By Abubacarr Saidykhan
The journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. As we speak, the executive members of the Democratic Union of Gambian Activists (DUGA) are currently ready and prepared both nationally and internationally to face the dictatorial regime of President Jammeh and willing to put a stop to the long standing history of brutal dictatorship, ruthless tyranny and the autocratic behaviors meted out to the people of the Gambia for almost 20 years.
“You can never fight against a renowned dictator of a given nation if you allow a formidable distance to exist between you and the perpetrator. We are ready to protect and free our people from the grip of a wicked and ruthless dictator called Yahya Jammeh. These were the opening words of the collective executive members of DUGA during an urgent meeting with this stringer.
One of the salient things that people need to understand is that the DUGA is an umbrella movement set to unite Gambians in and around the world, and it is without doubt that unity is one of the instrumental measures yearned by each and every citizen of the republic of the Gambia at this very moment.
Members of DUGA movement also indicated that their principal mission is to penetrate the core of the Gambian society by sensitizing and mobilizing our citizens in the quest to achieve a true, sustainable, meaningful, and recognizable democracy in the Gambia. Our Citizens have been guaranteed unfettered access to information as well as free speech for almost two decades, it is only through being organized, proactive and unified can we be successful in achieving our collective aims and objectives as a people of one nation and aspiration.
The principal objective of our organization, is to end tyranny in all its forms, usher in a new democratic Gambia that shall guarantee to the people of the Gambia, peace, progress, prosperity, freedom, and as well as perpetual liberty for every citizen of our nation.
The main reason behind the urgent formation of DUGA was due to the recent execution of the nine condemned death row inmates of the mile two central prison, who were executed by the military regime of President Jammeh in the month of August 23rd 2012.
One of the most immediate objectives of our organization is to implant a strong footprint on the ground in the Gambia by engaging and sensitizing the youth and those most affected in the process of restoring democracy in the Gambia. We hoped to achieve these immediate aims through the use of the social media, radio programs, and education through the distribution of literature inside the Gambia and other democratic activist activities.
Readers will recall that the three founding members of DUGA: Pa Samba Jaw, Sohna Sallah and Ousainou Mbenga in October 2013, invaded and occupied the Gambian Embassy in Washington DC, protesting and bringing awareness to the gross human rights abuses being perpetrated by the unpopular administration of President Jammeh and his cohorts of bandits, which eventually led to the arrest of its three key members by the officials of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The three were later freed by the Washington courts, although with some caution.
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