By Omar Bah
Lamin Manneh, the deputy secretary external affairs of the main opposition UDP, has described as false and distressing President Adama Barrow’s claim at the UN General Assembly that there had been no jailing of political prisoners, including human rights defenders and journalists, in the country since 2017.
“It is distressing to see the president’s speechwriters and/or contributors to his speeches, continue to introduce incorrect and blatantly false statements into his speeches. That is demeaning to the Office of the President and to the country as a whole,” Manneh told The Standard.
He said Mr Barrow should begin to hold them accountable for these lapses.
“We should be able to stop worrying anytime he is slated to deliver a statement. Indeed, we should not have to worry whether he would say anything that could embarrass the whole country. To be fair to the speechwriters, the most embarrassing pronouncements are made when Barrow strays off script. His handlers should therefore encourage him to stay with his written statement,” he added.
On another note, Manneh added, President Barrow should understand that he is not doing the Gambians a favour when he defends their constitutional rights.
“That is what he is handsomely paid to do and that is what he swore to do. Indeed, Chapter III, Section 17 (1) and (2) of the 1997 Constitution protects the fundamental human rights and freedoms of all Gambians, subject to respect of similar rights conferred on other Gambians. Section 19 (1) enshrines the right to liberty and security of the person and that “no one shall be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established by law”. This means that procedures should not be interpreted in an elastic manner to cater for the real or perceived desires and interests of the president.”
He said section 25 (1) (a) further stipulates that “every person shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media”, naturally subject to the rights of others.
“In light of the foregoing, it is difficult to understand or accept that President Barrow would threaten, through his counsel, to institute legal proceedings against a journalist and the media house owner for having written that the President is grooming someone to succeed him at the State House. Unless the journalists touched a very raw nerve, it would have sufficed to refute the allegation through a press statement from the Executive. Why does the President think that it is okay to sue Messrs. Sheriff and Darboe of The Voice Newspaper were arrested the week when he was wrongfully bragging at UNGA that journalists and politicians have not been arrested or detained in The Gambia since his accession to power? Whoever advised him to take this course of action has done him and the country a grave disservice.”
Mr President, Manneh added, “It is about time you critically assess some of the advice given to you. Your legacy partly depends on that stance. The journalists, activists and politicians are not your enemies. They are your partners, and sometimes your opponents, in our collective efforts to do what is right for this country.”
He went on: “After all, what is currently happening in Senegal to the rapidly disintegrating and disappearing remnants of the Macky Sall regime should be food for thought for all. To quote Martin Luther King Jr, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice” and so will in The Gambia, sooner than later.”
