Mr Khan,
A honourable gesture to say the least on your part, but if The Independent
is a
profit making organisation (which am with the notion they are), then am afraid
I won't be parting with my meagre university grant for their sake, even though
am
one of the people "always making noise about "sacrifice" back home.
If on the other hand they are a non-profit making 'means & tools' for the
masses,
then I will not hesitate to join you in sending them a penny, a pound or
whatever
I can afford.
They might exemplify "sacrifice" back home, but so is PDOIS and a countless
other papers/organisations.
"These very gallant fighters: Babagalleh Jallow, Yorro Jallow, Mr. Daffeh,
Mr. J. Wally, and the country's best reporter (my opinion) Demba Jawo"
They are as gallant fighters as any of the journalists back in The Gambia. In my
personal opinion they do not get any more gallant than Halifa and his outfit at
PDOIS.
Remember Halifa is one of the few journalist/sociologist who laid down the
foundation for bringing the governments to task, at great personal risks!
From my observations( I must emphasize here, this is just my humble personal
opinion),
you tend to put down one paper/organisation and all that they've done and
continue
to do/stand for, yet heap praise on another. This, some may conclude is
prejudicial and
hypocritical. I apologize in in advance, if my observations are unfounded from
your
own point of view.
Your epithets like "In my judgement, they're the most independent, and upfront
newspaper in the Gambia today. They make no apologies when it comes to
telling it like it is" has made me think twice about this posting of your' s is
there a
hidden agenda here, Mr Khan?
Treat everyone/every party with equal respect, be even handed, Mr Khan!!
Do not take this as a personal attack, this is just my humble observation.
Sure, "they deserve our support" just as any other paper, they all do honourable
jobs back home!!
All the best
Mr Manneh
saul khan wrote:
> All,
>
> Here is a small story regarding the four Independent Newspaper journalists
> currently being harrassed at the DIRECT orders of His Excellency, Rtd. Lt.
> Col, Dr., Alhagi, Yaya Jemus Junkung Jammeh. What the Observer piece does
> not state is that, the three journalists located so far, were picked up by
> TEN police officers of the SERIOUS CRIMES UNIT, and hauled off to a police
> station. What "serious crime" have they committed? They've revealled a
> marriage that is public knowledge among a large segment of the Gambian
> population. According to first-hand accounts, the unit investigating their
> "serious crime" is at a loss as to how to proceed with the case. For that
> reason, the CO has to travel to Kanilai to ask the Boss what to do every
> step of the way. Libel, by the way, is not an arrestable offence. So, why
> the heavy handedness?
>
> The Gambian press generally has been at the receiving end of the repression
> that characterizes the APRC regime. The Independent, in particular, has been
> the subject of constant harrassment. From the petty -constantly switching
> off their energy/water supply, to the outrageous - stripping them naked, and
> throwing them into mosquito-infested cells for not having the "proper" legal
> papers, the govt. has been sticking it to them. And the reason is clear: the
> Independent team rebelled against the manipulative tactics that the govt.
> employed towards the Observer newspaper, for which all the Independent
> reporters worked. In my judgment, they're the most independent, and upfront
> newspaper in the Gambia today. They make no apologies when it comes to
> telling it like it is. And they hit all sides with equal force. So the govt.
> is doing all it can to put them out of business.
>
> Because of it's age, and the ridiculous legal bottlenecks that the govt.
> throws at them all the time, the Independent is not yet on sound financial
> footing from what I've gathered. For that reason, they need all the help
> they can get to fend off this frifolous law suit. These very gallant
> fighters: Babagalleh Jallow, Yorro Jallow, Mr. Daffeh, Mr. J. Wally, and the
> country's best reporter (my opinion) Demba Jawo, deserve our help.[Jawo was
> the gentlemant whose blunt representation of Gambian reality irked the
> president so much that he bought out the Observer through a proxy. Is it any
> wonder then that Mr. Jawo was the first to be shamelessly fired? Out of
> integrity, the rest of the Independent team followed Jawo.] So, for those of
> us who are always making noise about "sacrifice" back home, this is one
> group that exemplifies that sacrifice. They deserve our support!
>
> I intend to send the group some money to help with their legal defence by
> Saturday (1/1/2000.) Those willing and able to donate ANY amount at this
> time, can send me a private note, so we can set something up. Or you can
> send the money to the Independent directly through Tel: 494262. Anything in
> the next few weeks will be highly appreciated. Let's not fail these brothers
> in their stand against tyranny.
>
> Saul.
>
> Here is the article from the Observer:
>
> Managing editor Alagie Yorro Jallow, editor-in-chief Baba Galleh
> Jallow and reporters NB Daffeh and Jalali Wally of the Independent
> newspaper, were yesterday morning, charged with "libel against the
> president" under the criminal code of the Laws of The Gambia.
>
> The three (Jalali Wally was at large) were released on bail in the sum of
> 10,000 dalasis
> each with Gambian sureties.
>
> Speaking to our reporter following their release, Yorro Jallow explained
> that they have
> been asked to report to the police daily until they are taken before a
> court. He said they
> will put up a strong defence to the charge.
>
> The president, Yahya Jammeh, was yet to file his statement to the police.
> It is not yet
> clear how much damages the president is going to claim from the Independent
> newspaper for the report regarding his marital affairs.
>
> Meanwhile, the Gambia Press Union, after an emergency meeting yesterday,
> expressed
> its disappointment at the trend of relations between the press and the
> government. The
> union said the Independent newspaper, in this case, was simply carrying
> out its
> legitimate duty of reporting on the activities of public figures.
>
> "The case is not unique as this was exactly the situation with Jammeh's
> second wife.
> There were rumours, then denials only to be confirmed later. This is one
> reason why the
> union in particular and the press in general are calling for transparency
> and unfettered
> access to information. To punish the press for providing information which
> is of
> legitimate public interest, such as the activities of the president of the
> republic, is unfair,
> unjust and totally unjustifiable," the GPU message concluded..
>
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