quote:

---

Interview with GPU Secretary General Elect.

GON: Briefly introduce yourself to Gainako readers. Where do you come from in The Gambia?

I was born in Jarra but brought up in Niamina where my parents moved to when I was very young. I went to Armitage High School where I graduated in 1991. I briefly worked at the Central Statistics and then at the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority for a couple of years before I traveled to the United States in 1995. I currently live in Seattle, Washington, with my family. I graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration majoring in Marketing and Management. I am currently a Professional Recruiter and also a licensed real estate investor.

GON: Congratulations on your election as GPU-USA Secretary General. Give us a little historical background of the GPU-USA.

Thank you GON. It’s a pleasure to speak with you. The Gambia Press Union was founded in 1978 by a group of independent journalists under the leadership of Pa Dixon Colley. It was formed mainly to champion and defend press freedom and the right of journalists to practice their profession in The Gambia. The Union is purely a professional and non-political organization concerned with matters affecting journalism and all aspects of the mass media in The Gambia.

As conditions of the press worsened in The Gambia under Jammeh, many members of this union traveled abroad to seek sanctuary and some to further their studies. Some prominent Gambian journalists and members of the union like D.A. Jawo, Madi Ceesay just to name a few, have worked hard to maintain the independence of this embattled union. They fearlessly continue to defend the integrity and work of Gambian journalists, even under a repressive political system which ultimately lead to the brutal murder of Deyda Hydara by unknown gunmen five years ago. Many other journalists and media houses have also been subjected to arson attacks; arrest and disappearance of journalists which we think are directly linked to the Jammeh regime. The disappearance of Chief Manneh is one of the many notable examples of the government being directly or indirectly responsible for what is happening to members of the press.

It was in the spirit of continuing the independent work and support mechanism for the Union that young Gambian journalists in the Diaspora, like Baba Galleh Jallow, outgoing Secretary General, Pa Samba Jaw, and Fatou Jaw Manneh, Cherno Baba Jallow, just to name a few, decided to come together to form the Gambia Press Union, United Sates branch (GPU-USA). There is also a GPU UK branch and our colleagues are starting to regroup to revive their branch.

Our ultimate goal is to support the work of the parent body back in The Gambia and to continue vigorously defending the independence and freedom of the press in The Gambia. We will continue to exercise our rights as Gambian journalists and increase the pressure on the Jammeh regime to repeal draconian media laws, recognize the press not only as an essential pillar of our democratic values but also as a genuine partner in nation building. There cannot be transparency and accountability of public officials without the involvement of the press to freely inform citizens of the work of their representatives.

GON: You are an executive member of the GPU and also an editorial member of Gainako. It must be challenging doing both. What do you think?

It is indeed a big commitment to be an editorial member of an online newspaper and also an executive member of the GPU. However, since the roles of editor and media executive for the cause of press freedom are kind of interrelated, it makes it a little bit easier.

The editorial work is definitely far more challenging as you work with fewer resources and since you commit yourself to informing and educating the masses, you have a responsibility to make sure that the materials you put out there are not only credible but also valuable to the readers. As you know every minute you spend on the editorial work is all through personal dedication and sacrifice. The eyes and minds of the readers are on you daily and you must live up to their expectations.

As for the GPU, it is all about press freedom and making sure that people who sacrifice everything to educate and inform the public have a viable organization that represents their interest and stand up for them when the need arises. Am sure you do know that being a member of the press is basically volunteering to represent the public without the mandate from the very people you claim to represent. In other words, being a journalist is really a personal and conscious decision one makes knowing that you will be held accountable for your everyday work.

So in as much as we put ourselves out there without mandates, we must be accountable and be held at high standards for the services we deliver. We must therefore see our work as a service to our readers and fellow citizens. There are thousands of people counting on us everyday to go out and bring them the news and hold public officials accountable too.

GON: Being the Secretary General of such a respectable institution means handling a lot of responsibilities. Are you prepared for this?

Obviously it is a lot of responsibilities to shoulder. However, this is not the time to run away from responsibilities. Our nation and young democracy is being gravely threatened by the actions of the current regime. Every Gambian has a moral obligation to stand up and defend the integrity of our nation and the sovereignty of our people. We can all choose to look the other way and only take care of our loved ones, but that is not how the world works. Every generation has a duty to leave a better world to our kids and grand kids.

The freedom of expression and liberty we are all enjoying here in the United States was built on the backs of others. People stood up and sacrificed everything they had for generations to live better and more independent lives. Although the work of the GPU might look small in the eyes of many, but what we stand for is in the same spirit as in the fight for liberty, dignity and equally for all. The foundation of such principles is freedom of the press and association. Without the freedom to live freely and participate in your national dialogue without fear of intimidation, there cannot be any meaningful national development.

