knows what UDP wants and not want. How can you specialize in fabricating stories intended to reducing PDOIS efforts to nothing when it is giving solidarity to the UDP in every respect? Stop the hypocrisy and allow home based leaders to work together and not place obstacles on their way. After all you do not belong to any political entity and i doubt your sincerity regarding the struggle at home especially relating to party politics. That is my opinion and i hope you respect it..
“This cause is bigger than any individual or group of individuals, elites, cabal, clique, cronies, opposition political party, party leader, ethnic group and/or tribe!”
DIRE POLITICAL SITUATION DICTATES NATIONAL UNITY, COM PATRIOTISM & SOLIDARITY! OPPOSITION FRONT MUST UNITE UNDER ONE UMBRELLA AS “UNITED NATIONAL FRONT; ONLY POLITICAL COMMON GROUND FOR COMMON GOAL TO SALVAGE THE NATION!”
Stop the petty politics and partisanship because “THIS CAUSE IS BIGGER THAN ANY PARTY AND PARTY LEADER!”
Bax , I think pdois action to act as a mediator is hypocritical in the sense that they are pretending to mediate on matters which affects them ( victim) equally like other political parties . This is another appeasement of dictator which many Gambians has been doing to prolong the stay of our dictator . Example whenever the dictator abuse the fundamental rights of citizens , our elders and so called religious leaders will call on the dictator to forgive his victims and they will admonish the victims to apology to our dear leader . sometimes the vice president will mobilize these so called religious leaders to appease the dictator on behalf of innocent population. When are Gambians going to stand up for the truth , justices and their constitutional rights ? Pdois actions in acting as a mediator rather than showing complete solidarity to Udp is no different from appeasement which our elders and religious leaders embark on whenever jammeh abuse any Gambian. When Jammeh killed nine prisoners , the religious leader came to his defense despite the fact that they knew jammeh never follow the constitution. Pdois should have called for condemnation of police unconstitutional act or they should have join the Udp to protest the police violations of citizens rights. Gambians needs to stop appeasement of the dictator and recognize their constitutional rights and responsibility . If our leaders both political and religious leaders continue to appease the dictator , do we think ordinary citizens will listen to them when they are seen winning and dinning with the dictator? Our political leaders failed to instill the sense of constitutionalism as well as nationalism in both first regime and dictatorial regime we have . Let justices guide our action towards common good.
Well Maxs…The Police have agreed to issue a permit to the UDP….We can all breathe a sigh of relief that common sense has prevailed…To me, the UDP has won this duel..It’s round one to the UDP as we head towards 2016….
A clear message has also been sent to Yaya Jammeh by the UDP, in particular, and all law abiding Gambian people…The outrage was unanimous and I think the UDP has finally set a marker, which could be a game changer in this struggle to restore normalcy in the country..
I still think you haven’t proven your case against PDOIS, that they were offering to mediate…From my understanding, the statement simply traced the root of the problem, indicated how to resolve it, stated PDOIS’S position on Freedoms and Rights and pledged to play their quota, in a concerted effort, to ensure that the UDP is issued a permit to conduct its tour without any hindrance….I do not see any mediation offer and can’t see any hypocrisy at all…I can’t see how their pledge to play their quota can be interpreted as hypocrisy, even if they are victims themselves.
Maxs, by singling PDOIS out for criticism, for failing to condemn the Police action and not joining the UDP to protest, you.have again demonstrated unfairness when you deal with that party….
Who has condemned this Police action..? Could you direct this readership to where such condemnation can be viewed…
Who has protested this Police action..? Where did the protest take place and what form did it take..?
All we know was that the Police blocked the UDP at Fass Njaga Choi and demanded that the party returns to Barra…The UDP refused and.stood their ground…Is that what you refer to as a protest..?
I haven’t heard or seen any condemnation from even the UDP…Just a rational explanation of their position by their leader, Lawyer Darboe..
Maxs, you said PDOIS lacks understanding of the situation on the ground but are you in touch? What do you expect PDOIS to do under the circumstances? Did the UDP tell you that they want a mass action? If yes, where did they say that? How do you expect PDOIS to take a specific action when it is not guided by the UDP that decided the tactic being pursued right now?
