By Nyima Sillah
The Secretary-General and founder of The Gambia for Five Years and Peace Building have issued a warning to the Coalition of Progressive Gambia to cancel the planned November 11 protest or else his movement will expose the illegality and unconstitutionality of their act to the highest degree.
In an interview with The Voice, secretary general Ebrima Soriba urged the movement to give up their planned protest and be law-abiding since their permit is rejected by the Inspector General of Police.
“If their permit is rejected, let them stay away from such illegal acts otherwise our movement, The Gambia for Five Years and Peace Building will also march onto the street on the following day to counter their so-called protest,” he warned.
According to Mr. Soriba November is a tourist season in The Gambia which brings a lot of revenue to the country and also creates jobs and other opportunities for ordinary citizens, warning that anything around November is calculated to bring about economic hardship in the country.
However, he explained that if one applies for a permit, the office of the Secretary-General would study, review, and underline factors and reasons that motivate such protests., noting that if the police endorse or issue a permit to protest then such will be considered legal and nothing can stop that.
“But where the police based on reasons, specifically security reasons which is the case of the 11/11 movement that we are talking about where the police rejected such a request then it would be rendered illegal and once it’s illegal, it should not be carried out,” he said.
Secretary General Soriba opined that the so-called Coalition for Progressive Gambia is only taking refuge behind what they called rampant corruption and high cost of living in the country which propelled them to stage such an illegal protest.
“That is Obvious in The Gambia like the rest of Africa and the world. This is an economic world, this is a stressful world, we have seen the inflation, we have seen the effect of Covid-19, and also the impasse that the UDP-led 3years ‘Jotna’ subjected The Gambia to in 2019. It is already a change of name they only came with a different name but the objective remains the same and obviously, the Gambian people cannot afford another protest that is reminiscent of the 2019 3years ‘Jotna’ protest whose ulterior motive is regime change and bringing about chaos in The Gambia at a very crucial time at the peak month of the tourist season,” he alleged.
