Yero/Folks,
I was being very honest when I intimated that I have never read The Gambia 
Echo. This was a statement of fact and was not  in anyway meant to provoke 
Ebrima Sankareh. Pershaps I should also inform him that as of the time of my 
response to the fabrication his paper is reported to have published, I did 
not know he was anywhere near it. These are facts which do not constitute 
any crime for which one can be taken before a court of law. The thrust of my 
response did not in anyway question the reach of his paper, so it is futile 
and frivolous for him to pack his mere insinuations with a catalogue of The 
Echo's contacts.
From April 1994 to April 2000, on various occasions in The Gambia, I have 
contributed towards efforts, initiated by the natinoal student leadership, 
to ensure that journalists are not harassed and that there is maximum 
freedom of expression in the country. But freedom of expression does not 
absolve editors of their sacred duty to ensure that the material they 
publish is truthful, and that there is no ulterior motivation for its being 
injurious to the public images and reputations of individuals or groups of 
persons therein connected. If the  latter happens because you have published 
something truthful, it should be regarded as an act of responsible 
journalism and public service. But if the opposite is the case, then you 
have a case to answer in a court of law. My claims are that The Gambia Echo 
has published a fabrication against me, by reportedly putting in print on 
the internet a statement to the effect that at the time of The April 
10th/11th Student Demonstrations in The Gambia, I was an agent of the APRC 
regime.
It should be noted that throughout his lengthy piece, instead of responding 
to my criticism and accusations, he merely indulge in insinuations. Using 
old fashioned proverbs take us nowhere in this discussion. Furthermore, his 
brazenly inferences will not make me throw my discipline out of the window. 
Instead, I will allow them to stand as representations of who Ebrima 
Sankareh is!
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!
Omar Joof.



>From: "Yero Jallow" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [>-<] The echo battling with the unknowns- a hidden editorial
>Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 22:36:02 -0500
>
>[ This e-mail is posted to Gambia|Post e-Gathering by "Yero Jallow" 
><[log in to unmask]> ]
>
>
>Someone brought this to my attention. i almost missed it. All i know, 
>feedback in whatever one does is good. I think my big bro. should know that 
>the very people he is mentioning are also online. They will do everything 
>to discredit him. I like his clarification on the grammar part, reveals he 
>knows what he is talking about. I would have honestly expected a seasoned 
>journalist like big bro. won't be too petty on such issues, but 
>clarifications are good.
>
>Hei, i am trapped in gossips. I know you are reading this Ebrima.
>
>Have a good day!!
>Yero.
>
>The Gambia Echo Newspaper
>Motto: vox populi vox Dei
>
>...............THE DEBATE RAGES
>..............................By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor 
>in-Chief...............Posted October 17th, 2006
>
>QUOTE: ?In free countries, every man is entitled to express his opinions
>and every other man is entitled not to listen?? G-Norman Collie
>
>It was one hundred days ago that THE GAMBIA ECHO NEWSPAPER a legally 
>registered Raleigh, N C based on
>line newspaper hit the news stands. A long time colleague and admirer wrote 
>among other things, that the thunderous
>sound of the Echo has been felt globally and went on to express optimism 
>that it will be an excellent medium of
>communication for the readers. Numerous others wrote each presenting 
>his/her perspectives on the scheme of things.
>
>Today, what began as the passionate desire of a Gambian citizen in concert 
>with colleagues to inform, educate and
>entertain their fellow countrymen has a global outreach. If fact, within 27 
>hours of our maiden publication, we were on that
>universal search engine called GOOGLE. Today we are also on the All Africa 
>Global Media web site where you can
>access our acerbic pieces and print for your records or other concerns. 
>Other Daily newspapers have also republished
>our scintillating journalistic pieces across the African continent and we 
>have seen evidence of greater professional affinity
>within our fraternity. Contrary to the pessimists and the ?fully baked 
>critics? who prefer to play the proverbial ostrich
>that buries its heads in the sand pretending to elude reality, The Gambia 
>Echo is making significant strides in a fashion that
>even the most rabid fanatic cannot ignore. To give you an example, we are 
>listed on the Columbia University African
>Studies Department as one of several other resourceful papers on Africa. So 
>if a person sits in a corner in this world and
>pounds his chest that he does not read the Echo, he most evidently, needs 
>to consult a shrink to remedy the irksome
>echoes of a potentially, troubled mindset.
>
>At the center of our trade is balance coupled with reliability and a 
>passion for justice. We do our job without malice and
>prejudice such that whatever we print, we are willing to enter any credible 
>court of law anywhere, and defend. We are
>not oblivious to the fact that some of our pieces have been devastating to 
>some families but we cannot ignore a story
>because it is going to affect Mr. X who is a friend and whose father was a 
>friend of the editor?s father. This reminds me of
>a lead story I wrote 14 years ago at the Gambian Daily Observer captioned 
>?How Did Awa Die?? The case in question
>related to my sister-in- law who died in the hands of some medical doctors 
>in an operation room while performing
>abortion. I will never forget what my father- in-law told me that night 
>when I returned home. I however, responded calmly
>with a sense of professionalism. ?You are right uncle except that I was 
>doing my job as a journalist and a Gambian
>citizen?. He shook my hand and said may Allah grant her mercy and guide you 
>in your belief. Later on, the doctors
>were taken to court and a severe fine imposed on them.
>
>Similarly, since our contact with OX numerous mysteries are being unearthed 
>and for some strange reasons, some
>Gambians do not like me to talk about past atrocities. That is past they 
>argue, and talking about it will bring problems.
