Dear Editor,
The hottest topic these past few days had been the unprovoked assault on the Gambia by the Senegalese army when they demolished a perimeter fence of the Gambia Armed Forces near Bulock in Foni Kansala, in the West Coast Region.
As usual, everyone seems to have had their own take on the matter. While some people feel so angry that they are calling for some form of retaliation, others are calling for restraint to allow the two governments to handle the matter through diplomatic channels.
Indeed, it would not be in the interest of anyone if the matter is escalated to any level of confrontation. Our two countries are so much intertwined at every level, both economically and socially, that any form of military or diplomatic confrontation would not benefit anyone.
Of course, with the different channels open to both countries to deal with such an issue, it is quite hard to justify the unilateral action taken by the Senegalese authorities in their handling of the matter. For instance, in addition to the numerous other channels through which the matter could have been handled, there is the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat which exists to deal with such bilateral issues. Therefore, it is quite hard to see any justification for the action taken by the Senegalese authorities without first exhausting such diplomatic channels.
What makes it even more bizarre is the fact that the Fourth Senegalo-Gambian Presidential Council was held in Dakar about a month ago, with all sorts of flowery speeches being made by both sides about the special relationship that exists between our two nations and peoples, and it appears that not a single mention was made about the border issue. Therefore, if within such a short period, the Senegalese authorities would launch such an unprovoked assault on the Gambia, indicates that the relationship between our two governments is not as cosy as they made us believe during the Dakar meeting or any other forum before that.
Of course, both economically and militarily, Senegal is no match to the Gambia, however, we are still a sovereign and independent nation that deserves maximum respect from Senegal or any other country. It is not correct for them to use their military might against us every time they get an issue to settle with us. While we may not have the military clout to confront them, we have other means at our disposal that can cause some discomfort to them. For instance, we have the Senegambia Bridge which connects northern and southern Senegal and if is closed to their vehicles, they would feel the pinch. It would therefore be foolhardy on the part of Senegal to think that they can treat us anyhow they like without consequences. We may be poor and militarily weak, but we have our own pride and dignity that we would never compromise.
DA Jawo
Kanifing
