Gov’t reconciliation committee meets Foni Jarrol Chief

By Omar Bah The Coalition Government’s voter and civic education committee on national reconciliation has recently held a reconciliation meeting at Kalagi with the chief, police and communities of Foni Jarrol in the West Coast Region. The meeting, according to the Coalition team, was in response to an invitation of the Foni Jarrol community to discuss on issues in the aftermath of the December 1st presidential election. Speaking to The Standard on the sidelines of the meeting at Kalagi, the coordinator of the Coalition Reconciliation committee, Ousman Sillah, said the committee—which was established by the Coalition immediately after its formation—is designed to engage in national reconciliation after the election in the communities. “It is envisaged by the leaders at the time that elections are always partisanship and that being the case, they deem it fitting to form this committee and task it to respond to emergencies if the need arises. Immediately after the election, we thought it wise to target communities because of their lack of awareness in politics. We are also very proud to note that the response we have from the communities is welcoming. “Our message to the communities is always one, we call on them to unite and ensure politic doesn’t divide them. We also implore them to cherish the uniqueness of the past Presidential election and the popularity the country is gaining,” he said. Mr Sillah further noted that every Gambian should cherish the democracy that is developing in the country. “One thing we always want to clarify is that we are not politicking, but engaging communities to bring them together as a family. We don’t want to engage in any forms of trying to gather support for the Coalition. What we want is national reconciliation,” he added. Also speaking, the chief of Foni Jarrol, Kutubo Sanyang, pledged allegiance to President Adama Barrow, reinforcing hopes that the tiny Foni District—a stronghold for the former government—is ensuring peace will continue to rain in the Gambia. “I will also like to take this opportunity to express my district’s readiness to work with the new government. It is also important to note that Foni Jarrol has never been opposition before, we always rally behind the choice of the Gambian people that was the case since the time of Dawda Jawara,” he added.]]>