OPINION
"Freedom on the March" in tiny Gambia - File A
By Bubacarr Ceesay



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October 23, 2005
George W. Bush in his last State of the Union address, in a special
message to the developing world; specifically to those global citizens
under the siege of tyranny, stated that "if you stand up for your freedom,
America will stand by you."

This was a message well digested and certainly resonated with people dying
to see their nations enjoin the rest of the civilized world. I am
certainly one of those who took special note of such a pronouncement from
the most powerful leader of the free world. And I am here to remind
President Bush and the American people that the oppressed people of the
Gambia are beginning to stand up for their freedom. Can we count on your
words?

Whether George Bush ever gets to hear this question race to him in person
or not, is certainly not our intent here. Our intent is to have a civil
conversation with the American people, about the plight of the suffering
people of the Gambia and beyond. Will the world's most powerful nation
turn a blind eye while another African country slips into the abyss? The
people of the Gambia are watching.

The United Nations certainly cannot be relied on to prevent every other
rogue country from falling apart. Otherwise, we wouldn't have the
scenarios in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, and the Guineas -- all in West
Africa, not to mention the war ravaged countries in central and east
Africa. Does the world pay any attention when people from these regions
speak up about the potential for chaos tearing apart their countries? I am
seriously doubtful.

Do they pay any attention when oppressed people take matters into their
own hands and liberate themselves from power crazed tyrants? Of course;
the resent theater in Mauritania is evident to this assertion. After
initial condemnations of the coup, pretty much the UN, AU, and
particularly the United States all mellowed down the rhetoric after
careful stock-taking of the public reception of the putsch in the streets
of Nouakchott and elsewhere. The coup-makers gave seemingly credible
assurances that they're merely liberators of a nation under the grip of
totalitarianism; that they're not here to stay in power, and offered an
acceptable time table for free and fair elections without any of the
military council members contesting.

Is it justifiable to draw a parallel between the Gambia until 1994; once
the most peaceful country in West Africa and those war ravaged countries?
Certainly yes -- the writings are on the wall for all to see. We're no
false alarmists here; we're telling it how it is. Professionals, community
leaders, social commentators, or yet still highly authoritative research
findings all point to the Gambia as a potential candidate on the brink of
collapse. More so, a growing number of Gambians are beginning to agitate
for change as evident mostly in offshore online media outlets like the
AllGambian, The Independent (AllAfrica Network), GambiaPost, and a number
of Gambian forums.

The mainstream Gambian media has been practically under siege since the
then thin soldiers, and now pot-bellied civilian politicians took charge
of the impoverished West African state's administration. In December of
2004, Deyda Hydara, a prominent Gambian editor of the Point Newspaper was
brutally murdered in cold blood on the eve of the passing of a state
sponsored oppressive media bill in the National Assembly. Mr. Hydara was
said to have been highly critical of such oppressive measures by the
regime to curb press freedom.

As in several other cases of murder, arsons, and outright savagery, the
state remains uninterested in apprehending the murderers of Deyda Hydara
survived by his widow and four young children.

The recent (September 29, 05) near clean sweep of the by-elections for
four decisive parliamentary constituencies speaks volumes as the
opposition coalition National Alliance for Democracy and Development
(NADD), handily increased the popular vote margin while re-capturing three
of four fiercely contested seats.

To Be Continued…



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