His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, yesterday, urged representatives of political parties from Guinea Bissau to nurture peace and love amongst themselves in the interest of the development of their country.

"As a Pan-Africanist, I am proud to be an African," he said, stressing his belief that as black people, we are all Africans sharing one blood. The Gambian leader was speaking to delegates from Guinea Bissau, whom he had invited for a political consultative meeting ahead of presidential election in that country. The brainchild of the Gambian leader himself, this meeting was aimed at finding lasting peace and stability in the restive former Portuguese colony.

President Jammeh warned the Bissau Guinean delegates that if they do not stop the fighting and killing of one another, they can never attain peace. Africa's collectiveness, he said, solely rest in the hands of its people. "We must belief in God. Even Europe, which is predominantly white, has tribes, but they are living in peace," President Jammeh said. He reminded the delegates that their peace, stability and bright future as well as dignity rest in their own hands.

He called on them to recognize the fact that they have experienced 2 to 3 tough periods, and that each time, there comes a problem, foreign diplomats in the country will only extract their people and leave them (Guineans) to kill one another. "You will only have to choose peace, and achieve development. But if you choose anything other than peace, you are putting the security of your country and that of the people into detriment," he said.

According to President Jammeh, the problem of Guinea-Bissau is rooted in the liberation struggle, when people such as Amilcar Cabral were killed. He tasked the visiting delegates to convey his message to their party militants back home, saying that peace cannot be achieved in the presence of violence. "Always remember that with every action you take, you should think of its consequences," he said, adding: "if you destroy your country, you will only end up being refugees in other peaceful countries."

The president went on: "Love one another and restore peace and order in Guinea-Bissau." Mamadou Yahya Jallow, leader of the Guinea-Bissau New Democratic Party (NDP), apparently deeply touched by President Jammeh's statements, remarked: "As Gambians are doing, I believe we will also be able to one day overcome our differences. What can unite us (Guineans) today is more than what can separate us."

He said that in Guinea Bissau, everybody is struggling for power. He acknowledged the efforts of the Gambian leader in restoring peace and stability in Guinea Bissau. Jallow then expressed appreciation of President Jammeh's organisation of the peace dialogue, which, he hoped, will contribute to the realization of peace building in their country.

The Gambia, he said, has also taken part in effort to finding peace in the Bissau, up to the level of the UN, where he said President Jammeh has always been calling on the international community to support Guinea Bissau. "The recent killings in the country," Jallow stressed, "were felt and regretted by everybody." Maria Rosa Robalo Rosa, who represented the independent candidate, Henrique Periara Rosa, also commended President Jammeh for the peace initiative among Bissau-Guinean politicians, describing it as a manifestation of his (President Jammeh's) love for unity, stability and peace in their country.