Open Letter to ECOWAS!
By Ndey Jobarteh.
The situation in The Gambia is becoming increasingly untenable. ECOWAS must rein in the President before it is too late.
He is using the might of ECOMIG and the Security apparatus to intimidate and silence citizens. He once stood on an election platform and declared that he had “the police, the army, and ECOMIG behind him.” Such statements are dangerous in any democracy and create fear among citizens instead of confidence in democratic institutions.
We cannot continue to live in bondage. We cannot continue to be held hostage in our own country. Act before it is too late. The security we enjoy as Gambians was underwritten by ECOWAS in 2017.
The arrest of youths celebrating an anniversary is an abuse of power. The Jammeh regime damaged the psyche of our youths in 2000 when it brutally gunned down 11 of school children! We cannot allow any further intimidation of the youths of The Gambia!!
We cannot continue to usher in regimes that kill, maim,intimidate, arrest without due course and brutally silence our youths. They are our future.
The Sub-region is already fragile. We cannot afford instability or hostilities in a small country like The Gambia. ECOWAS must act now and rein in the President before the democratic gains registered after 2016 are completely eroded.
No leader should be allowed to abuse the rights and freedoms of citizens at will. Democracy cannot survive where fear, intimidation, and political repression become normalized.
Act now before the situation deteriorates further.
