Chairman
of the Commission on Political Debates (CPD), Bakary Fatty, has left The Gambia
for Ghana, for a four-day training on effective non-violent mobilisation, as he
sought to burnish the credentials of his commission in the international arena.
The
training, jointly organised by the West African Society Institute (WACSI) and
the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), will bring together
thirty-five activists across the sub-region from November 4-7, 2019, to enhance
their skills on peaceful non-violent political mobilisation.
Mr
Fatty said: “I am excitedly looking forward to making the case for non-violent,
peaceful and practical political mobilisation during the course of the training
with vigour, vitality and vim.
Because
in the end, I am an evangelical believer that, as a country and continent,
non-violence is the necessary and desirable way to achieve pluralistic
democracy, rapid socio-economic development and long-lasting peace.”
In
order to hit the ground running ahead of a future presidential election, in the
period of which he intends to organise a trenchant, and titillating
no-hold-bared debates on both domestic and international issues among
presidential hopefuls, Mr Fatty launched the CPD earlier last month at the
Kairaba Beach Hotel.
“From
a personal point of view, as chairman of the commission on political debates,
this training will avail me the opportunity to hobnob with my colleagues and
counterparts from other West African countries, gusting with energy and
dynamism, to formally interact, network and build formidable partnerships.”
He
said from a professional perspective, he anticipate learning different methods,
tactics and strategic of achieving effective non-violent mobilisation, saying
“our region has seen recently a sweeping wave of democracy, that is
people-powered democratic change of government.”
But
Fatty said democracy, as anyone who is in the business of promoting it knows,
is a fragile flower. “We need to water it with discussion, debate, dialogue so
that we can reach convulsive decisions that reflects different spectrum of
views.”
The
Gambia was among countries that peacefully changed governments without
restoring to violent street-demonstration, ushering in President Adama Barrow.
He campaigned on a platform to serve for three years in office to institute
reforms. The constitution, as it stands, mandated a five-year term, which the
president vowed to uphold, changing his mind to plump for a full five-year
term. But there is a flaming row raging between his opponents called 3 Years
Jotna, who are dead-set to stage a protest in December to call for him to step
down, and supporters who want President Barrow to stay put until 2021.
Invited
to weigh into this debate, Mr Fatty, who was the host of the Civic Engagement
Hour on Capital FM and the People’s Platform, designed to engage political
leaders and cracked a joke, saying: “You are inviting me to swim into an acidic
water, where I will emerge with my body decapitated like victims of our
jabbering junglers,” before seriously adding, “Well look, our country is a
peaceful country. I am neutral on this issue, like any other issue. But, right
here, right now, through this newspaper, I make an offer to both the leadership
of the 3 Years Jotna and supporters of the five years: put up a representative
to debate your case on my platform.”
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