(JollofNews) – Folks, what a contradiction from Mai Ahmed Fatty: Respect for the Constitution and Rule of Law. And Foroyaa Editorial of June 9, 2017.
I keep returning to Mario Cuomo’s famous dictum that you campaign in poetry but govern in prose. The poetry of campaigning is lofty, gauzy, full of possibility, a world where problems are solved just because we want them to be and opposition melts away before us.
The prose of governing is messy and maddening, full of compromises and half-victories that leave a sour taste in one’s mouth.
Mario Cuomo’s dictum — campaign in poetry, govern in prose — had it wrong. Mai Ahmed Fatty had it right: A contradiction or hypocrisy. If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a better place. Interior Minister Mai Ahmed Fatty a leader of a political party and exile in 2005 wrote on his Facebook:
“Those who swore an Oath to obey, protect and enforce the Constitution and other laws of The Gambia, should not be found wanting in its application. Leaders must respect substantive law, and must also strictly comply with procedural laws. When substantive law sanctions mandatory constitutional procedural prescriptions, omission to comply constitutes treason – endeavor to overthrow the Constitution. This, is the highest offense known to criminal law” (Mai Ahmed Fatty 2015).
Illegal Curfew In Kanilai Editor June 9, 2017.
Foroyaa has checked whether any gazette has been published declaring a curfew in Kanilai. There was no such gazette up to the time of going to press. The authorities should bear in mind that anything declared or done without the authority of law is impunity.
It is therefore important for the authorities to adhere to the claims of the transition that the rule of law will not be violated by the state under all circumstances.
Foroyaa has gathered that very responsible citizens and political leaders have been moving from one authority to another to explain what should be done to manage the Kanilai crisis and prevent a recurrence without playing to the gallery.
The duty of the state is to protect the Constitution and the rule of law, adhering to it even during trying times. Failure to adhere to the principle of good governance and respect for human rights and rule of law will undoubtedly give rise to exposure of wrong doing.
Such exposures must undermine the integrity of a government nationally and internationally.
It is important for the authorities to do everything to reduce the tension and promote the situation of normalcy. It is not the desire of Gambians to live with each other under a climate of hate. Conflicts create hatred which undermines peace and good neighbourliness to strain every muscle to promote peace and good neighbourless is better than to waste one’s energy promoting hatred and discord. At these trying times the words and actions of all Gambians should be tempered with conciliation, peace and justice.
“Those who swore an Oath to obey, protect and enforce the Constitution and other laws of The Gambia, should not be found wanting in its application. Leaders must respect substantive law, and must also strictly comply with procedural laws. When substantive law sanctions mandatory constitutional procedural prescriptions, omission to comply constitutes treason – endeavor to overthrow the Constitution. This, is the highest offense known to criminal law”(Mai Ahmed Fatty 2015).
By Alagi Yorro Jallow
The author is founder and former managing editor of The Independent, the Gambia’s only private newspaper before it was banned by the government in 2005. He was a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, a 2007 Nieman fellow and is the author of Delayed Democracy: How Press Freedom Collapsed in Gambia published in 2013.
