GPU reacts
says President ostracises journalists
By Ebrima Jaw Manneh
Feb 28, 2005, 13:18

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The president of the Gambia Press Union, Demba Ali Jawo, has expressed disappointment with what he called President Jammeh’s blanket description of the Independent journalists as cheque-book journalists and mouth-pieces of the opposition.

Reacting to the president’s GRTS interview in which he criticised the independent media and the opposition for not wishing the country well, Jawo said the president was not fair with the journalists and has wrongly perceived their role in society.

“In the first place, the government’s attitude of denying the independent press access to State House, presidential airport interviews and press conferences, made it impossible for them to gain useful information about the government and its programmes. Therefore to say that the journalists do not report on the positive and development achievements of the government is not fair. You have to know that something is happening first before you can report it. And even with all these hurdles placed on the path of the private press, they tried as much as possible to report on government functions and projects. We are always ready to report on all major developments of whatever kind,’’ Jawo said.

The GPU president further said that his body was also unhappy that despite all the national and international outcry, President Jammeh has gone ahead to assent to the two media laws. He reiterated that GPU will have to resort to the courts to challenge the laws. “We are currently consulting our lawyers to see how we can go to court since the constitution is the supreme law of The Gambia,’’ he concluded.

During a lengthy interview with GRTS last week, President Jammeh observed that there was no independent journalists in the country, and described them as cheque-book journalists. He also defended the media laws arguing that they are meant to protect decent Gambians from deliberate slander and character assassination.

© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company

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