By Abdoulie John
In wake of the arrest and detention of four journalists, the Executive of the Gambia Press Union (GPU) has vowed to embark on a hunger strike. The move is aimed at shifting the axis of contradiction, and making Gambian authorities uncomfortable.
“Gambian journalists will engage in hunger strike tomorrow. We will gather in front of the police headquarters in Banjul to demand the release of detained four journalists,” said Kebba Jephang in a statement posted this evening on the union’s WhatsApp platform.
The 3 Years Jotna movement’s Sunday demonstrations ended with arreat and detention of radio journalists whose stations were shut down. This decision, Kebba went on, is taken by the GPU after no headway was made in its efforts to ascertain the detention place of our colleagues.
“The authorities decided to put them incommunicado which is illegal – with absolutely no access to the family and colleagues,” Mr. Jeffang wrote.
Meanwhile, the GPU President Sheriff Bojang Jr. announced through the same communication tool that a breakthrough has been made. Mr. Bojang revealed that the press union and lawyers have just been granted access to meet with detained colleagues and “[M]yself, Saikou Jammeh and Mustapha K. Darboe and lawyers Lamin J Darbo and Abdoulie Fatty will head to the two police stations where they are detained to visit them,” he said.
MWhile assuring that the four media practitioners will be released tomorrow, the President of the country’s press body did not indicate whether they are still determined to go ahead with planned hunger strike….
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