PDOIS wrote a statement as a starting point and told the regime that they should issue UDP a permit so that they could continue their tour unhindered; that they do not pose any security problem. You said that is hypocritical unless they send their members to join the protest. Where did you see UDP members protesting that PDOIS should join? UDP took their decision to go on a tour without a permit and did not inform any party regarding their strategy, so how do you expect other parties to just jump into it without knowing what UDP really wants at this moment in time? Did the UDP ask other parties to join them in a protest of any sort?
Can you please answer the above few questions for us so that we can have a way forward because as far as i know i have not read any statement from UDP or heard any UDP officer calling on other parties or the people to join them in a protest at any location. The only noise i hear is from those of us in the diaspora shouting about a protest especially from people like Maxs who do not belong to any political organization but want to dictate to parties what they should do or not do.Now who is the actual hypocrite?
You said the matter affects PDOIS, how does this matter affect the PDOIS? PDOIS said they will work in a concerted effort to solve the problem. Do you understand what concerted means?
Thanks
Max You are arrogant, babbling nonsense and useless smearing campaign. Where are you hybernating writing rubbish? You are nothing in Gambian politics, not in firing line, not a militant on the ground and don’t know dynamics at play seizing this situation senselessly bashing Halifa Sallah; without proper analysis of form, content and substance of “PDOIS STATEMENT(S) ON THE ISSUING OF PERMITS IN CONNECTION WITH POLITICAL ACTIVITIES”.
You are being advised to stop the misinterpretation, misrepresentation, deception, hate campaign and pitting of UDP with PDOIS!
Empty barrels makes most noise!
Pdois cyber warriors , please calm down and analyze my comments with rational thinking and not emotional outburst especially Dawda and yerro Ba . Bax , I understand your explanation and I agreed with you on some points about Udp victory in this standoff and clear message being send to the dictator.
The solidarity that I think pdois should have done is to send their supporters just like GMC did so that they can send stronger message to the dictator. pdois stated the root cause of the problem , the constitutional rights of Udp or any political parties and concerted actions for Udp to get their objective , but pdois failed to tell readers what they would do in this regard. Other political parties like PPP and gmc were swift in their condemnation and this is evidence by the interview given by those leaders to online newspapers. From the pdois statements , Bax , you and I agreed that the statements implied that pdois is going to act as mediator . This is where I find their actions hypocritical as I explained above . What influence do pdois have that will make the police to listen to them and give permit to Udp ?
Yerro Ba , pdois didn’t have any permit issues with police simply because dictator jammeh didn’t see them as a threat to his presidency . If pdois is a real threat and has political base just like Udp , they would have similar problem with the police and their boss dictator but they don’t pose any threat whatsoever . This is the fact you need to understand . In fact even npr pose more threat to Jammeh than pdois . This threat has nothing to with individual party programes and polices but has to do their political base and followings. I hope you get that .
Max, you must agree with me that, others in the forums perhaps me, and the likes of @Troy, must be proportrinately addressed for directly expressing HATE for individual opposition leaders and not genuine opposition or support to ideas and opinions in articulate language. I do really want to know why, one like Troy hates Halifa Sallah and this, I am sure he(Troy) is very well capable of writing in simple english and which did not.
Frankly speakng, I think Troy is a capable and an unwilling citizen and that makes him a much bigger threat to the Gambian cause than Dawda. The word ARROGANT suits Troy. This is meant for his reading too if he’ll come across this bit. In the mean time I am going down the bunker to take cover…………………Lol
@Max…. “From the pdois statements , Bax , you and I agreed that the statements implied that pdois is going to act as mediator . ”
Comment : Sorry to disappoint you, but you and I didn’t agree on that…If that’s what you think, then it’s clear that you misunderstood me. ..I suggest that you look at my comments again…
Max, you hit the nail on the head. Please continue to stand up and say the truth about lack of unity to confront the dictatorship in the country. Writing lengthy essays or press releases doesn’t make Yaya Jammeh to change anything. His biggest fear is the oppositions working together to stop his abuses. The man is coward and never know when to stop bullying his victims. Gambians had enough of his nonsense and to fight back we need all hands on the deck to put stop to his abuses. Long live The Gambia.