Dear Editor, Please Permit me to respond to Kairo News’ Reposting of former President Yaya Jammeh’s Speech where he spoke in a manner that is not “Flattering” to Mandinkas” and All Gambians. At a time in the Gambia, when Ethnic Tensions are High to put it mildly, I am of the Opinion that Kairo News’ Reposting of the Speech is Not of Good Faith or Judgement and May be Insidious in Nature and therefore, Potentially Incendiary:
What is the Goal, Objective or Purpose of Reposting the “Speech” from former President Yaya Jammeh. Kairo News Should be more responsible than it is at least with reference to the Insidious Nature of Reposting the SAID Speech which is more like Attempting to Put out a Fire of a Burning House by Throwing a Tank full of Petrol or Gasoline. The intermarridge between Some Media Outlets and the UDP Led Regime is Not Healthy nor Sustainable. It is an Unholy Alliance and Marriage that would Ultimately end in the Destruction of the Gambia as we know it. Aiding and Abetting the Marginalization, Purging, Arrrests and of Detentions Perceived Enemies or Opposition Party Members and especially, members of the Jola Ethnic Group of Former President Yaya Jammeh in Foni, Kanilai and the Kombos will only lead to Instability, Ethnocentric, and Sectionalist Gambia. It will end in a Gambia where Neighbors are against Neighbors, Ethnic Group against Ethnic Group, and due in part to the inter marriages and other Affinities between the Gambians, there will be family members against family members. Gambia is at a Crossroads and All Gambians and Stakeholders especially, the Media Community and its Practitioners, need to engage in a Measured, Intropective, and Tolerant non Divisive Pronouncements and or Agitation on behalf of the Regime or any Government. Once upon a time, The “Observer News” was the “Mouth piece of the APRC Regime. Now it appears that The Editorial and Management at Kairo News have bent over to accommodate the Official Line and Pronouncements. Tone and Tenure of the Official Pronouncements and Finger Pointing and Wagging Coupled with the “Chest thumping” should be Moderated and Tempered. No matter what or who is in “Power” or Authority of the Gambia, he or she is not in that Position for the Expressed Purpose of Holding a Life and Death Prerogative of One Ethnic Groups’ Freedom of Expression and Movements, and Liberty. Even if that is the case, the person or persons does not have the Legal Controlling Power to Disenfranchise other Ethnic Groups or a Select Ethnic Group for any reason especially, if such Actions Lead to the Deaths of Citizens just because they are from a given Ethnic Group. It is tantamount to Genocide, if and when it is Substantiated that the Preponderance of the evidence exist that an Ethnic, or a Segment of Society has been Targeted for Killing or Extermination. Under this Circumstances, the Burden of Proof Lies on the Culprits, its Leadership and all those who Aided and Abetted the Insidious and Deadly Enterprise. The Victims, their Families and Friends have Less Burden of Proof Legal Requirement as long as they can Establish that their Loved Ones were Arrested, Detained, Tortured and or Killed by Agents of the Gambia Government of Then and Now. The Question (s) of Who Ordered the Arrest, Detention and even Killings of Gambians Then and Now, is Relevant, but Mainly as an Element of Aportioning the Degree of Guilt among an already Presumed Guilty Culprits. As a Gambian, I am not going to be Silenced anymore. Gambians Have been Bleeding and Dying for Senseless and Meaningless Unilateralist Decisions made out to be Existential by those in Power or Authority who want to Have their way. All Gambians must insist on Participatory and Accountable Government. A Government that is Responsive and Beholding to All Gambians and Stakeholders, Not to One Ethnic Group or Region. If the Gambia and Gambians do not Dig Deep into their Individual Moral and Ethnical Resourvoir, Coupled with the Shared Experience and Life-changing events and Come Together as One, the Gambia and Gambians would never Know or experience Peace, Security and Tranquility it was Once known for. The Current Trajectory or Direction of Marginalization, Purging, Arrrests, and Detentions that in Many instances have been Ethnocentric Based Politics and Policies are a Recipy that would Sooner than Later Plunge the Gambia into Ethnic Conflict, War, Regional Poverty, and Worst, Unimaginable Sufferings of an Untold number of people in the Gambia and the Sub-region. The Choice is All Gambians’ and to some extent Senegalese of both Sides of the Gambia. Let us start now. Let us Dial Back the Ethnic Group Based Arrests, Detentions and Killings. What I am most Concerned about is not just the Killings, Arrrests and Detentions of Potentially innocent Gambian Citizens. My Deepest Concern and Worry is especially for the Killings, Rape, Arrests and Detentions that are Tailored Not to Make it to the Public, the Media or the “Bantaba”. My Deepest Concern and Worry is that Killings, Arrests, Detentions and Rape would become so Common that it is Normalized and the Gambians Accept it as a Given and Something to Accept and Live With. Such a State of “Anomie” or Normlessness Should Not be Accepted Under any Circumstances. When that Point of Return is Upon the Gambia and Gambians, it would be everyone for him or herself. Gambia And Gambians Did Not Decide For Such an Outcome. Not Before, Not Now, Not Ever. STOP Insidious Incitment. Endeavor to Promote and Transmit Collective Security, Peace and Tranquility. I Implore All Gambians to Invest their Energy and Time to STOP the Recent Extra-Judicial Killings. One People, One Destiny.