Fatou, thanks for your message and call for Gambians to step up and fund
Press Freedom in the Gambia.  I contacted Banka Manneh, who in turn sent a
message to Madi N. K. Ceesay, for Madi to collect $400 from someone in the
Gambia.  Baba Galleh had suggested some names but in the interim, I received
a message from Madi with his telephone numbers, which I forwarded to Banka
for expediency.  Madi is to collect the money on Wednesday, December 21.

For those that have pledged but have not sent in their contributions, please
put some urgency in sending your moneys.  For those that are interested in
helping the GPU on the ground, please send your donations/contributions to:

Joe Sambou
8046 S. Kimbark Ave.
Chicago, IL 60619

Thanks to all those that have contributed to this worthy cause.

After a problem has been identified, analyzed, philosophized upon, humans
tend to do one or a combination of the following:

1. Execute the action plan to correct the situation, or,

2. Do nothing, or,

3. Dig up more complains and criticisms (real and imagined) at the expense
of action.

We have known for a long time that the Private Media in the Gambia is under
assault, like most things and people in our country.  Now that the good
folks of the private media have taken the leadership to help us help
ourselves, can the good folks that see value in this worthy cause step up
and be counted?  We can all talk and write to eternity, but at the end of
the day, it will never happen unless the rubber meets the cement.  Where do
we stand on the plight of the Private Media in the Gambia, that's the
question.

Chi Jaama

Joe


>From: fatou m darboe darboe <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: <[log in to unmask]>, <[log in to unmask]>,
><[log in to unmask]>, <[log in to unmask]>,
><[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: [GPU] Gambian Authorities obstruct trip to Banjul Date: Tue,
>20 Dec 2005 04:14:50 -0700
>
>This message was sent to GPU-North America by: fatou m darboe darboe
><[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>Guys,
>This is a remminder to our monthly contributions.Joe can you please send
>the
>address again to mail our montly contributions? Did you release any funds
>to
>GPU Gambia? To whom, when and how much was sent"
>Fatou, DC
>
>
>------ Original Message ------
>Received: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 08:28:21 AM MST
>From: "Baba Galleh Jallow" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask],
>[log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [GPU] Gambian Authorities obstruct trip to Banjul
>
>This message was sent to GPU-North America by: "Baba Galleh Jallow"
>
>
>  Authorities obstruct trip to Banjul for Hydara murder anniversary
>
>Obstructive Gambian officials prevented a Reporters Without Borders
>representative from travelling today to Banjul to attend a conference being
>held by the Gambia Press Union (GPU) on December 15-16 to mark the first
>anniversary of the murder of The Point co-editor Deyda Hydara on December
>16,
>2004, the press freedom organisation said.
>
>"The Gambian government's ill-will made it impossible for us to be with
>Hydara's family to mark the end of a year of mourning," Reporters Without
>Borders said. "We deeply regret being unable to go to Banjul to express our
>solidarity with Gambia's independent press, which has suffered so much in
>recent years, but we reaffirm to the family our commitment to see justice
>done."
>
>The head of the
>  Reporters Without Borders Africa Desk was unable to depart this morning
>for
>Banjul because the Gambian authorities failed to issue a visa in time.
>
>The visa request, accompanied by copies of the airline tickets, a letter of
>invitation by the GPU and a Reporters Without Borders letter authorising
>the
>trip, was handed in to the Gambian embassy in Paris on November 24. Visas
>are
>supposed to take 48 hours to issue. An embassy official said the visa would
>be
>ready on November 28.
>
>Despite Reporters Without Borders' daily calls to the embassy, no
>explanation
>has ever been given for the delay. The Gambian foreign ministry did finally
>tell Reporters Without Borders that the GPU's letter of invitation was not
>valid because it was not addressed to the head of the Africa desk by name.
>GPU
>president Madi Ceesay immediately sent a new letter to the ministry while
>Reporters Without
>  Borders sent a copy to the embassy in Paris.
>
>The Gambian foreign ministry finally gave the green light to its embassy in
>Paris at 6:30 p.m. yesterday (Paris time), but by then, the consular
>section
>was already closed, so it was too late to issue the visa to the Reporters
>Without Borders representative in time for him to board his flight for
>Banjul
>via Dakar at 9 a.m. today. In view of this behaviour by the Gambian
>authorities, Reporters Without Borders has decided not to go to Banjul.
>
>Leonard VINCENT
>Bureau Afrique / Africa desk
>Reporters sans fronti鋨es / Reporters Without Borders
>5, rue Geoffroy-Marie
>75009 Paris, France
>Tel : (33) 1 44 83 84 84
>Fax : (33) 1 45 23 11 51
>Email : [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask]
>Web : www.rsf.org
>
>Contact info:
>
>Lucie Morillon
>Reporters Without Borders
>Washington Representative
>Southern Railway Building
>1500 K Street, N.W., Suite 600
>Washington DC, 20005
>
>Tel: 202 256 5613
>Email: [log in to unmask]
>Web: www.rsf.org
>
>With Reporters Without Borders, don't wait to be deprived of news to stand
>up
>and fight for it.
>Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger Download today
>it's FREE!
>
>  ======================================================================
>  "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
>  includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
>  receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless
>  of frontiers."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>======================================================================
>"everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
>includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
>receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless
>of frontiers."
>

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