I, therefore, take this responsibility seriously and will do anything to defend the right of our citizens to freely inform and educate the general public. It is our God-given right and we must live up to it.

GON: It looks like you have a strong team: Buba Ceesay of Allgambian, Haruna Darbo of the GDP, Chris Sukuna, Cherno B. Jallow, formerly of the Daily Observer, Pa Samba Jaw, Lamin Jatta, Modou Nyang of Foroyaa.

Absolutely, we are lucky to have these brave and dedicated citizens to lead us every step of the way. These people have been at the forefront of our struggle for many years. Their unwavering commitment to press freedom, human rights and the rule of law is second to none. As the saying goes, many are called, but few answers. GPU is strong today because of these people; the hope for our democracy and freedom is alive today because of these people.

You know they could have chosen the easy path which many people choose to do and that is to take care of our personal businesses and not worry about the rest of our citizens. But no, they stood up and continue to stand up for the voiceless. We are therefore grateful that the likes of Pa Samba, Cherno Baba and the rest are in our midst. Of course Haruna’s tireless fight for global democracy must be equally commended. He has made great, positive impact in the lives of many.

I would like to pay special respect to Chris Sukuna who should not have to stand up with us in our struggle. She has no direct interest in freedom or democracy in The Gambia. But because of her decency and love for humankind, Chris sacrifices every step of the way to fight our cause. She is a great human being and we are very lucky to have her in her group.

GON: As an associate to the outgoing Secretary General, Baba Galleh Jallow, what lessons have you learnt from him?

I have had the privilege and opportunity to learn a great deal from Baba Galleh. Interestingly, we have never met in person but he and I were able to connect at different levels. His humbleness, intelligence, and quest for higher education is an inspiration to me and to anyone who aims to reach higher heights. I also learned a lot of journalistic ethics and skills from Baba and he is indeed a great asset to our nation and Union in particular. I will forever be grateful to Baba for trusting me and for showing me the way forward for the GPU-USA. We will count on his expert advice and counsel in the coming months and years.

GON: How will your executive work with the sister unions in the UK and The Gambia?

Well, one of our goals in the next two years is to try to integrate all the branches of the GPU with the main body in The Gambia. These subunits came into being to complement and aid the work of the parent body. Since the members of the parent GPU on the ground and the press in general are under so much attack by the Jammeh regime, we must have a way to continue the great work they are doing without subjecting them to unnecessary arrest and detention.



I would therefore like to seize this opportunity to call on our counterparts in the UK to strengthen the GPU UK branch and work closely with us to continue to defend the independence and impartially of the Gambian press. We must stand up strong, rally members of our Union and defend the right to freely express our opinions without fear or favor.

I must also use this occasion to call on our colleagues from all the online media, former Gambian journalists, and any lovers of press freedom and democracy to put aside our past difference and open a fresh page. We have an opportunity to start anew and shape the future of the Gambia Press Union, defend our fellow journalists in their line of work.

GON: Sometime ago, there were internal disputes within the GPU-USA. Some members left the Union. What will you do to bring everyone on board?

As you know we just had the election, so what we are doing initially is to explore ideas from across our journalistic fraternity and fellow citizens on how GPU-USA can best support the overall efforts of the Gambia Press Union in The Gambia. How can we ensure that the media continue to operate independently and carry out our work without fear of intimidation from the government?

One of the most important tasks that we will take up as the new executive is to try to unite Gambian journalists so that we can all be on the same page defending the existence and independence of the press. We intend to do this by first consulting with our colleagues and find out what is holding them back, just to understand their view points and how they think we can work together to strengthen our Union.

We will be engaging neutral or independent and respectable individuals to reach out to these folks and find out what the issues are. Although we have made several efforts to reach out, I still believe there is room to develop more effective communication strategies to bring everybody together.

We will also directly work with the GPU parent body to help initiate projects that will foster a more independent press union where despite all the draconian media laws put in place by the government, members of the media would still be free and independent of government in carrying out their duties. So we will put forward an ambitious agenda and work towards meeting those goals in the next two years.

GON: You said you have made several efforts to reach out to these members and seek some understanding of their concerns. What practical steps has the new executive taken to amend the situation?

We have designated a particular individual to personally call these folks and engage them. That person will report back to us on his findings and hopefully we can find a common ground. And just to let you in on this more, prior to the recent elections, Cherno Baba Jallow did speak and appeal to some of these individuals to come back to the GPU-USA

If you remember well, some of the concerns raised during the internal dispute were that folks were not informed about the first elections that took place. There was also an issue with having an executive without the involvement of all the online newspaper editors. Well, the outgoing executive made sure that the last elections were well publicized and that we reached out to every one of the online editors before the elections. It is a similar but more targeted effort that we are going to continue to pursue and see if we will get any positive response.