Yero, please let us what is confusing about what Maxs is saying. PDIOS has been writing these letters for long time to the president and he never give a damn about them. Dictators do not take advises from their victims or hardly from anybody. If PDIOS got experienced of dealing with permits was during the first republic then they don’t have any experience. Simply comparing the PPP regime with APRC as far as issuing permits to opposition political parties is completely insane. PPP regime is at least 98 percent democratic and APRC regime is negative 98 percent democratic.
Dawda , this forum is created for people to exchange ideas . Civilized people exchange ideas without name calling and I think you should stop to characterize someone you didn’t know nothing about as ignorant . You might disagree with my view , that is your rights as independent human being with brain to reason and make your judgement on any issues . It is the same manner we critically think about any issue of national concern and express our view with respect to divergent view of others in democratization process . One thing is very clear and dear to me , is that I love my country and I am a productive citizen who knows his rights and responsibility. You know nothing about me and It is not your business to know me . So let us put personal issues aside from national politics and understand that we can agree to disagree as civilized people do. PDois and their leadrship will be criticized just like any leadership or political party . Your advise for me to stop misinterpretation , misrepresentation , deception, hate campaign and pitting pdois against Udp is completely false , misplaced and dictatorial in your thinking. I do have the capacity to think and make analytical judgement on any issue. This is how a normal human being should behavior. I have every rights to think and make view about pdois or any political party . So your advise is directed at wrong person . The reason why we are fighting dictatorship is simply because the dictator want to control everyone including how people think and we should always listen to him. So your ill-conceived advise and characterization of people as ignorant is perfect examples of dictator’s characters.
Yerro Ba , i am independent minded guy who doesn’t have alligence to any political party simply because I believe in the beauty of independent mind to analyze the given situation and make informed independent decision with regard to national issue. I do believe that partisan politics sometimes lead to political polarization which make individuals sometimes have rigged political ideology which might not advance our country. This is why we have political mud-sliding and bamboozling just to make other opponent look bad in the democratic process. Partisan polarization is number one reason why there is no effective coalition or alliance to challenge Dictator jammeh. This is because every political leader look at his personal and party interest first . How can they come together to defeat Jammeh when we have high partisan polarization? National interest should always be highest priority in our political discussion. Looking at advance democracies , example USA ,independent minded citizens usually determine the direction of the country in any given election because they do not have alligence to either republican or democratic party . So in the Gambia too , we need independent minded citizens who will understand that politics is about advancing national interest, not tribal or specific political party ideology .
So in Udp and police standoff, do I think pdois should completely show solidarity by encouraging their members just to go and be with Udp , yes I do think they should because of the nature of dictatorship we have .Am I satisfy with their press release which simply indicated that police should give permit to Udp which pose no security threat , no I am not , because there should be strong condemnation and repudiation of unconstitutional police behavior from pdois so that Jammeh will clearly get the message . This is what I expect. You might have different view , that is beauty of freedom of expression and democracy .
Another dimension to this whole unnecessary crisis, is the suitability of “Police Permits” in a democracy, where unfettered rights of political parties to disseminate their message (s) is enshrined in the Constitution of the land…
The Constitution guarantees the Rights to form political parties and the Freedom and Rights to propagate political messages, any time, anywhere….In other words, the ability of political parties to propagate their messages around the country, must depend on.the parties themselves and no one else…
Police Permits, however, interfere with this Fundamental Right as it encroaches upon the freedom and ability of political parties to propagate their messages, by putting another body in control of the “when to propagate” their messages effectively and efficiently..
In this context therefore, it can be.argued that Police Permits are unconstitutional because they go against the spirit of the Constitution, which envisages unfettered and unrestricted rights to associate freely and to propagate your messages freely, in accordance with the other provisions that relate to political activities…
We should also remember that Police Permits are a colonial tool designed to suppress political and/or other forms of mass resistance during the colonial period, that was kept and used (even if sparingly) by the PPP, to control political activities of their opponents..Today, the same PPP that used to enforce this law, has become a victim….
