By Mathew K Jallow It was the least of the worries to occupy the minds of his family and friends, and when it happened, it took a whole nation by surprise. Even today, the murder of Deyda Hydara is making headlines all across the world of journalism, eleven years after his tragic and brutal murder. Everyone who knew Deyda Hydara knew him as a soft-spoken and affectionate person, with a passion for the profession of journalism deep in his soul. His was a love affair for which there are not enough adjectives to characterize the dimension of his reverence and…
Author: Gainako
Late Deyda Hydara Murdered Gambian Journalist By D. A. Jawo It is 11 years since the assassination of prominent Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara, and all those who care for justice are still waiting for the Gambian authorities to take up their responsibilities and launch a thorough investigation into his killing. While there is no hard evidence that the Gambia government or its agents are involved in Deyda’s killing, but it is quite hard for any reasonable person to explain the government’s complete lack of interest in investigating the case as if they are not interested in knowing who, killed him…
By Marie Pierre Hydara On the eleventh anniversary of the callous and cowardly killing of a daring and fearless journalist, who never gave in to threats or intimidation and stood steadfast for his ideals, I wish to pay my respects. DEYDA knew exactly what his job entailed as he did it objectively without fear or favour. All that he did was for the good of the country. He was a true reformer and a real patriot. To a lot of people DEYDA HYDARA was just another victimized African journalists who just made the statistics but to us he was the world and…
By Dr. Samuel Artley Quoting Donald Rumsfell, ” a nation or society will go to war with the weapons they have and not with the weapons they might want or wish to have.” Today in Gambia running up to the 2016 elections all opposition parties are marching up to a gun fight with a knife and one hand tied behind their backs. Simply because they and the rest of the world knows they have no other weapons or choice. However we in these diaspora have choices, we have options of political weapons and beside our political hands , our…
THE GAMBIA IS NOT AN ISLAMIC STATE IMPEACHMENT OF THE PRESIDENT SHOULD BEGIN IF HE IMPLEMENTS HIS DECLARATION Halifa Sallah- FOR PDOIS CENTRAL COMMITTEE On Thursday 10th December, 2015 President Yahya Jammeh stated at a rally held in Brufut, attended by APRC party enthusiasts, that “As from today, Gambia is an Islamic Republic.” PDOIS would like to take this opportunity to emphasise with all the emphasis at our command that this declaration is fiction and not fact. Everybody should know as from today that The Gambia is not an Islamic state. The reason for PDOIS’ declaration is simple. The…
By Sarjo Bayang, Policy Advocate UK Recent announcement at a political rally that he declares Gambia Islamic state comes as most unreasonable and misleading statement from current occupier of the presidency. There are many reasons why transforming Gambia into an Islamic state is not feasible. Here are some of the issues in view of this alarming pronouncement being referred to as proclamation. Political misfit Under present political dispensation, no sitting president has any powers to introduce even minor changes to the constitution without due consultation. Gambian constitution clearly has it as secular state. No sitting president has powers…
December 14, 2015 Gambia Youth for Unity (GYU) For Immediate Release: The Gambia Youth for Unity (GYU) and its civil society coalition partners are deeply concerned over the sudden overtures by President Yahya Jammeh, pronouncing The Gambia an Islamic Republic without the due procedure as provided in our Constitution. The Gambia is a secular state and the freedom of worship of all religions has been guaranteed by the 1997 Constitution of The Second Republic. Such a sudden move by The Gambian leader has the potential to polarize our peace loving, social setup as Gambians, something we cherished for lifetime. “As…
By Binneh s Minteh When we take an in-depth look at the political tension that erupted between Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council following chemical weapons usage in Syria, it was evident that world politics continue to be driven by the interaction of power, interests and institutions on the international stage. In the case of Syria, divisions were not only evident of usual global power realignment, with Russia and China on one side of pendulum and the United States (US), Britain and France on the other side, but the divisions among the Western aligned nations of the…
(PiccL A group of ICC Judges) A December 2015 publication of the International Judicial Index It would have been impossible not to notice that the international football association, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), has recently been at the centre of a very public international scandal. Less obvious, but considerably more troubling, is the fact that the International Criminal Court has been at the heart of a similar international scandal. At the heart of both have been allegations of corrupt vote-trading and bribery. The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 by the Rome Statute as a court of last…
By Ebrima Manneh Yaya Jammeh, like all other tyrants, came on the national scene as a visionary that has answers to the problems affecting the people. It did not take long for his hidden agenda of exploitation, denial of rights, and an “ugly record of brutality” to be exposed. The extensive denial of basic civil and human rights, and the deprivations of basic needs has gone beyond imagination, and should breed a new determination to join the struggle and fight to regain the lost rights. When the state fails to embrace the responsibility of defending the interests of the…