Mr Gassama,
I always take your stance vis-a-vis the on-going
harassment and intimidation of the independent media
as not only a self denial posture but also a sign of
ignorance of the real problems of the media in the
Gambia generally. For a start when we talk of the
independence of the media it goes beyond the private
operators alone...but also the centrally controlled
public media. You have to understand that the so
called freedom of the media that you always talk about
here came about not thanks to anybody's benevolence
but our resilience as a group of dedicated
professionals who dared the hot,the cold, the cells
and the electrics wares to get where we are at the
moment. Am sure you are still a living witness to the
numerious reports of torture and illigal arrests and
detention journalists were and are still going through
in this country. According to our own investigations
not more than 15 arrest and detention of journalists
took place during the 32 years of the former regime.
But from 1994 to date more than 35 arrests and
detention of journalists have taken place in the
Gambia...myself about eight, Alieu Badara Sowe about
eleven,Baboucarr Gaye about three, Deyda Hydra about
one, Pap Saine about one, Yorro Jallow and Baba Galleh
Jallow about two, N.B Daffeh about three, Alagie Mbye
about four,not to talk of others like Cherono Jallow
in the US, Ebrima Sankareh(US) Rodney D. Sieh(US),
Savage(US) , my own Ebrima Ceesay(UK). We have also
recorded physical torture not to mention the closure
of Citizen FM, the bourning down of Radio 1FM and the
owner George, the deportation of Kenneth Best to his
war torn country Liberia and another S/Leonian
journalist to his country where he was wanted. We dont
forget the case of Sulae Musa who was deported back to
Nigeria for writing a critique on Abacha's killing
spree. Saulae upon reaching Nigeria was immedaitely
bondled into a waiting car to one of the most horrible
prisons in that country awaiting his faith. Thank God
it was that same week that Abacha died. So when we
talk of press freedom it embodies a lot of issues not
only the expression of the mind alone...infact the
expression of the mind is the end result because
before you say something, the enabling environment has
to be there. Today all the newspapers are thinking of
survival because of the unnecessary taxation, the high
cost of printing materials because of huge importation
tax they attract. Infact as at now do you know that
the government printer is not printing the independent
newspapers? So where is the freedom. Reporting the
news and going about searching for that news are not
the only yardstick that one uses to measure the
freedom of the press but the whole package that go by
it. I dont have much time but i hope this helps to put
things in their proper context.
E Sillah
--- Jungle Sunrise <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >
Despite all the hulla baloo over the
> intimidation of the
> independent media, the reality on the ground is the
> total opposite. Our
> newspapers are a hundred fold more vibrant during
> the past two years than
> ever before, the number of private and community
> radio stations in the
> country number more than 30 and the number of
> newspapers and journals number
> atleast a dozen.
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