Ousman Ceesay Gambian In USA
By Ousman Ceesay- USA
The Gambia Armed Forces’ forceful response to the remarks made by Essa Faal and Sam Sarr should raise alarm for all of us. For a military institution with a well-documented history of human rights abuses and little to no meaningful reform in the past eight years under President Barrow, to react so aggressively to the public commentary of civilians discussing national security policy is both troubling and dangerous.
Essa Faal’s warnings, echoed by many for years, appear to carry even more weight now: that The Gambia may be just one ECOMIG withdrawal away from a military coup. In a functioning democracy, such discussions should not be taboo. Open debate on matters of national security is not only normal, it is necessary.
Targeting West Coast Radio for hosting these vital conversations poses a direct threat to press freedom and must be firmly condemned as well. The military is supposed to be under civilian control, or at least, we assume it is. In any democratic system, it should be the civilian leadership at the Ministry of Defense responding to public criticism, not the Army High Command.
We’ve seen this movie before, and the reemergence of familiar actors is a stark warning. If we allow this pattern to go unchecked, we risk paving the way for another era of dictatorial rule.