if you are reading online please do not give way to the butchers by closing The Point news paper. It will be a victory for them and a lost to us and Deyda Hydara. We all can attest to the fact that Deyda Hydara will always want to see the integrity of The Point to continue serving the public as it used to do in the previous years.
I know it is a difficult time for you and all of us who stand to defend the independency of the media houses in that once upon a time "Gambia no problem". Deyda's death has caused a lot of vacuum in the field of journalism in our country, but just like D A Jawo said in his BBC interviewed, they will continue to make sure the Point continue their good service to the people they willing serve from 1991 until this day that the co- owner was murdered by the state sponsored terrorist.
Homeland or death, we will triumph.
Conteh Julla
>From: abdoukarim sanneh <
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>Reply-To:
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>To:
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>Subject: Re: [Talk] Fw: Gambia's press protests against editor's killing
>Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 10:21:13 -0800 (PST)
>
>Pap Saine should be strong. The intention of the criminal regime is to silence all the critical media house by coming up draconian media bill and act of terrorism. Gambian and friends of Gambia should stand firm at this critical moment in the struggle for press freedom.
>
>
[log in to unmask] wrote:This message was sent to GambiaTalk by:
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>
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>"Pap Saine, co-owner of the Point who also works for Reuters, said he was
>considering closing the paper because of fears for his safety and
>financial concerns."
>
>From the above, on one hand I can understand the dilemma confronting Pap Saine, but on the other hand, unfair as it may sound: what would Deyda have done if it were the other way around. Although, it is easy for me to say, but the Point newspaper epitomized what Deyda is all about, and it will just be sad to allow the paper to die as well. It saddens me that, at the end of the day - the cowards may end up getting exactly what they wanted.
>
>It is sad.
>
>Musa JEng
>
>
> > From: "BambaLaye"
> > Date: 2004/12/20 Mon PM 01:01:35 EST
> > To:
> > Subject: [Talk] Fw: Gambia's press protests against editor's killing
> >
> > This message was sent to GambiaTalk by: "BambaLaye"
> >
> >
> > Gambia's press protests against editor's killing
> > Sun Dec 19, 2004 03:34 AM ET
> >
> > BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia's press plans a week-long blackout to protest
> > against the killing of a newspaper editor and press freedom advocate, the
> > press union said on Saturday.
> > Deyda Hydara, managing editor and co-owner of the Point, was shot three
> > times in the head after leaving work on Thursday.
> >
> > He also worked for international press freedom group Reporters Without
> > Borders, which has criticised a new law passed this week by the Gambian
> > government to tighten press freedom with measures similar to those used in
> > Zimbabwe.
> >
> > Gambia's five newspapers and a weekly news magazine agreed to the December
> > 20 to December 27 blackout and plan a demonstration on Wednesday in
> > Banjul.
> >
> > The government, led by former soldier President Yahya Jammeh since a 1994
> > coup, condemned the "barbaric act" in a statement late on Friday and
> > ordered police to investigate and bring the culprits to justice.
> >
> > Pap Saine, co-owner of the Point who also works for Reuters, said he was
> > considering closing the paper because of fears for his safety and
> > financial concerns.
> >
> > Under the new legislation, proprietors must sign a $16,600 bond,
> > guaranteed by their home, before publishing. If the paper prints libellous
> > material, the owner can lose his home.
> >
> > "Family and friends ask me to close the paper, not only because of this
> > harassment and killing but the bond. If you commit a libel they'll take
> > the house," Saine said.
> >
> > The shooting in the former British colony and tourist destination follows
> > a series of attacks on media outlets.
> >
> > In April, an independent newspaper was torched for the second time in six
> > months. The paper accused the state of being behind the attack, a charge
> > the government denied.
> >
> > In 2001 authorities closed down a broadcaster and the year before
> > arsonists attacked a private radio station.
> >
> > The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who said
> > earlier this year Gambia should be watched closely, urged the government
> > to do everything it could to find Hydara's killers.
> >
> > "Gambia is earning a reputation as a place where people can attack
> > journalists with complete impunity. Prosecuting those responsible for this
> > murder would send a clear message that violence against the press will not
> > be tolerated," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said in a statement.
> >
> >
> >
> > ======================================================================
> > "Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have
> > acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence
> > of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible
> > for evil to triumph."
> > -His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I
> >
> >
>
>
>======================================================================
>"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have
>acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence
>of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible
>for evil to triumph."
>-His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
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