Excuse me Dida!

My attention has been drawn to an open letter Dida Halake, managing editor of the Daily Observer, wrote to the president of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), Ndey Tapha Sosseh, which was published in the April 28th edition of his newspaper.

Responding to a letter sent to the Observer earlier by Ms Sosseh, which was putting them in the picture about the activities of the press union; Dida Halake went on a rampage, making childish and unnecessary attacks on Gambian journalists and the press union, which he described as a political union.

I never wanted to waste my precious time responding to such baseless and childish criticisms levelled against Gambian journalists and the press union as they would give Mr. Halake the prominence he does not deserve. However, after Mr. Halake reproduced the same letter in the May 12 edition of the Observer in response to Swaibou Conateh, I was left with no choice but to react.

Dida's attacks expose his ignorance, arrogance, pettiness and above all, lack of understanding to the journalism profession. Gambian journalists like all responsible journalists around the globe, have a responsibility to keep governments accountable. And it would be very unprofessional and unethical if they should ignore the sufferings and above of all, gross violations of the people's rights by President Jammeh and his associates.

The Gambia Press Union is a pressure group set up ages ago to defend the interest of Gambian journalists, who have for the past 13 years been subjected to all forms of harassment, censorship, arrest, torture and even murder in the hands of the Jammeh regime. And as a responsible pressure group, the GPU cannot sit and fold its hands while the Jammeh regime embarks on its evil policies of silencing the freedom of expression.

The GPU and its members are not interested in political office. They do not also regard themselves as enemies of Yahya Jammeh and his government. They see themselves as partners in development.

Dida's efforts to undermine the press union is known to every Gambian. And he has to realise that no matter what negative tactics he employs, the GPU shall always remain an independent institution that will never bow down to Yahya Jammeh and his evil regime.

As a non-member of the press union, it is flabbergasting to see Mr. Halake make demands for the resignation of elected executive of the union. The GPU executive members were elected by registered members of the union and if Dida Halake is not happy with the decision of the GPU members, then he should go fly like a kite. Is Dida calling the election unfair because GPU members voted against the candidate they put up against Ndey Tapha? I believe that he would be singing a different song if Mr. Sawaneh had won the election.

Another thing Dida Halake needs to understand is that, GPU elections are transparent. Members of the union cast their votes to whosoever they wish without giving a toss who the person is or which institution he works for. Ebrima Jaw Manneh and Lamin Dibba were not voted into the executive because they were not the choice of the union members, period!

Sacking Buya Jammeh for refusing to resign his GPU post was again childish on the part of Mr. Halake. Buya was not a staff of the Observer. He was a freelancer, meaning the Observer was only buying stories from him as there was no contractual agreement between them. But how can he understand this basic journalism term when he is not a journalist. Journalism goes beyond being able to read and write. No wonder that is why Dida Halake is struggling 24 hours a day to produce a newspaper worth reading.

The Gambia Press Union sees all media houses irrespective of their editorial policy as one family. This is why it does not discriminate against media houses, and if Mr. Halake does not want the Observer and its members of staff to be part of the union, then that is their bread and butter. But one thing they need to understand is that the GPU does not need them. It will continue to survive with or without them.

Like I said in the past, Gambian journalists are the most patriotic Gambians alive today. We love our country so much. That is why we are standing on the way of a brutal dictator who wants to transform the country into his personal kingdom. Which progressive government have Mr. Halake seen that torture and even kill its own citizens for its own selfish interest? Which visionary leader has Mr. Halake seen in this 21st Century who kidnap his own citizens and detain them as long as it suites him? Well maybe that's the type of leadership he have in his native Ethiopia.

Mr. Halake's excuse on why the Daily Observer is keeping a tight lip on the disappearance of its own reporter, Chief Ebrima Manneh is very pathetic. Chief Manneh is a Gambian and if his arrest has anything do with national security as Mr. Halake is trying to make us believe, then why the hell is he never taken to any court of law. The Gambian courts are empowered by the 1997 constitution to hear all cases from civil to criminal and the Jammeh regime have no excuse for denying him justice. There is no responsible media house in the world that will turn a blind eye to a serious case like that of Chief Manneh.

How disgraceful is for the Observer to ignore the plight of its own staff, who gave all he could for the success of the company? Refusing to publish even a single article in support of Mr. Manneh is not what we call responsible journalism. That is gross irresponsible journalism.

Another issue that I cannot ignore is Mr. Halake's portrayal of GPU members as opportunities, who just abscond when they are sent abroad. That is just ridiculous. The GPU has since its inception sent its members to countries like the US, United Kingdom, Israel, Taiwan, Egypt among others and despite the persecution in the Gambian none of them have ever failed to return home after the end of their trip.

The lady Mr. Halake is accusing of absconding while covering the 2001 US election never absconded. Her name is Isatou Jaiteh. I worked with her at The Independent Newspaper. Isatou never went to the US on behalf of the GPU. She went on behalf of The Independent. She returned to the Gambia together with Sheriff Bojang immediately after the elections. Isatou went back to the US about a month later to study international relation and I can still confirm to you that she is doing well with her education. So there you go Mr. Halake, get your facts rights.

Talking about absconding, how many members of staff of the Observer have over the years failed to return to the country while representing the newspaper. What about its sports reporter (name withheld), who absconded in Peru during the Fifa U-17 World Cup? What about Mr. Y (name withheld) who absconded while on a coverage in Taiwan among others? What about the Agriculture columnist (name withheld) who went to Paris and never returned?

Mr. Halake should grow up and stop playing this childish game. How sad it is to see someone of Dida's age making such silly and irresponsible statements on a newspaper.
Mr. Halake need to hold is breath. He knows nothing about journalism and as a result he cannot lecture us anything about the profession. The journalism he is practicing at the Observer is nothing but gutter journalism. He cannot distinguish between Jammeh's interest and national interest and in his desires to please his masters, he continues to shamelessly print unbalance and one sided stories that are not even news worthy. Dida's lack of understanding of journalism has made him believe that responsible journalism is about singing praises for bloody tyrants. That is just idiotic.

I rest my case.