By Abdoulie John
The 15 protesters, who were recently arrested and slapped with three criminal charges, have expressed their resolve to stand firm on their ground on the issue of three-year transition period.
“[President Barrow] campaigned with other Coalition members that he is going to serve three years. We want them to respect that agreement,” the Secretary General of “Operation 3 Years Jotna”, Yusupha B. Keita, said Monday during a news conference held at Tango Hall in Kanifing.
Police pressed charges on the organisers of “Operation 3 Years Jotna” demonstration after they were arrested around Senegambia in Kololi. The charges are still hanging over their head as they are yet to appear before a court of law.
Mr. Keita stressed that the action they have taken is not illegal because they are still within the parameters of the law.
One of the eight female protesters, Isatou Susso, unequivocally affirmed that the country’s Fundamental Law should be subjected to changes, ruling out the option to stick to the 5 year mandate that runs until 2021. “They cannot change everything to five years,” she emphasized. “The Constitution was written by people and three-year agreement was also written by people. We voted for three years,” she defiantly said.
The #GambiaWeWant campaigner, Lawyer Salieu Taal, assured that the protesters will not short off legal representation if they are taken to court.
He disclosed that lawyer Lamin Camara is already engaged and won’t spare any efforts to throw his weight behind him.
Lawyer Taal called on Gambian authorities to drop the charges against peaceful protesters.
Ends