Karamba,

From this end, we are very hopeful that we are going
to win this battle. I can see your concerns but i want
to beleive that if  my brother's two year old toddler
was given this case to handle he would surely throw it
in the dust bin. Why? because it is written black and
white as an entrenched clause of the constitution that
the book is the supreme law of the land. So how can a
bill eventhough a valid enactment of the national
assembly pass the test of that constitution? How can a
country with an Attorney General and all the legal
advisers at his chambers draft such a law without
seeing the loopholes? Just like in the case of other
unsuccessful attempts to silence journalists
unjustifiably, this other attempt will surely fail
woefully. I am definately optimistic that we will win
this battle in any form because we are in order.
Probably after crossing this river, it will be the
last attempt to gag the press. No frredom is gained in
laziness. Our government is only suffering from a self
inflicted paranoia because there are ample laws in the
country as far as liable and defamation are concerned.
We are not asking for any special treatment. What we
saying is treat everybody equally. There is no
gurantee that after a journalist is convicted at this
commission, the complainants will not take their case
to the high court because the liable laws are still
active, all other repugnant military decrees against
the media are not repealed either.` So there is no
gurantee again that journalists will not suffer from
double punishments for a single complain. These and
other reasons strenghten our resolve to challenge
this law in court and all what it stands for. Have to
contunie with my work now...i can see more BBC
messages are popping up on my screen.

E Sillah.
 --- [log in to unmask] wrote: > Madi is ofcourse correct
in the entirety of his
> objections to this illegal
> garbage of a law just passed. Mr Sillah and his
> colleagues at the GPU are
> geared up for a vigorous defense of their rights as
> a constitutionally
> protected class of professionals by pledging
> outright non cooperation. For
> their courageous stand the Gambian people shall be
> with them throughout this
> entire battle. For those Gambians who are about to
> throw in the towel and
> declare our nation beyond redemption hopelessly
> mired in sycophancy, lies,
> corruption and decay, please remember that there are
> good people who will
> stand up for what is right. We must join their
> battles and continue to fight
> with them. There are decent people in the length and
> breadth of our country
> who want no part of this government of murderers,
> liars and cheats.
>        As for seeking judicial redress, I think it
> is fine for the GPU to
> proceed to the courts purely as a matter of process.
> I don't believe they
> will get a fair shake because the Gambian courts as
> currently constituted
> have ceased to be either fair or effective. Infact
> they have often times been
> accessories to repression and misrule. I have zero
> confidence that the courts
> would uphold the constitution based on what has
> transpired over the last
> several years. Yahya Jammeh and his cronies are
> effectively running a Banana
> Republic in which Gambians would be tied in a string
> of repressive knots
> through brute force, a corrupt legislature and an
> equally corrupt judiciary.
> The people would have to decide if they would submit
> to real enslavement in
> their own country or free themselves. The latter
> starts with standing up and
> flatly refusing cooperation with ones own
> destruction.
> Karamba
>
>
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