They say there is no price for peace and you never know the true value of peace until you no longer have peace!
Gambia, we must jealously guard the relative peace that we are known for as a people. Gambia was not called the “Smiling Coast” by accident for as a country of close knitted communities, we are a peaceful and peace loving nation. It is the peace and stability that our country has been known for since independence, and we must not forget that!
Democracy and free speech must not be abused to a point of plunging the country into violence where citizens are injured or killed for coming out on the street to protest. Peaceful protests are a given Democratic right which is guaranteed by the Gambian constitution.
However, these rights must be exercised with responsibility. It is wrong for lives and properties to be lost in the name of exercising a constitutional right to peaceful protest. Violence, destruction of live and property resulting from a peaceful protest, defeats any purpose by which the protest was staged.
The ugly scenes in Jeswang on Sunday purportedly from clashes between some youths aggrieved by the 3 Years Jotna protest, and the police intervention unit are not Gambian.
The Gambian authorities must ensure that lives and properties of all Gambians are protected. Our country has become a nation of protesters and the government must dialogue with relevant parties to arrest the trend of citizens taking to the streets which is a recipe for disaster and violence in a young democracy of ours.
Protest we must, but responsibly!