Mr.
President today, December 16, 2019, marks the 15th anniversary of the
assassination of the late Deyda Hydara, co-founder of The Point Newspaper, the
man we still remember.
He
was a great man, martyr of press freedom and always defending the voiceless
people.
He
was murdered in cold blood by the ‘junglers’ under the instruction of
Ex-president Yahya Jammeh because of his stance in the fight against injustice,
abuse of human rights, and corruption.
The
suspected perpetrators; Captain Malick Jatta, after two years in detention has
been released, whilst Major Sana Manjang
fled to find refuge in Guinea Bissau and Sergent Alieu Jeng, who is still in
detention should all be prosecuted and punished severely to set an example.
Mr.
President, with all what Deyda had contributed for the development of the
press, we suggest that he be remembered by naming him after a school or street.
Your
government should also assist and compensate the two ladies who were with Deyda
on that fatal night and had sustained serious bullet wounds. They are Niang
Sarang Jobe, who retired last month from The Point due to health reason and Ida
Jagne who is now based in the U.S.
As
The Point also celebrates its 28th anniversary today, we thank the Almighty
Allah and our dedicated staff, readers and advertisers for the great
achievement and their contributions towards press freedom.
Mr.
President, your government should do everything possible to abolish the
draconian laws, assist the press through subvention like other African
countries are doing, and pay advertisement bills in time.
Mr.
President, today we expect a peaceful demonstration by the 3 Years Jotna
protesters. We expect the protesters to be law abiding and be guided by the
security forces so that those with hidden agenda will not succeed and the
disgruntled elements will not take any chance to make violence.
Finally
Mr. President, some politicians should not take platform to insult or castigate
people. You should never allow this to happen in your meetings again as this
will not tell well of your image. Even Yahya Jammeh, your predecessor did not
tolerate such kind of politics.
Let’s
politics not divide us. We should respect each other. We can belong to
different political parties but it should not bring enmity among ourselves. We
should pray for peace and stability in The Gambia.
For
The Gambia our homeland.
Good
day!
