The Secretary General of Peoples Democratic Organisation For Independence and Socialism PDOIS and National Assembly Member for Serrekunda Constituency, Honourable Halifa Sallah Sunday, June 11, spoke on the Kanilai Incident at his party’s bureau in Serrekunda.
Honourable Sallah in a press conference held at the party’s bureau said events of far reaching importance are developing in The Gambia.
“No one would have envisage that in less than 6 months after the emergence of a new government blood would stain on the corridors of state powers,” Halifa Sallah said.
He added: “This should compel all Gambians to take a pause and ask what has gone wrong? What are we going to do? This is demand of truth and justice under our times and circumstances.”
Sallah further went on to explained the clarion call of the coalition which he said was to give the country a new start and hence that new start is blemish by blood stain each Gambian should speak and act in accordance with dictates and consent of national interest. That he said is possible if the nation could speak in one voice. He stated that the incident in Kanilai gave birth to weeping on one side and the cocking of guns and issuing of warnings on the other side which he said is not recipe for building a new Gambia.
The former coalition spokesperson has explained that the new Gambia must be a sovereign republic which is the commandments of the constitution that should shape the thinking, values and practices of the people including the state arms, security forces and civil society organisations among others. He quoted the various sections of the constitution saying all Gambians are equal before the law irrespective of region, ethnicity and party affiliation. He said this is the basis of national unity and good neighbourliness. He added that sovereignty resides in the Gambian people from whom all organs of the government derive authority.
“The duty of a people in a sovereign republic is to recognise each others sovereignty and live together in the spirit of sovereign equality,” he asserted.
Sallah pointed out that the role of the security forces in a sovereign state is to protect the lives and properties of the sovereign citizens, saying any force that is not arm by this principles is a killing machine. He said such are the kinds of killing machines used by tyrants to perpetuate impunity. He said his party has joined the coalition to engendered and defend the rights of the people which they were ready to die.
He highlighted on the importance of reviewing the issue of security before narrating and drawing relevant lessons to address the event in judicious manner and prevent recurrence. He said state security has scope and scale in terms of gravity and weight, adding that the reactions to incidents which might have security concerns should depend on the scope and scale of security threat. He said every action against the state security should be opposite reaction.
“When demonstrators aimed to express grievances in a peaceful and spontaneous manner near or away from the corridors of power without any distraction of lives and properties or posing threat to the seat of government then the action should be seen as civil disobedience. It should be seen as a threat to public order and state security,” he asserted.
Sallah said a threat to state security requires a combine forces of armed and law enforcement agencies while on the other hand a threat to public order requires only the presence of law enforcement agencies and their method should be either to escort to prevent damage of properties or confrontations with the other opponents.
Secretary General Sallah classified the Kanilai incident as a civil disobedience the evidence of which is the charges preferred against those who were arrested was civil disobedience and not treason. He argued that the matter should have been handle by the police and not the state security forces. He said the police should know how to diffuse civil disobedience and disperse without any lost of lives.
The former coalition spokesperson said Kanilai is the home village of the former president Yahya Jammeh who before he left made an agreement with the UN, AU and ECOWAS negotiators before his departure with the assurance of protecting his properties and supporters in the country. He was quick to add that the negotiators could not get President Barrow to sign the document to commit him to the agreement.
He then highlighted on the Kanilai incident, saying the demonstrators were reportedly gathered at the car park for public demonstration to asked the state to withdraw military for them to live a normal life. He said the marchers moved with banners toward Kanfenda and went passed the encampment of the Gambian soldiers but were faced with blockage at the encampment of the ECOMIG soldiers.
“The reports did not indicate the injury of any ECOMIG soldier due to the use of traditional weapons. What is evidence is the used of bullets and injury of nine persons, one of whom eventually died from the bullets,” Sallah interjected.
The PDOIS Secretary General said some people have argued that the Kanilai incident is the final attempt of Jammeh forces to show their degree of organisation and preparedness to restored his rule and such people are calling the Barrow Administration to take the Kanilai incident as a threat to the state security. He said despite the shooting and killing the residents of Kanilai have not retaliated for the sake of kinship or ethnic tribe. He called for the need to enlighten the nation.
“The nation needs to be enlightened if someone has the facts. Fiction cannot provide raw material for policy making,” he pointed out.
Sallah said the question that all Gambians should address is whether the Barrow Administration should preoccupied itself with the challenges of the second coming of the Jammeh or those of building a new Gambia? He said the answer is simple when the former president refused to leave office at the time President elect Barrow has two options of protest mobilisation or focus on his victory to prepare the ground to assume office but he chose the latter and assumed office in peace and tranquillity.
“His challenge is to build a new Gambia peace and tranquility,” he posited.
Honourable Sallah called for a corners inquiry on the death person as the matter is no longer a Kanilai or political or national issue but it has become an international issue. He advised that the incident should not be taken on partisan but rather a Gambian incident. He called on all Gambians to promote reconciliation.
Meanwhile, he emphasized the fundamental objective of the ECOMIG forces which he said are forces of solidarity and not forces of occupation. The Gambian and ECOMIG forces, he said are republican forces to defend the sovereignty of the people. They should be building and providing services to the people.
