By Omar Bah
Veteran politician and former agriculture minister Omar Amadou Jallow has welcomed the NPP/APRC alliance and warned Gambians against seeking revenge over reconciliation.
Addressing a maiden rally attended by both NPP and APRC executives in Banjul on Saturday, OJ said Gambia should learn from what happened in Ghana and South Africa.
“Former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings killed three former presidents, 13 ministers and 7 judges. Did Jammeh kill Jawara or any ministers? Again 780 people died under torture in Ghana during his rule but after their truth commission they gave reparations and reconciled.
“The only thing they did to Rawlings was to tell him he cannot run for election but they allowed him to stay in the country. Rawlings died recently and he was given a state funeral and in South Africa, Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years by the white and seven of his friends died in jail while thousands of black people were killed. But when Mandela was released, he constituted a truth commission and at the end, the ultimate goal was reconciliation and they reconciled,” he said.
He added: “My mother is Sierra Leonean and we have seen what revenge has done in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Central African Republic, Libya, Rwanda and Brundi. So what President Adama Barrow is doing is what the Gambian people want.”
OJ said he was happy to sit with Fabakary Tombong Jatta, Dodou Jah, Rambo Jatta and Yankuba Colley on the same platform.
“Jammeh allowed former President Jawara to return to the country and when he arrived at the airport, he was welcomed by Jammeh and escorted him to his home. Jammeh gave him vehicles, security and paid him salary every month and when Jawara was launching his book ‘Kairaba’ Yahya Jammeh was his chief guest of honor. I remember on several occasions where Jammeh invited Jawara and made him his chief guest,” OJ said.
He said revenge is always a recipe for conflict. “Let us safeguard the peace and security in this country,” OJ said.
The APRC leader, Fabakary Tombong Jatta said any Gambian who loves the peace and stability of the country should vote for President Barrow.
Addressing the meeting, President Barrow said the APRC/NPP alliance is “a good start for a strong move towards national reconciliation”.
“It is very important for national security,” he said.