It seems that the PDOIS has used this occasion to indicate a policy commitment under a PDOIS Government, by stating that ”Police Permits should be a thing of the past”….If I understand this right, it seems that a PDOIS Government will abolish Police Permits, and.I must say I agree with that policy 100%…
In my view, political parties and non political bodies should only be required to inform the Police of their activities, in order to discuss the security related issues with the Police…This is so that the Police can provide advice and/or logistical support….
It should be.the duty of the Police, where required, to provide adequate security to all, regardless of party affiliations or.the party concerned…
PDOIS has indicated its position….Now, we should ask the others how they wish to deal with the issue of Police Permits…Do they wish to abolish it or only challenge it when in opposition but pretend that it doesn’t exist when in government..?
” Yerro,i am independent minded guy who doesn’t have alligence to any political party simply because I believe in the beauty of independent mind to analyze the given situation and make informed independent decision with regard to national issue. I do believe that partisan politics sometimes lead to political polarization which make individuals sometimes have rigged political ideology which might not advance our country”.
Maxs, well this is very interesting of you, an individual minded guy who believes that partisan politics lead to political polarization and makes rigid political ideology which might not advance our country and prefers to go it alone. Is that the reason why you make it your preoccupation to be condemning PDOIS specifically in the Online Press mainly to show your independence?
Let me tell you that individuals that influence political parties are people who look at programmes and policies of parties and their practices and critique it with a view to give alternative policies and advices that would advance the public interest, NOT TO SPECIALIZE IN ARROGATING TO ONESELF THE RIGHT TO INSULT LEADERS because you do not agree with them. You think antagonizing a party like PDOIS is what is going to make PDOIS do what you want? The way you are going about your individuality is simply annoying citizens who have taken their time and resources to fight a cause for general emancipation. Parties stand for the masses and it is those masses of people who dictate to them as to what to do and not individuals who have expressed disagreement with them openly and condemned them. An individual who did not belong to a party wants to dictate to that party to take a certain tactical move just to support the ego of him/herself. I just wonder what an individual can do when it comes to changing a country,talk,talk,talk.
Is the state not agreeing to provide a permit for the UDP as PDOIS advised them earlier in its statement? Whether it is PDOIS who made them to rethink their position or not is not important but they have now agreed to do so. Who will then say they did not listen to what PDOIS is saying?
As an experienced PDOIS follower, i did not see any difference between the process of issuing permits to political parties from the 1st republic to date. May be you have not been a militant of any opposition party in the first republic and that is why you think that way. Permit problem from colonial times to date is the same, no difference at all. Ask anybody.
It was during the PPP time that PDOIS would get a permit and they would be denied to regroup in a certain village by supporters of the PPP. And the police would just sit idly by and watch helplessly. I can show a map of the NO GO AREAS FOR THE OPPOSITION in the Gambia during the time. So who can you fool?
You know what, i don’t trust you a bit because you are so unreasoning with issues which goes to show that you are not to be trusted. You who have seen almost 7 political parties and did not subscribe to anyone of them, but persist in trying to dictate to them on what they should do or not do. If you are not satisfied with what PDOIS did because they did not do what you want them to do, then you should come down to Fass and do your individuality on the ground and not persist in bothering others since you do not subscribe to them, FULL STOP! An independent is also a party as far as the Constitution is concerned, so you have no excuse.
Janjanbureh sorry for late coming. You mean citizens taking part in their constitutional rights activities you dare call AMUDOS? This term is very backward and immature. I am sure the Udp, the Pdois, the Ppp, the Nrp and the Gmc militants and supporters in the diaspora, all participating here in these forums are making a tremendous sacrifice in love of their country looking at the fact that most of us have a very limited time and resources here in the west. I think the Udp or whichever party you may belong to deserve a much better militant than you.
Once upon a time in the Gambia when I was a small boy, I remember seeing political rally convoys of vans, trucks and mini trucks over loaded with fierce looking men like warriors going to a war. Some of them go bareback and so you can see that they are tied all over with JUJUs. What makes the rallies a much frightening scenario then as a kid was the drummings usually tuned with derogatory proverbial songs and sometimes even insults like SOLI.. this SOLI.. that.