At the end of the day there are two sides to this and each side must do their part if we are to have a unified press union. On our side we will do whatever it takes to ensure that the doors are open to all to come together and form a strong union.

It is also important to understand that each individual has a responsibility in making the decision to either join other forces in fighting from a common front or decide to go it alone. We really don’t have control over what other journalists decide to do. We can only openly advocate for a strong unified Gambia Press Union and work diligently to defend the independence of the press.

GON: The president of the parent Gambia Press Union Ndey Tapha Sosseh is still away, in exile. It must be tough for her.

We are in touch with Sister Ndey. She has been an inspirational figure and demonstrated commendable leadership during the last GPU crisis.

Although she remains in exile, Ndey is in high spirits and she continues to do a great work of leading the GPU and fighting for press freedom through other organizations.

It is unfortunate that the Jammeh regime sees people like Ndey and the GPU as a threat to its existence. The truth is that these are hard working citizens who stand up for what is right for our country, our citizens and the world at large. It is ironic that President Jammeh claims to defend the right of women and at the same time wants to eliminate the great contributions a few of our sisters are doing to improve our democracy and good governance. It is totally unacceptable and degrading to try to silence the voices of these young women like Sarata Diaby Dibba, First VP of GPU Gambia who was jailed alongside other journalists during the last GPU tussle with Jammeh.

We call on the government to immediately extend clemency to Sister Ndey and allow her to return to The Gambia to be reunited with her family and continue her great services to her country. Anything less is nothing but a betrayal of honest services our sisters are trying to do to contribute to our national development.

GON: Well Baldeh, some critics think you are a politician. How do you expect to run an impartial GPU-USA as Secretary General?

Well, it is simply not a factual statement that I am a politician. I have never ran for elected office; never officially declared membership for any political party or ideology and nor do I aspire to run for political office. What then makes me a politician?

Now, if being active in the national dialogue of my country is what makes me a politician; if having the interest of my country and wanting to see democracy and freedom of expression prevail in my country and if fulfilling my duty and moral obligation to contribute to the national debate are what make me a politician then trust me I am proud to wear that label and I have nothing to regret.

The fact is politics cannot be separated from our daily lives. The decisions that politicians make affect us directly. We either choose to get involved or not. The first duty of a citizen is to be fully active in the civic discourse of your country. If one chooses to not get involved, then one would have no moral authority to condemn how one’s country is being governed.

GON: With all the human rights abuses in The Gambia, how do you hope to engage the Jammeh Administration?

Am not sure if the Jammeh government is open to engagement. We all know that they are intolerant of dissenting views. However, what we can and will continue to do is to use our pens and mediums to document every activity that affects our citizens. We cannot and must not disassociate ourselves from the affairs of our nation and allow a few people to shape our destiny. Regardless of where we are, we must actively participate in our national dialogue.

It is unfortunate that the Jammeh regime has chosen to oppress the media instead of partnering with brothers and sisters to help build our democracy and nation. As far as the Gambian media is concerned, there is nothing the government can do to stop us from actively documenting every human rights violation that occurs in our country.

We will continue to put pressure on the government to respect the fundamental rights of our citizens and the freedom of the press. Jammeh can control what is being published in The Gambia but he cannot control what we publish in our online media. We will continue to work with international media foundations like MFWA, CPJ, human rights organizations and the governments of the United States and Europe to sensitize them on events taking place in The Gambia.

GON: The Chief Manneh situation is still unresolved. As the new Secretary General, what will you do about his case?

Well, the good thing is that we have all succeeded in putting Chief Manneh on the international platform. You must have noticed that the recent report of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee specifically mentioned Chief Manneh by name. Human rights organizations like Amnesty International are also fully engaged in holding the government accountable for his disappearance. We will continue to work with such organizations to bring justice to Chief Manneh. We are particularly grateful to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for their tireless efforts in bringing worldwide attention to Chief Manneh’s case.

In addition, you may be aware that GPU-USA has set up an emergency relief fund for Chief Manneh’s family. We have been disbursing funds to the Manneh family on a monthly basis. These funds are channeled through our parent body GPU Gambia. We hope to continue assisting the Manneh family as long as funds are available. In fact, we will be doing new fundraisers to collect more funds for Chief Manneh’s project. We will reach out to all citizens and independent groups for assistance.

GON: You are about to return to college for your Masters degree. What are you going for?

Yes, plans are well underway for me to return to school for my graduate degree. I plan to major in policy studies or political science with a minor in International relations. Inshallah, I am hoping to take my GRE (Graduate Record Exam) early part of 2010 and start active classes in spring of 2010. I am deeply inspired by the likes of Baba Galleh Jallow who is about to finish his Phd.

GON: Baldeh, it was truly nice to interview you again.

It was a pleasure speaking with you and we are grateful for the opportunity and all the work the online media is doing. You are doing an incredible job and keep up the great work.

---