The
Gambia Press Union keenly followed the press freedom situation in the country
during the 2016 presidential election.
First
of all, we applaud the Independent Electoral Commission and the Ministry of
Information and Communication Infrastructure, for the relative ease with which
press accreditations were provided to both local and international press.
We
further applaud the IEC for prevailing on the GRTS to provide fair and balanced
coverage to all political parties, during the official campaign period.
The
private newspapers, Teranga FM Radio, and Eye Africa TV, have all done
tremendous coverage of the elections and deserve to be singled out to be
commended.
Thank
you, our colleagues from the international press, for coming to Banjul, in
order to give a voice to the Gambian voters.
We
also wish to thank the UNDP and International Republican Institute for funding
our election reporting training programmes. More than a HUNDRED journalists
were trained by the GPU in the run-up to the polls.
We
also thank the US Embassy in Banjul for providing the media hub for
facilitating the media work of journalists during the election day.
However,
ahead of the election, journalists faced threats, arrests and detention as well
as undue restrictions on access to information by the state.
On
November 8, the Director General of GRTS, Momodou Sabally, was relieved of his
duties. Alongside Mr Bakary Fatty, one of his reporters, Mr Sabally was
subsequently arrested and detained by the National Intelligence Agency.
He
was detained for SIXTEEN days, before he was charged to court. Mr Fatty,
meanwhile, remains in detention, with no access to his family or lawyers.
On
Thursday November 10, Alhajie Manka, a freelance photo-journalists and Yunus
Salieu, a reporter of Daily Observer, were arrested and detained for taking
photographs of President Jammeh’s supporters during his nomination at the IEC.
Yunus was released a day later, on Friday. Alhagie Manka spent SEVEN DAYS in
detention at the NIA. He was subjected to lengthy interrogations and screening.
Both Yunus and Manka were released without any charges.
On
the evening of November 30, 2016, the government shut down internet
connections, restricted international calls and SMS services. Although services
were restored on December 02, the journalists who, in this 21st Century depend
almost solely on internet connectivity, were left frustrated for two nights and
a day. On Monday December 11, two reporters from Al Jazeera, were deported from
the country.
The
Gambia Press Union hereby condemns, in the strongest terms, the arrest and
detention of these media practitioners.
We
further condemn the blockade on internet, international calls and SMS services.
In
this regard, we call on the government to drop charges against Momodou Sabally
and discontinue his trial.
We
call for the immediate release of Mr Bakary Fatty, who had been detained for
ONE MONTH SIX DAYS today.
We
also call on the government to respect the Nations Human Rights Council’s
resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the
internet - remove the blockade on WhatsApp and Skype and refrain from further
interferences with the internet.
Moreover,
we condemn the deportation of Al Jazeera journalists, and call for review of the
media accreditation procedure that gives wide powers to state authorities to
cherry-pick who to give or refuse media accreditation.
Political
Impasse
The
Gambia Press Union is deeply concerned by the prevailing political
uncertainties brought about by the unfortunate and regrettable U-turn by
President Yahya Jammeh on the results of the December 1st presidential
elections.
We
are aware of the risks and challenges the current political environment poses
to press freedom. We, therefore, call on both sides of the political divide to
give full cooperation to the media, and uphold the values of press freedom.
We
further call on all the security agencies to ensure the safety of journalists.
Equally,
we call on the journalists to be professional in the execution of our duties.
We also implore you to be effective and daring. These are crucial times.
Our
people, our country, need us more than ever before. Let us give comprehensive
coverage of events as they unfold. Let us adequately inform our wide ranging
audiences and watch over the duty bearers.
More
importantly, may I remind you that it is our responsibility to provide an open
space for dialogue with a view to building a consensus towards resolving this
potentially destabilising political crisis.
The
GRTS, which has regrettably stopped the broadcast of divergent views, following
President Jammeh’s U-turn, is particularly urged to play a key role in ending the
logjam.
As
an organisation that represents the interest of journalists, promotes and
defends press freedom and freedom of speech, we are moved to take a position on
the ongoing crisis because press freedom depends on democracy, peace and
stability.
In
this regard, we wish to call on President Yahya Jammeh, who had earlier
endorsed the outcome of the Presidential election to, in the interest of peace,
stability and progress, facilitate a smooth transfer of power.
This,
in our view, will strengthen our democracy and ensure the peace and stability
that we enjoyed over the years is intact.
We
are very pleased to see the first-ever democratic change of power, which comes
FIFTY-TWO years after independence.
Our
democracy has waited too long to reach this important milestone. But the people
have now spoken. The contest was fair, as reported by election observers,
including the CSO Coalition. The victory was clear. The winner was declared.
The defeat was conceded. There’s, therefore, no turning back.
We,
therefore, are biased in favour of democracy. We are biased in favour of
opportunities for greater freedom to the press.
As
the FOURTH ESTATE, we are biased in favour of the verdict of the Gambian
people. And, we applaud the position taken by the Gambia Bar Association,
Female Lawyers Association, Gambia Teachers Union, TANGO, National Youth
Parliament, Medical and Dental Association.
We
hereby offer our support to work through a civil society consortium towards a
non-violent transition.
Signed:
Saikou Jammeh
Secretary
General, GPU