Though at that age I have no chance of addressing such a backward political culture, now I am grown up and wiser and therefore, intend to urge fellow citizens to do away with the attitude of belittling their own brothers by referring to them with shameful words such as ALMUDOS, a term, that all west Africa shares as a big shame. People like you Janjanbureh, in my opinion can only create a more ALMUDO situation in the third republic Gambia.
Thank you Bax , if you do not agreed with me about my interpretation of pdois statements acting as a mediator , I take back my statement. However, concerted actions they talked about is not specific and it can be interpreted as mediation or negotiation which pdois has no influence over the police or dictator Jammeh to issue permit .
I think you are right about the issue of police permit interferes with constitutional rights of political parties to propagate their messages in democratic process . I also think pdois position on this issue is on right track as it will lead to citizens enlightenment in order to make informed decision in geninue participatory democracy . I hope any future government will take this dictatorial policy of police permit out of democratic process . I also think now is the time for other political parties to make their position known just like pdois did .
I think all should congratulate udp for their victory. I also think that PDOIS has taken the right steps not to hijack the initiative of the UDP in this issue. This is why they were waiting for the UDP to tell them what is expected of them. Sending an envoy to Fass to give them a statement and inquiring from them on strategy is the best tactic since it is udp problem and solution to solve is better known by them. This is why i for one was cautioning people like Maxs to seek from the udp what they want and it has been proven right that udp has no intention for others to join them in their strategy. I hope we all learn from this experience.
Thanks
Yerro Ba, I don’t think you really understand what I mean by an independent minded citizen or voter for that matter. I choose not be alligence to any political party so that I reserve the rights to choose what is in the best interest of the country . As independent minded voter or citizen I can decide which political party programes or policies I think suit the best interest of the country and support that party or IF I am not safisfy with any political party , then I have the rights to contest in any election as independent candidate where I will put my ideas, policies or programs before citizens, for them to make informed decisions. This is basic explanation I think I can give . There is difference between what is in the best interest of the country and the interest of individual political party . The interest of individual party may not be in the best interest of the country and this is why political parties propagate their ideas or policies to citizens so that they can make independent informed decision.
Yerro Ba ” maxs, the way you are going about your individuality is simply annoying citizens who have taken their time and resources to fight a cause for general emancipation “.
Really Yerro Ba , so my political view is annoying citizens because I don’t agree with them . What an intolerant statement that is ? Don’t you understand that politics is about having divergent views and it is the responsibility of each political leader to convince individual to support their policies. Why should my view or opinion annoy anyone ? I have every rights to have my political view as citizen and this is my constitutional rights as well as my universal rights as a human being. I can see clearly why you are disturbed by my comment on pdois position on Udp and police standoff because you lack basic understanding that politics is about individual rights to determine their own destiny . In determining my destiny ,I can decide what is in best of country first as well as my own interest second . Yerro Ba, you even suggested you don’t trust me a bit and that I shouldn’t be trusted . Why do you need to trust me since I am not going running for any public office , I am simply a private citizen expressing my view ? Trust or character issues apply to public officers or political leaders but not a private citizen. You have also indicated that I ” persist in trying to dictate to them ( political parties ) on what they should do or not do . Again , your mischaracterization of my view is completely false as I did not force any party to consider my view , I simply stated my view on this Udp and police debacle. So it is left to pdois to acknowledge my view .
Yerro Ba” maxs, an independent is also a party as far as the constitution is concerned , so you have no excuse”.
This is very confusing here because at one time you indicated that my individuality (which I referred to my independent) is annoying citizens and now you said an independent is also a party as far as the constitution is concerned . I can see your lack of understanding and self contracdiction of independent citizen or individuality in this situation. Your problem is that you do not understand what is independent minded citizen in the democratization process . Please, I would encourage you to visit pdois people center in bundung or serekunda to get some basic education on politics .
Finally , you have accused me of insulting leaders and I want you to provide evidence for all to see . Only phrase I have used in this discussion is “political hypocrisy “and I have explained what I meant about that. As A Gambian , I know that word sound so insulting to you both religiously and culturally , but I am using it as its real meaning in this context . One thing I always do is to think carefully before I write anything and I respect everyone in this forum as well as our political leaders . I only talk about their policies which I care about but I careless about their private lives as long as their private lives is not in public domain . thank you my friend .
