Peace is only sustained by justice. Justice is
ensured by the equal treatment of all before the law. For far too long have we,
as a people endured under the yoke of tyranny and oppression. Each time an act
of injustice took place, tempers flare and a call to arms is sounded from
certain quarters, but thankfully cooler heads have prevailed and chaotic
situations have been avoided. But everyone’s endurance has a limit, there comes
a time when even the most cowered individual stands his ground and refuses to be
pushed around. When that time comes, two things are at stake; his dignity as a
human person or his freedom.
That time has come for Gambians, some would say it
came and went several times. Hiding behind religion/faith and calling for peace
and stability gets to a point where it becomes hypocritical. Such calls it can
be argued, are borne out of cowardice, fear, insincerity, selfishness or some
other human deficiency rather than a sincere call to maintain peace and
stability.
This has sadly been the norm in The Gambia for far
too long; whenever the powers that be abuse their power, only a few point out
such abuses, the majority stays mute or indifferent, content with their false
sense of security. When the excesses of the authorities become too much to bear
the few that have been speaking out all along decides to take action, the
silent majority comes out screaming peace. The hypocrisy on display in this
scenario is that of ignoring the excesses of the tyrant and condemning the
protestations of the afflicted. Even though you deny it, you are siding with
the oppressor. Do you see why hiding behind religion to call for restraint is
not heeded, but worse shows the hypocrisy that is being masked?
We have seen time and again, people refuting claims
that a wrong has been committed consistently and endeavor to make their
position seem neutral and objective. Propaganda is nothing short of
manipulating facts to suit a certain narrative. Here is a system that
consistently acts with heavy handedness each time their position is criticized
and hides behind national security claims to justify their oppressive stance,
little wonder we hear claims of “Gambians are peace loving”, “Let’s pray for
peace”, etc. Peace; peace; peace. The absence of war or chaos does not mean the
presence of peace. Peace and justice go hand in hand; one does not survive
without the other, only temporarily.
If you are writing posts calling for peace, ask
yourself the following:
What
do you mean by peace?
Is it the violence that you are afraid
may ensue from people taking to the streets or the disruption of the order of
society?
Is
there a justifiable call to protest?
The protesters claim is that
citizens of The Gambia were exercising a constitutional right and got arrested
without breaking any laws and their are claims of torture to death. Is it okay that three weeks on the government officials have so far remained mute as to what
happened to the arrestees or even to confirm if they have anyone in custody. Isn't that in itself disrespectful?
Is
Mr. Jammeh or those he entrust with positions of authority infallible?
Our
belief and that of every sane person is that nobody is perfect. Despite your
best sincere efforts, mistakes are always a part of human efforts. If mistakes
occur, is it just that the citizens, whose lives will be affected by such
mistakes, express their dissatisfaction and offer alternative approaches? That
is one aspect of democracy, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION; it’s not a western concept
or ideology. Because citizens demand it does not mean that they are being
instigated to destabilize the country by some foreign power. Where such
attempts at dissention are heavy handedly cracked down on, tyranny is the
driving force behind such repression. Tyranny simply means refusing to uphold
the law that guarantees the rights you fight against.
However you look at it, the opposition parties, the
UDP in this case, are not out to destabilize the country. For far too long has
the government treated the members of that party with heavy handedness and
impunity and each time they exercised restraint, but taking the life of an
innocent person who posed no threat to anyone and expecting the same level of
restraint is unrealistic, even you know that. Femi Peters was jailed for using
a PA system without permit, an unfair jail term; the party refrained from
making a big deal of it leading some of its supporters and critics to label
them as cowardly and irrelevant. Amadou Sanneh’s case is still fresh in our
minds, as a top executive of the main opposition, he still languishes in jail
without any protest from his party, and they respected the law even though everyone
knew the law was manipulated. Kanyiba Kanyi is still unaccounted for, Ousman
Ceesay was shot and killed in Tallinding during a welcome parade for the opposition
convoy with no one held to account.
The list goes on and on. Each time, the UDP stood by
the law to have their rights respected, where they were betrayed by the very
laws they believe in, they remained faithful to the law. Even now, they are not
breaking any laws by taking to the streets. The constitution guarantees the
right to peaceful protest, but we all know how the exercise of this right is
being treated.
Such repressive nature can only go on for so long
and here we stand with the finish line in sight. It has been constantly peddled
by the administration that those who oppose the current regime are unpatriotic,
peddlers of tribalism, troublemakers, and agents of foreign powers bent on
seizing the peace and stability of little Gambia. And the sad fact is that the
supporters of the APRC buy the storyline hook, line and sinker.
Truth is, those who oppose are citizens too, with rights guaranteed under the constitution. The peace you so cherish can only be sustained in an
environment of respect and tolerance. Respect for dissenting views, accepting
that we are all different and have differing views on issues. But each time
such brute force and heavy handedness meets peaceful demands for reform, a
little is chipped away from that peace and eventually the repressed masses will
rise up and demand what is rightfully theirs – their dignity.
Whether you support the government or not, such acts
of wanton disregard for the lives of individuals should be condemned by all,
especially when those murdered in cold blood only committed the “crime” of
daring to speak out against their unfair treatment.
It is hard to figure out what approach to take to
address the issues facing our nation collectively especially when talking to
the sympathizers of the regime. Do we speak to their emotions? Do we invoke
reason? Do we speak from a religious pulpit? All these approaches have been
tried, yet the reaction is the same – Jammeh was right, the victims were wrong.
It is especially sad when young men and women, who by all accounts are smart,
brilliant, articulate and holding so much promise for the future of our beloved
country are the ones standing up to defend acts of repression. With so much
information at our finger tips, these acts can only be deemed contemptible if
not entirely selfish. One thing is for certain, they are insincere.
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