PRESS RELEASE
The government of The Gambia wishes to inform the general
public that a front page story on the Standard newspaper of
Thursday July 13thquoting Honourable Musa Amul Nyassi,
Member of Parliament for Foni Kansala, that the former ruling
APRC party has been granted police permit to celebrate the 23rd
anniversary of the July 22nd 1994 coup, is false and a deliberate
attempt to mislead the public.
The public is informed that no such permit was issued to
Honourable Nyassi, or indeed any other person acting on behalf
of the APRC. The Gambia government maintains that the 1994
coup was an illegal act, staged principally, to usurp power and
subvert the popular will of the Gambian people who fought
through their sweat and blood to establish and nurture a
democratic culture for 30 years that became an envy of the
whole world.
Memories are still fresh of the brutality that the July 22nd coup
brought on Gambians. Families were torn apart; innocent
citizens willfully killed; businesses unlawfully closed and so
many of The Gambia’s most experienced and finest brains
forced to flee the country because of the organized and
systematic abuse of their fundamental rights.
Notwithstanding its unwavering position to respect and
broaden democratic principles and personal freedoms of
citizens, the government of The Gambia maintains that the July
22nd coup still leaves painful reminders of torture, unexplained
disappearances, killings and plunder of state resources. This day
therefore should not in any way be glorified, hailed or
celebrated by any well-meaning Gambian.
Furthermore, the government of The Gambia warns that any
public gathering which requires a public address system needs a
police permit. It is on record that the Inspector General of
Police has not issued any such permit to authorize any
individual, political party or any other group to hold festive
celebrations of the July 22nd 1994 coup.
The general public is therefore warned to be law abiding and
follow due process especially in matters related to public safety
and national security and to avoid anything that may endanger
national security.
Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure
13th July 2017
