Following alleged denials of GDC a permit to hold a political rally in Brikama by the Gambia police force, the spokesperson of the party M5 Jallow has said his party will not be intimidated in exercising their political rights. Mr. Jallow who spoke to Gainako yesterday on the alleged denial said that when they applied for a permit three of his members including himself were subjected to unusual scrutiny by the police. He told gainako that they were asked to supply personal information including their immediate family and extended family information as well. Mr. Jallow who said he has security background noticed that the form they were asked to complete is a form used by security personnel when they apply to join the security agencies. He said it contained details that he was unfamiliar with and was uncomfortable with it, but since GDC needed the permit and had nothing to hide he went ahead and supplied the information.
Although the information requested were supplied, GDC were still not issued the permit on time for them to hold a rally on Saturday August 12th. Mr. Jallow believe that the police may be playing a tactic of delaying the permit to prevent them from going ahead with their political rally. Asked if Mamma Kandeh’s allegations of government embezzlement of public funds two weeks ago had anything to do with the alleged denial, Mr. Jallow said he was suspicious but was not quite sure if that had anything to do with this. He compared GDC’s experience in getting a permit during the Jammeh dictatorship to now and said they had never experienced such difficulty in obtaining a permit.
Mr. Jallow was also challenged on Mamma Kandeh’s unsubstantiated allegations of corruption and asked if in fact his leader’s credibility was not on the line for making allegations without evidence. Jallow responded that he has confidence in his leader’s access to information and would not be surprised if he in fact has evidence to that effect. Quizzed on why GDC did not go through their National Assembly members and or write directly to the minister of finance to inquire about the funds in question instead of making wild allegations, Jallow admitted that they could have done that as well. He was quick to add that the alleged corruption was more of asking the government to come clean and show Gambians where and how the donated funds from the European Union and other donors are being utilized.
On whether his party would be willing to exercise their constitutional rights to hold political rallies with or without a permit, Jallow said his party will not be intimidated into submission. He said GDC was on record challenging the Jammeh regime and going about holding rallies even during the dictatorship. He said his party has clear intentions and are only out to educate the voters on how the Barrow government is managing the affairs of the country. He stressed that the government should show were the funds are being spent since they have not seen any projects so far. Jallow decried a lack of collaboration with the government especially after Mamma Kandeh’s meeting with President Barrow few months ago. He underscored their commitment to be law abiding and to give the government and the police the time to review their actions and correct course going forward. Jallow was optimistic that the government will do the right thing and allow his party to obtain its permits.
Gainako also reached out to the minister of information Demba A. Jawo who told Gainako radio that GDC was in fact not denied a permit. His understanding according to minister D.A was that both GDC and PDOIS applied for permits to hold rallies on the same day, but that PDOIS’s application came first. Jawo said there was also unconfirmed rumors that some elements of the UDP were not too happy with Mamma Kandeh’s allegations against the government who were rumored to be preparing to disrupt the GDC meeting in Brikama. He cited Brikama as a very politically conscious town and as a result the police needed more time to prepare their personnel in case of any security issues. Jawo said his government cannot imagine denying political parties legitimate permits to exercise their rights to hold rallies in the new Gambia. Asked if he was concern that the Police might be using Kandeh’s allegations against the government as a ploy to deny them a permit, Jawo said “If that were to be the case then he would definitely be concerned and will address the situation”. Minister Jawo reassured listeners that GDC will be issued their permits.
The denial or delay of issuing a permit to GDC created a heightened political tension between surrogates in Social media and the airwaves. At the end of the day, both sides must understand that both GDC and the police are following what is required in the public order act to ensure that permits are sort and granted by the police. Unnecessary political tension surrogates are creating in Gambia’s political discourse are largely unnecessary. Democracy requires the recognition of the rights of both the government and existing opposition parties. Political leaders as well as surrogates must be mature and base their politics on national issues instead of trivial or ethnic tension. Democracies are created by superior ideas and certainly the respect of the electorates are won not through false allegations or intimidation from one side or the other but through political maturity driven by issues of national concern. The Barrow government must keep an eye on the security apparatus to ensure that the freedom and political rights of citizens and political parties are safeguarded.
Report filed by: Demba Baldeh Associate editor
1 Comment
The police were wrong for denying GDC a permit to hold their rally. This is what we have been fighting against in the past under Jammeh regime and they should have known better that that shouldn’t be done at all in the new Gambia. It is unacceptable.
However in my view they were inline to invite the Leader of GDC Mr Mama Kandeh to give them more information so that they can investegate his claim to gather evidence against those he claimed to be involved in the mismagement of public funds so as to bring them to book. Mr Kandeh should not take offense at that if what he claim is true.
He and his party and all those who regard themselves as politicians should know that they have a moral obligation not to misinform our people in the name of politiking. To do so is criminal and shameful. Such culture of politics has no place in the new Gambia. We have to do away with it for good if we are to move forward as a people.
It is not politics all and in fact it is a disservice to the nation to be misinforming the people in order to win their support so that they can entrust you with managing their affairs. That is a act of deception which is sinful, shameful and criminal to say the least. It is my believe that transparency can never be ensured in the management of public affairs by spreading false information.
Information in my view is such an inportant ingrediant of development that it should not just be past to the people without ensuring its accuracy the task of which is the resposibilty of everyone more so those who are aspiring to or are presiding over the affairs of the people.