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Momodou
Denmark
11780 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Oct 2007 : 19:59:07
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
1987 GENERAL ELECTIONS - WHO DARE TO CONTEST SABACH SANJAL SEAT?
With Suwaibou Touray
We have been focusing on politics in this column. We have narrated the political history from pre-colonial to the post-independence era. In the last issue, we have reported issues raised at PDOIS’ maiden rallies. In this edition, we will focus on the contradictions that emanate from the various party campaigns.
Let us continue from where we stopped.
Sometime before January 6 1987, the National Convention Party (NCP), led by Sheriff M.Dibba, made a complaint in a press release, which was not read over thenational radio. The Nation published the release but the PPP organ did notinitially comment on the matter.
The NCP release blamed the PPP for its military style campaign. The BBC narrated the incident and went further to assert that the 1982 elections was infact not free and fair because as they said it was conducted under a state of public emergency. This exposure appeared to have a psychological effect on the regime, compelling the President himself to have an interview over radio Gambia to argue against the report.
In that interview, Sir Dawda accused the BBC of unfair reporting on the Sabach Sanjal incident and said the report was incorrect. He blamed Mr. Modou Gaye, the NCP candidate for Sabach Sanjal, as the cause of the scuffle. He said it was Mr. Modou Gaye, the NCP candidate, who lit up dry grass on the road as the motorcade of his party approached, thereby forcing it to stop. He said that was the reason why there was what he called “a scuffle” between him (Modou) and some people.
Accordingto the Nation Newspaper, Sir Dawda also made a remark that the NCP leader sounded desperate from the speeches he had been making and opined that NCP’s credibility was very low. The Nation, however, called on the public radio to accord the NCP leader to make his views known for fair play and called for an inquiry to be held afterwards.
The Press Release
According to the NCP Press release, the NCP candidate, Mr. Modou P. Gaye, said between 1400hrs and 1500hrs on Saturday, 20 December 1986, the motorcade accompanying Hon. Saikou Sabally, Minister of Agriculture and the Sabach sanjal Candidate of the ruling PPP, together with the Vice President, Bakary Darboe, on their way to attend a rally at Kani Kunda, went with their motorcade up to the extreme Western end of the village of Ngayen Sanjal, behind his Modou Gaye’s compound.
According to the release, the PPP motorcade become emotionally and psychologically disturbed when they saw two NCP white flags placed at Mr. Gaye’s gate. They then stopped and some people on board descended and tried to uproot the flags.
According to the release, this was unfortunate for Mr. Gaye who was on the spot clearing and burning the weeds in front of his compound and who had to intervene and seize the flags from them. The release further said a police corporal who was among the escort ordered Mr. Gaye to leave the flag and a member of the mob then tore the flags and others took sticks, some stones and others simply used their fists to hit him.
According to the release, a gendarmerie knocked Mr. Gaye down on the ground, while the police officer held him and the maddening crowd assaulted him mercilessly. The release further said that both Saikou Sabally and B. B. Darboe watched while their supporters mishandled Mr. Gaye.
The release went on to explain that while Gaye was struggling to save his life, the misguided mob followed him to his compound and even went to the extent of beating Gaye’s seven and half-month’s pregnant wife. The release said candidate Gaye sustained serious injuries in the head, hip and eyes as a result of the beating. He and his wife were rushed to a Chinese doctor at Farafenni for treatment and later reported at the Police Station there.
What was disquietening about this incident the release said was that even the Vice President and Minister of Agriculture were present when this unprovoked act of barbarity was perpetrated without even a comment from them. The release opined that their indifference in the face of what it termed “This most inhuman indulgence,” coupled with conspicuous involvement of both the police and the gendarmerie is indicative of their tacit and seeming approval of this episode.
The NCP opined that this might have been a deliberate act planned by Saikou Sabally with the ulterior motive of scaring away NCP supporters and at the same time, instilling fear in the mind of the NCP candidate who dared to stand against them.
The NCP leaders in this release called on PPP leaders to understand that time has ran out for them; that the overwhelming majority of youths in this country support the opposition and were prepared to go to any length to salvage their country from total and permanent disintegration; that they were totally committed to end what they described as “this state of misrule” which was so prevalent in this country. The NCP in their time of need called for an impartial referee; that custodians of the law (the police) must not become lawbreakers. They said if that happens, they in the opposition would have no option but to apply what they called “Moses law”, that is ‘an eye for an eye.’
Mr. Dibba finally appealed to the ruling (PPP) to abide by the laws and to conduct activities with the established rules laid down in our statute books.
The issue that engendered a serious debate during the 1987 election campaign was the president’s announcement that only those parties represented in parliament would be given the opportunity to speak over radio Gambia. According to the Nation Newspaper, this was a “presidential decree,” which it described as very absurd and does not make much sense for certain obvious reasons.
The Nation said radio Gambia belongs to the people and as such, it is not up to the president or anyone else to decide which political party should gain access or should not. According to the Nation, when parliament is dissolved it automatically means that no political party is represented in parliament and as such all legally constituted political parties should be treated equally and accorded the same privileges and treatment. The president, they said, was just a caretaker president and as such should not deny any party access to the public media. The Nation condemned what they called this arbitrary ruling by the president which they said tantamounted to naked discrimination against a party like the PDOIS. The nation said this is an apparent infringement of PDOIS’ freedom of speech and unhindered access to all public facilities, including radio Gambia. The paper opined that since the country was not living in a military dictatorship, it has not seen it as appropriate for the president to make such arbitrary “decree” that had no constitutional backing. The Nation newspaper called on the government to withdraw such a ruling; that Sir Dawda was not there to introduce new laws because he was there only to take care until a newly elected president comes into being. They also called on the president to cite a provision from any authority that prevented political parties from addressing the electors.
The GPP leader, based on the reports, had specialized on exposing the regime. Many people were of the view that since he was a long serving minister of state under the PPP administration, he was better placed to expose the secrets of the regime.Mr. Camara, according to the Nation accused the President for non-payment of income tax. He also challenged Sir Dawda to appear with him before the commission on the evaluation of Assets and Corrupt Practices, because as he said the staff of Assets Evaluation Commission were still receiving salaries and not doing any thing. Mr. Camara was said to have spoken on the arrest, detention and subsequent release of the Georgetown Area Council officers who he said were involved in corrupt practices; that the regime was silent on the loss of a voucher of the Department of Water Resources since 1983. He also called on the regime to break silence on the sinking of the “Lady Chilel,” and so on.
Interestingly enough, the PPP also rejected the application of a GPP member Mr. Suntu Fatty who they said had applied for membership to the PPP committee. The PPP said they rejected his application based on the fact that Mr. Fatty was prepared to sell the Gambia to Foreigners. Mr. Suntu Fatty was earlier on said to be arrested by the police supposedly for participating in the “Sale” of The Gambia to a Nigerian businessman in Lagos.
He was later released and allowed to join the president’s meet the farmer’s tour (1986) where he divulged the alleged transaction between the GPP and the Nigerian businessman. Mr. Fatty was also alleged to have threatened to reveal chiefs and civil servants who he said were supporting the GPP, unless they denounced their support of the party. This has created quite a steer among the public servants at the time.
It, however, remained to be seen how much damage this alleged sale of The Gambia has done to the GPP leader’s chances in the 1987 elections. The PPP also criticized Mr. Camara for engaging in tribal and divisive campaign.
See next issues for more on the 1987 election.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No 108/2007, 14 – 16 September 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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