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Momodou
Denmark
11828 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Jun 2006 : 22:55:33
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Editorial
The Press And The State
Any Threat to FOROYAA?
Many people have been calling to enquire about Foroyaa: This is only normal because of the information disseminated in the internet that Foroyaa is a target. It is in this regard that Foroyaa decides to deal with the topic, “The Press and the State”.
Foroyaa is older than the AFPRC and APRC Government. Foroyaa was a critical voice and is still a critical voice. Its role has been to amplify the voices of the deprived, oppressed, and marginalized so that they can never be forgotten. It does so without fear or favour, affection or ill will. This is why many could not understand why Foroyaa challenges the detention without charge or trial of personalities who may have been overjoyed if Foroyaa was shut down at given times. The reason why Foroyaa can come to the defence of even its opponents or publish the opinions of political parties of all shades is its commitment to inform the Gambian people about everything that is happening in the country, Africa and the world in order to enable them to be liberated to from their own opinions and make their own judgements and decisions. This is why Foroyaa is committed to the principle of publishing the truth in good faith in the public interest. This is why it carries the following slogans on its front page: Know yourself! Know your Country! Know the World! Then you shall be the commanders of your own destiny.
All the papers Foroyaa met in the scene, The Nation, The Gambia Outlook, The Gambia Onward, The People, The Torch, The Senegambia Sun have disappeared. The papers which survived up to the time of the coup period are the Daily Observer and The Point. The Gambia News and Report, the Citizen, the Independent and The Inquirer emerged after the coup. At this very moment, the Daily Observer has become a mouth piece of the Government.
The Citizen and The Inquirer are no more, The Point is publishing with its editor sitting on a knife edge after the murder of Deyda Hydara. The Independent is muzzled.
As for as the private radio stations are concerned they are basically pushed to deal with issues unrelated to governance in the country. Citizen FM which entered the terrain of governance has been pushed out of the scene by the regime.
One must now ask: What has the government gained from all its actions? Why is it engaged in such an unacceptable relation with different sectors of the press.
The primary notion of the leadership of the government regarding the opposition and the press is flawed. It is not uncommon to hear the leadership of the APRC Government stating that there is no opposition in the Gambia; that a good opposition praises a government when it does good and criticizes it when it does bad. It is therefore clear that the notion of the leadership is not to see an opposition as an alternative government which should at all time tells the people what is wrong and what it intends to do differently instead of praising a government. In this respect, one must see persistent exposure of the regime and call for change by an opposition force to be a sign of hostility. The tendency is to become intolerant and abusive to such opposition. It is such intolerance that is transferred to agents of the state who may see dissent as subversion and may impose a reign of terror on those who oppose a state.
In the same vein, the non government press is also expected to praise the government when it is doing the right thing and criticize it when it does the wrong thing. This is however an option before a press but not the only option section 207 subsection (3) of the constitution states that “The press and other information media shall at all times be free to uphold the principles, provisions and objectives of the constitution and the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people of The Gambia.” This means that a government should always be before the public eye to render accounts. Those who do not want to shoulder such a responsibility should not request to be part of the Executive. In our view, no newspaper has ever published any information that is more damaging than the publicity the press agencies are disseminating in the world through petition to all those who matter in the world. We live in a world today where the burning of a press house is itself bad news. Hence one cannot evade bad publicity by burning a press house; on the country it makes matters worse. Many governments that had received bad publicity before had learned that to live with a press that carries dissenting opinions on the basis of tolerance provides a better image than an attempt to suppress it. If President John F. Kennedy could not be protected by the best security machinery in the world Foroyaa will be foolish to spend its time worrying about security threats. The best way to be secure under such circumstances is to be always ready to cope with the unexpected. We feel very secure to publish the truth in good faith in the public interest. If that makes anybody feel insecure we can only say that we are sorry and would only advise that they take the best medicine to ensure security and that is tolerance of diversity in public opinion in particular and all aspects of life in general.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 45/2006, 12-14 June, 2006
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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