Maxs: “Bax , I think PDOIS action to act as a mediator is hypocritical in the sense that they are pretending to mediate on matters which affects them ( victim) equally like other political parties . This is another appeasement of dictator which many Gambians has been doing to prolong the stay of our dictator .”
Maxs, is this a statement of fact that PDOIS is appeasing the dictator? Can you frankly say that with an open mind, PDOIS is now appeasing the dictator? What did PDOIS say which is appeasement in its statement? This is why i said you are insulting people because i know for sure that your statement does not pass the test of commonsense. I am flabbergasted when you compare PDOIS to the so-called elders who appease Jammeh to get some crumbs, my words.
Maxs, you cannot have an open mind without the required information needed to make an informed judgment. This was why i was cautioning you not to be judgmental about what PDOIS said in its statement. PDOIS’ statement was putting pressure on the government to do what is right by providing permit to the UDP or to allow it to proceed on their tour. That is where the emphasis is.
If we are to be fair and open minded as you want us to be, one could say UDP should have simply accepted to put in a time frame in their schedule as demanded by the police after which the police would issue permit as quickly as possible for them to move on tour. But since UDP considers the request as denial and refused to do so, that is the root cause of the problem.
However, if the UDP decided to go on tour without a P.A System, the police should not obstruct them because they have not caused any traffic problem or otherwise, so there is no reason why they should be obstructed.This is what PDOIS is saying to the government but you misconstrued that and turned it upside down to mean an appeasement.
What you are also implying is that one can only have an open mind when one becomes independent which is not a fact. It is out of one’s open mindedness that one looks at the policies and programmes of parties and come to a decision as to which party to support.
“Pdois should have called for condemnation of police unconstitutional act or they should have joined the Udp to protest the police violations of citizens rights,” Maxs.
PDOIS release said: “Section 25(e) of the Constitution indicates among other things that “every person shall have the right to freedom of association including freedom to form and join associations and unions, including political parties and trade unions.”
Furthermore, Section 103A of the Elections Act states that: “Subject to the provisions of this part political parties may be established to –
• participate in the shaping of the political will of the people;
• disseminate information of political ideas and on political, economic and social programmes of national character; and
1. sponsor candidates for public elections.”
Any objective person with open mind who reads this would come to be aware that the government is infringing the right of the UDP to propagate their policies and programmes to the people. What more do you want PDOIS to say, insult the government? That would not be respectful. The difference between you and PDOIS is that you are an individual and therefore not accountable to anybody while PDOIS is a party accountable to its membership and so dares not act disrespectfully like an individual identifying himself with an alias in cyber space.
Your other problem is with this below PDOIS statement,”The task now is to take concerted action to ensure that the UDP gets a permit to continue its tour without any obstruction. PDOIS will contribute its quota in furthering the attainment of such an objective.” And you asked “What can PDOIS contribute or do to get the police permit since the repressive police force and the dictator has been refusing permits to opposition parties for a long time?”
If all parties are affected by the practice, what should be done to solve the problem. PDOIS said a concerted action should be taken. Concerted action here can mean only one thing, for all stakeholders to work and solve the problem and that includes the APRC ,the government and the opposition and even including the IEC and other concerned institutions in or outside the Gambia. Is this a bad idea? What you failed to know is that Halifa Sallah is a co chair of the inter party committee on behalf of the opposition and could call for an inter party committee meeting to discuss the impasse and if government fails to act, the committee could take further steps to isolate the regime.That is what politics is all about.
But then you misconstrued that also and said: “Pdois actions in acting as a mediator rather than showing complete solidarity to Udp is no different from appeasement which our elders and religious leaders embark on whenever jammeh abuse any Gambian.” And i said that comment is an insult to a party like PDOIS which has and is doing everything in its little power to salvage a country which you described as a dictatorship and describe PDOIS a fool.
So if you are thinking very well before you write then you have to double up your thinking less readers lile Lafia lashed you with his famous description, obscurantist.
You said you respect everybody’s opinion in this forum, well this is my humble opinion and i hope you respect it.
Thanks