>Another one wrote, ?This site sucks?. Just last night I received e-mail 
>from a Gambian resident in the US pleading that
>we leave Lt. Saye alone because he is in Heaven and one day God will deal 
>with those who killed him. An other sick
>Gambian brother writing from the Bahamas wrote thus ?idiot, silly fool 
>despite all what you wrote Jammeh won. Why not
>stop.? Another Gambian from Atlanta wrote, ?The Gambian civilians have 
>suffered a lot and continue to suffer, I am
>praying for the day when the Echo is closed. Free at last, thank 
>God-Almighty free at last?. So The Gambia Echo has
>made civilians suffer, really? Paradoxically, here is a Gambian 
>paraphrasing Dr. Martin Luther King jr. a man who died
>fighting against all kinds of injustice. Amazingly, our critic is defending 
>the deeds of an utterly despicable dictator who
>promised democratic Armageddon and wreaked havoc on a state. While we would 
>have loved to reproduce the views of
>these commentators, they usually use our anonymous site meaning that they 
>do not want their identity disclosed. So we
>respect that.
>
>On the other hand we have as usual been inundated with a wave of favorable 
>commentaries praising our Herculean task
>to bring to the fore the ugly deeds of a deadly dictatorship. One person 
>wrote ?your story on me saved my life. I was
>detained unofficially for some time.? Some one also observes, ?the Jammeh 
>government wanted to hack your paper
>before the elections but they failed. Some of your stories are creating a 
>big problem for the authorities in Banjul. The
>general feeling here is that your paper is backed by the Americans hence 
>the difficulty to hack it?. ?I cannot go to bed
>without reading the Echo? says another reader from the UK. From the 
>University of Birmingham in the UK, a former
>teacher of mine said, ?While the site was informative, the photos should 
>contain some biographical information on the
>players.?
>
>Few others have also expressed concern why I called the Basiru Barrow saga 
>a coup. They prefer mutiny instead. The
>fact remains that OX was and remains a soldier on active duty. While we may 
>edit the narratives for legal and grammatical
>reasons, we try to give them the required originality. One person argued 
>forcefully against the phrase that Cadet
>Sillah died peacefully. The writer thought that the adverb, ?peacefully? 
>was what I may call a semantic derogation. A
>misnomer if you like. At the edge of metaphor however, we are both right 
>and like the astute observer, I refuse to wallow
>in pedagogic brouhaha. In fact, a more intense paradigmatic approach to 
>stylistic analysis and literary appreciations,
>may lead us to ask if peacefully while still an adverb, is not a 
>quasi-metaphor or an oxymoron in the context used. Can
>someone be a clever fool? Can a medical doctor in the dispensation of his 
>hypodermic needle be cruelly kind? Do we still
>speak of democratic dictatorships? How about compassionate conservatism? We 
>leave that to the academics to decide.
>
>There were two who wondered why we did not associate Sana B. Sabally, 
>Yankuba Touray and the late Lt. Manneh
>with the atrocities. Quite frankly we cannot because I have never seen Sgt. 
>Kanyi, Singhateh, Sana, Yankuba or any
>other soldier kill anybody. We only report what is presented to us in the 
>most credible fashion. If you were a soldier or a
>government officer who saw any of these officials kill any one, please 
>contact us. We will publish it if you convince us like
>OX. Like Ox, you most be willing to go to court on the day of reckoning. I 
>have personally quizzed OX on the
>involvement of some personalities. According to OX, ?if I see you killing I 
>will report it, but if I do not see you how can I
>back my story if they arrest me or if you end up in the International 
>Criminal Court. This is why I can only report on what
>I witness and no soldier can successfully deny any of my stories,? says a 
>highly confident OX. According to OX, while
>there were numerous reports on Almamo, he never killed any body. He once 
>shot a recalcitrant taxi driver in the hand
>because he refused to heed to the presidential motorcade between Super Bird 
>Nightclub and the West Field clinic while
>HE was returning from a trip abroad. When the driver was admitted at the 
>RVH, Lt. Manneh visited him with so much
>remorse. The man did not die. Mamo (a.k.a Dr. Owl) once told his colleagues 
>?boys, I really over reacted?. Says OX, if
>any of the ex-soldiers in the US think that they have stories to tell you, 
>let them go ahead.
>
>Finally, to all of you we say thank you for your views. This is what we 
>expected. With respect to your fear that President
>Jammeh may hack the Echo, our response is please help him to hack the 
>paper. As far as we know, The Gambia
>government and its agents in Atlanta and the UK have attempted 25 times to 
>hack the paper. While the hacker is in the
>UK, the agents are in the US and may God help them to succeed. The first 
>thing I did was to register The Echo legally. It
>has County, State and Federal protection and I am not the least worried 
>about anybody who has so much money that he
>wants to pay millions of Dollars in court fees and damages. Be rest assured 
>however, that even if you hack The Echo, you
>will not have any names to arrest or victimize. We are much more 
>sophisticated than that. This is why we do not have a
>subscriber list. Those who want to read please log on to 
>www.thegambiaecho.com and read. If you are like the intrepid
>nerd who brags that he does not even read our paper, try hell.
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Add a Yahoo! contact to Windows Live Messenger for a chance to win a free 
>trip! 
>http://www.imagine-windowslive.com/minisites/yahoo/default.aspx?locale=en-us&hmtagline
>
>
>
>
>----------------------------gambiapost.NET------------------------------
>------LATEST NEWS FROM THE GAMBIA, NOW AT:>>-------
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