Brother Bailo Jallow,

I join you in expressing very sincere deligt in Mr. Ceesay's receiving this
prestigious award. I hope many more will be equally courageous, like him, in
defending everyone's right to speak their mind.

many thanks,
sidibeh


2006/11/30, bailo jallow <[log in to unmask]>:
>
> Fellow G-Lers,
> Please join me in congragulating Mr Madi Ceesay, President of the Gambia
> Press Union for the highly prestigious International Press Freedom Award
> bestowed on him by the Commitee for the Protection of Journalists.
>
> Bravo Madi, Keep it up!
>
> Bailo
>
>
> The following is culled from the latest edition of the Forroyaa newspaper:
>
> GPU President Receives Prestigious Award
> The president of The Gambia Press Union (GPU) and General Manager of the
> Independent, Mr. Madi Ceesay, on Tuesday 21st November received the
> prestigious
> Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPS) International Press
> Freedom
> Award at Waldorf â€" Astoria in New York City, U.S.A. Mr. Ceesay is also
> Deputy President(s) of the West African Association of Journalists (WAAJ).
> The USA in their press release on the occasion noted that the award “is
> indeed a fitting award to an independent and deserving journalist.” We
> publish
> below the full text of the speech delivered by Mr. Ceesay at the occasion:
> In the name of all the journalists back home in the Gambia, I would first
> like to thank the Committee to Protect Journalists, and all those who
> contributed to my nomination. I would also like to thank my family for all
> the support
> they have given me.
> Today is a great day in my life as a journalist. I would like to accept
> this
> prestigious award in the name of all independent journalists in the Gambia
> who continue to work hard despite a very hostile media environment.
> Ladies and gentlemen, let me describe to you the sad climate in which we
> work. In the past few years, we have seen repeated arson attacks on
> journalists
> and their media houses, without a single suspect being brought before the
> courts. Four media houses have been shut down by government, including my
> own
> newspaper.
> In December 2004, our colleague Deyda Hydara, editor of The Point
> newspaper,
> was murdered in a drive-by shooting. It was a shock to all journalists in
> the Gambia, who felt a great loss and also a sense of fear that such a
> thing
> could happen in our country. Government investigators have not brought
> anyone
> to justice so far. They produced a report that seemed to blame Deyda for
> his
> own death… and did not address the question of who killed him.
> After my newspaper was shut down and I was imprisoned in March this year,
> several other journalists were also detained, and one journalist has been
> missing for more than three months. One of my colleagues from the
> Independent is being tried for publishing false information, under a law
> which could bring a
> possible jail sentence.
> Ladies and gentlemen, the Gambia is a small country, and some of you may
> not
> be familiar with it. But our problems are typical of many African
> countries,
> where the independent press is struggling to hold governments
> accountable…
> governments which may profess to be democratic but violate democratic
> principles such as press freedom.
> Ladies and gentlemen, Gambia’s embattled independent media desperately
> needs
> support. I call on you to help us by speaking up when abuses occur. We
> also
> need practical support to strengthen the Gambian media, so that we will be
> better able to investigate abuses and report on issues of vital public
> interest
> Once again, thanks to CPJ for this great honor, and thank you all for your
> attention.
>
> Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
>
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