By Seedy Jobe
A spokesman for the opposition coalition accused the government on Thursday of employing intimidation tactics against its critics, warning that such measures would not succeed with national elections just three months away.
Assan Martin, a lawyer who serves as the coalition’s spokesperson, made the remarks during an interview with Kerr Fatou, addressing the police’s disruption of a recent press conference held by Gambia for Term Limits. He said Gambians must not be made to fear exercising rights guaranteed to them under the constitution.
“It is Gambians themselves who condone dictatorship,” Mr. Martin said, arguing that public silence in the face of government pressure is what allows authoritarian rule to take root. He said he respected the work of groups such as GALA and other civil society organizations that operate within the bounds of the law.
Mr. Martin rejected the notion that certain individuals or groups should avoid using public venues out of fear of government retaliation, saying a return to that posture would mark a regression to the country’s authoritarian past.
He also disputed the legal basis for the police’s decision to halt the term-limits press conference, arguing that no specific venue is required for such an event. Any engagement between a speaker and members of the press, he said, constitutes a press conference in its own right.
On the broader question of a potential third term for President Adama Barrow, Mr. Martin said robust debate was a normal feature of democratic life. Both supporters and opponents of a third term, he said, have the right to express their views publicly, and criticism of the government’s record should not be grounds for arrest.
“If we sit and say the market is not easy, should you arrest me?” he said. “If we say this government has failed, does that mean we should be arrested?”
Mr. Martin called on the government to prioritize national stability and allow the electoral process to unfold peacefully, saying the outcome, whoever wins, should be accepted by all sides. He added that after a decade in power, Gambians were entitled to reject a third term if they so chose.
He cited Section 25 of the 1997 Constitution, which guarantees the rights to freedom of assembly, expression, and movement, as the legal foundation for his argument.
“What I will advise the government is to stop that game,” Mr. Martin said. “It is not going to work, and if you do it, you will be confronted.”
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