By Alf Soninke
It is real, and the Barrow Administration will fail to act at its own peril! The signals are clear.
We remember how the government, with eyes wide open in the Second Republic, walked into April 10 and 11.
Indeed, as we are witnessing now with the GALA protest episode, it neglected to address the complaints of Gamsu, the student body promptly, and that failure cost the nation dearly!
If the state had foresight and properly investigated Gamsu’s grievances concerning what it said happened to Binta Manneh and Alpha Barry, both students, it is reasonable to say that April 10 and 11 would never have come to pass.
Yes, this infamy would never have gotten to be recorded and live forever in our history books.
As I observe how the Gambian state handles the GALA protest issue, it becomes clear that the police High Command and the larger national security outfit have not learned from April 10 and 11.
Indeed, I see them sleepwalking – just like their predecessors – into the debacle that ended in a national tragedy in April 2010. On April 10, I remember leaving my Kanifing Estate house to see what was happening.
I ran into Deyda Hydara on the “Radio Gambia” road. He was staying at Kanifing South on a side street near the Senegalese school. We greeted, talked briefly, and I continued.
I got to Kairaba Avenue, where I watched the unfolding scene/event.
I witnessed what was happening around the area of the Gambia Post Office – Gamtel Kanifing Exchange premises (former GRTS building before it moved to its new and present premises at MDI Road).
There was violence, as people engaged in stone-throwing at public buildings such as the post house, attacking vehicles, and assaulting persons, especially people who looked different from Gambians.
I feared being attacked, so I hurriedly returned to the safety of my house on Jimpexx Road at Kanifing Estate. What I saw and experienced made me believe this won’t end well.
Thus, I was not surprised when I returned home and learned from the radio(s)? – that the security forces have killed so many young people, and arrested and detained many more.
Of course, they didn’t need to kill; the situation could have been managed without the use of live bullets, in my view.
Later that evening, I reported for work at The Point newspaper office in Bakau NewTown, where I was an editor.
We all watched the GRTS TV news there, and I remember leaving my desk to move closer and standing to watch the 8 p.m. newscast.
Then VP Isatou Njie Saidy came on TV, and we watched—myself, Deyda, and others—as she talked about the day’s event.
We all heard her say, among other things, that in the crowd were armed people who opened fire on the students and security forces. Of course, we were all flabbergasted, and I remember exclaiming that this could not be true.
When I did so, I recall feeling that Deyda didn’t like my reaction and comment.
I knew the reason why. Jay Saidy, Isatou Njie Saidy’s husband, worked for many years at and with The Point – as editor-proofreader? – and obviously, a family bond developed over the years.
On the day of Deyda’s funeral, I was among the huge crowd that went to condole with the family at their Kanifing South house, and I recall hearing that Isatou Njie Saidy also was at the house.
That explained Deyda’s reaction when I shouted, “That’s not true!” when the Veep made that statement to the nation and the whole world.
She would later say that she was made/asked to say so by her military colleagues working for the government; this was what they told her.
Now, if or should you ask me, I can see the situation now unfolding in relation to the GALA saga as akin to how things developed and ended/on April 10-11.
In my view, the police and the larger government watching, just as in 2010, are again mishandling the related issues leading to the GALA protest proper.
And, if we go by records published/released about how they have been denying protest permits over the years, it becomes evident that the police are giving a very bad name and reputation to the Barrow Administration.
Consequently, it is best to instruct the police to release the protesters detained immediately and unconditionally.
All agree that they have legitimate demands and have committed no crime – certainly not “unlawful assembly”! The only one to be held accountable here is the police, which is engaged in abuse of power – definitely unconscionable after this country has gone through the TRRC process!
