FWD


Positive Signs (Editorial)
The Independent <http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html>  (Banjul)
June 12, 2000
Banjul - Two years ago it was virtually impossible for a journalist of the free
press to interview certain public officials. The general reception accorded
journalists seeking to get through to very senior officials was one of ridicule
and uncompromising blockage.
As a result, a wide rift had developed between the press and public institutions
which made it impossible to make objective reports and left the press with no
option but to quote sources close to this office or the other.
Well, in recent days, either by accident or design, public officials seem to be
opening up to the press. The police department had taken the lead in this
direction during the days of IGP Jagne. Now it seems, the Armed Forces are
following suit. On two recent occasions, The Independent has been able to talk
to the Army Chief of Staff without any serious difficulty. As a result, we have
been able to throw light on confusing rumours bordering on the security of our
nation.
The police department's prompt and frank explanation of circumstances
surrounding the alleged murder by a police officer of 15- year-old student Lamin
Jatta was commendable. So is the promise that regular police press briefings are
to be held. We hope this promise is fulfilled.
We wish to remind the general public that the press is here to serve. We are
ready and willing partners in the drive for national wellbeing. We are willing
partners in the fight for national security, the fight against crime in all its
forms. We are willing partners in the fight against injustice, the fight for
justice, fair-play and good governance. In short, we, like all well meaning
civic institutions, are willing partners in the quest for the common good. And
we offer our services free.
At another level, it is clear that the Gambian public is undergoing a positive
transformation. Over the past two years, the so-called culture of silence is
fast dying out, replaced by a dynamic vocal culture expressed principally
through the radio, the newspaper, the public forum and the Internet. No longer,
for instance are Gambians abroad indifferent to developments in The Gambia.
The Gambia's political culture is fast being transformed from the parochial
(ignorant) and the subject (passive) to the participant (informed and active),
in which every one displays active interest in what is going on. Perhaps the
most dramatic expression of the slide from the passive to the participant
culture is Dr. Lenrie Peters' dramatic poetic outburst in the wake of the April
10 carnage. Like Dr. Peters, many formerly reserved Gambians both at home and
abroad are now going out of their way to show that they really care about what
happens to The Gambia.
Not only that, Gambians are now actively questioning the limits of social or
public authority. Government has ceased to be seen as an all-powerful bully that
thrives on intimidation and the use of brute force. Gambians now realise that
government, however powerful it pretends to be, cannot be more powerful than the
people it represents.
The terms of the social contract by which a group of people is entrusted with
public office by the people and empowered to make decisions on behalf of the
people are getting better defined, and Gambians are increasingly demanding
respect, accountability and fair play.
So, generally speaking while many may be upset about the political situation in
the country, there certainly is a lot to be hopeful for. While on one hand some
public institutions are growing more receptive to the press, Gambians are on the
other hand, speaking up for their rights. These indeed, are very positive signs.

To those public officials who still ask their secretaries to say to journalists
that they are not in, we say: none can escape accountability.

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