Interior
Minister Mai Ahmad Fatty yesterday appealed to Gambians to eschew ethnic
politics, insisting that every citizen should extol the philosophy of a united
Gambia for prosperity.
Minister
Fatty who spoke in Brikama during a stakeholder meeting with traditional
leaders across the West Coast Region said the parley was geared towards forging
unity.
He
said: “This government is here for all Gambians, and it will neither
discriminate anyone nor will it do anything that runs counter to the rule of
law. Whatever we do, it will be within the ambit of the law. That’s what
President Barrow told me to tell you.
And
so let no one mislead you by telling you the government is anti-Jola. The IGP
is here and I have tasked him to ensure that your right to freedom of
association and to support whatever party be upheld.”
According
to him, all Gambians were equal before the law and that such will be promoted
by the government.
He
said: “It is God who decides over a matter, and this is what he has decided. As
people of faith, we have to accept what God decides.”
On
the Kanfenda brouhaha, Minister Fatty said the issue had been resolved and that
he had asked the Inspector General of Police to drop charges against those
undergoing trial. “It was not a matter of discrimination and the police didn’t
do anything in bad faith,” he said.
And
allaying the fears of people in the region with reports of some citizens
scampering for safety at the instance of ECOMIG troops, Fatty said the presence
of ECOMIG troops was nothing to worry about.
And
he added: “These are not Senegalese troops. Rather they are ECOMIG troops and
they will not be here forever. We will not invite people into our country just
for them to do things that are against our laws.”
