Sunday, September 23, 2007

RESPECT THE OFFICE: Sekou Toure writes to Freedom Newspaper

RE: http://www.freedomnewspaper.com/Homepage/tabid/36/mid/367/newsid367/2360/STARTLING-REVELATIONS-AGAINST-VP-NJIE-SAIDY/Default.aspx


Mr. Editor,
I would like to state from the onset that I am NOT a sympathiser of the current Gambian Administration or any of its members for that manner. But what I will NOT stand up for any day is the use of foul language such as "damn fool" against the OFFICE of the Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia (you SERIOUSLY need to consider the long term effects of the insults displayed on your website on your credibility and on the respect that people will have for your beloved country long after this current administration is gone).
I have no problem with anyone expressing displeasure or disappointment at the actions or person of the Vice President...but the ethics of Journalism dictate that this should be done in a constructive manner and with facts to support claims. The article I read on your website today was full of HATRED and if you need a reminder as to what hatred can do to a nation then look no further that RWANDA.

Mr Mbai, do you want the Gambia to become like Rwanda? I didn't think so.
If you keep publishing articles such as the one in question without editing these HATE MESSAGES then we're going to have a serious problem in the future.
Please bear in mind that I did NOT say that such articles shouldn't be published at all, they should merely be edited and stripped of all the hate they contain in the interest of The Gambia.
The beauty of lost of the revolutionaries in the recent past from Ghandi to Nkrumah to Malcolm X and Martin Luther is that they did not compromise on RESPECT when they were fighting their respected causes. In the end people respected them more. I would certainly not consider the Freedom Newspaper in this category or anywhere near it for the simple reason that its publishers lack the education and maturity to EDIT their articles fully and bring them to decent standards.

In the interest of fair play and by way of constructive criticism I would like to say that the article in question did contain some valuable information such as:
1) Words spoken by The Vice President to Pap Saine and other Journalists behind closed doors.
2) The fact that the Vice President MAY not be as innocent as some of us might want to believe with regards to all the mishaps currently taking place in The Gambia.

What I'm trying to say is that the article had a lot of INFORMATION in it, but this was overshadowed by the immaturity and lack of foresight of the writer.

Sincerely Yours...

Sekou Touray

No comments:

Welcome

Welcome to gambianewsfilter, a group blog where we post analyses, commentary and essays on current gambian news topics. Our stance is that the interests of the nation supersedes all political views and parties, and we believe in intelligent debates about issues, respecting each others' views even when they are completely different from each other.

We ask that you keep this in mind as you browse through the site: do feel free to comment on any story, and disagree with it and/or other commentators, but do so whilst respecting the other person's viewpoint. We are not here to sling mud, or insult anyone.

Thank you for visiting.