The Swedish Superettan (second division) season ended in disappointment for Aziz Corr Nyang and Lamin ‘Babayeh’ Conateh’s Assyriska.

After spending the greater part of the season swaying between automatic promotion and play-off spots the team tumbled out of both on the final weekend of the season when they suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at home Angelholm.

The defeat condemns the team to another year in the second division, more than they had wished after their promotion from the third division last season.

Assyriska dominated the opening proceedings and their efforts were rewarded after only 10 minutes when Ostlundh converted a penalty to give the home side the lead.

With Aziz starting on the bench, Assyriska continued to dominate but failing to convert their chances they were punished by the visitor 5 minutes into the second half.

The equalizer forced the coach to bring on crowd favorite Aziz in the 60th minute. The substitution nearly paid-off instantly when the Gambian international dribbled pass two opponents but instead of shooting from a good position he chose to lay the ball on for Goran Marklund, who wasted a glorious chance with an audacious lob attempt.  

Aziz’s Gambia team mate Lamin ‘Babayeh’ Conateh was again unused for the game.

Following a display of heightened discontent by passengers against alleged unfair (double) charges by commercial vehicle owners, The Gambia National Transport Control Union (GNTCU), the umbrella body of all commercial vehicle drivers in the country, has condemned the act as "dubious," issuing a strongly worded warning that any "unscrupulous" driver caught in the act will face the full force of the law.

This development came following a publication on the Daily Observer, amplifying an outcry by commuters between Westfield and Bakau.

In an exclusive interview with this reporter, at the Union’s offices in Banjul, on Tuesday, Mr Sheriff Dibba, secretary general of GNTCU, vowed that they will not in anyway entertain such malpractices in the transportation industry as these contradict the new tariff agreement between them and other stakeholders.

In an attempt to make clarifications, Dibba echoed an earlier point put up that there is no car park at Sabena Junction. He said that all drivers plying that route, from Westfield, are obliged to go straight to the Bakau Car Park for disembarkation.

"The union is set to stop the menace as soon as possible.  We have discussed the issue among ourselves and we have concluded that we will send our team in collaboration with the police to the site.  If any driver is caught in such acts, we will deal with them accordingly," Dibba reiterated, stressing that in as much as his union stands to promote the well-being of drivers, commuters must not be exploited.

The GNTCU secretary general called for attitudinal change among taxi drivers, calling on them to be patriotic and true to the needs of their country.  He emphasised the fact that drivers must be responsible to ensure that they were inline with the union’s objective of ensuring standard best practices of transport delivery services.

Mr Dibba disclosed that his union has also received similar complaints from commuters between Westfield - Banjul, who, he said, have always reported that drivers plying the said route impose on them the charge of D8 - above the agreed charge of D6.  He said that under the new transport tariff, Westfield - Banjul is supposed to be D6, and not D8, noting further that Banjul - Serrekunda is what costs D8.  He then advised commuters to beware, and to report illegal cases to his union for appropriate legal measures.

While expressing his union’s resolve to ensure that commuters are not exploited, Mr Sheriff Dibba urged drivers to respect the transportation tariff agreement of the union.

Abdoulie A Sanneh, regional forestry officer, Western Region, has condemned the unlawful acts of people who are massively engaged in tree cutting in coastal areas such as Kartong, Gunjur and Sanyang Villages as detrimental to the indigenous people living in those areas. He has also urged the people to distance themselves from the illegal activity; else the wrath of the law will be used against them.

Mr Sanneh made these statements on Wednesday, during an interview with the Daily Observer at the Western Region Forestry Office in Brikama.

According to him, the illegal cutting down of trees that are taking place in the coastal areas expose the people to threats such as flooding, erosion and many other similar disasters that are extremely detrimental to human life.

He outlined that floods can pose a lot of threats to humans and animals, as well as causing devastation to infrastructures and foodstuffs. "Like wise erosion which carries away the top layer of the soil, thereby leading to soil infertility and low crop production,” he said.

He underscored that erosion can as well lead to the formation of gullies that can cause serious threats to farmlands and even the industrial areas.

"And moreso, it can expose the country’s economy to a negative impact,"  he noted. Sanneh further emphasised that floods can also lead to low income among the farming families, making it difficult for them to cater for their feeding and the payment of their children’s school fees and other social needs. "We can only escape from these threats if we leave the trees and the soil is left fertile and undistorted,"  he added.

He indicated that once flooding due to erosion occurs, the government put a huge amount of money into rehabilitating those affected places, whereas that money should have been invested to build schools, markets, hospitals, construct roads and other development projects. "To this end,” Sanneh said, “I am calling on the indigenous people living around the coastal areas to stand firm in assisting the forestry department in curbing the menace of illegal tree cutting."

He reiterated that trees do not only cover and protect people, but they can also provide fruits and shelter for man, as well as providing fodder for animals. He advised that trees could also serve as a source of medical herbs for various diseases like HIV/Aids, hypertension and even cancer.

He added that trees also play a vital role in inducing rainfall and climate change,  thus helping human life by overcoming the challenges of global warming.

In conclusion, Mr Sanneh called on the people of Western Region and The Gambia as a whole to join the forestry department in the fight against illegal cutting of trees. He also asked Gambians to embark on massive trees planting so as to safe themselves from floods and erosion as well as desertification.

Editor,

Dakar Daily Observer’s conviction - CPJ condemns criminal defamation convictions in Senegal.

New York, May 15, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns criminal defamation convictions handed to two Senegalese journalists on Tuesday. The two were convicted for reporting on the contents of an anonymous letter critical of top security officials.

A criminal court in the capital, Dakar, sentenced Director Jules Diop and Editor-in-Chief Serigne Saliou Samb of private daily newspaper L'Observateur to six-month suspended prison sentences and 30 million CFA francs (US$72,000) in damages, defense lawyer Boubacar Cissé told CPJ. The ruling also ordered the journalists to publish the verdict in several newspapers. An appeal was immediately filed, Cissé said.

"We call on the appeals court to overturn the criminal convictions and prison sentences of Jules Diop and Serigne Saliou Samb," said Tom Rhodes, CPJ’s Africa Program Coordinator. "Senegal’s pattern of criminal defamation prosecutions creates an intimidating atmosphere that leads to self-censorship. We urge President Abdoulaye Wade to honor his pledge to decriminalize defamation."

Ngom was quoted as saying in a January statement that it "pains him" to press charges against journalists "due to his commitment to press freedom," Senegalese online news Web site Nettali reported. However, the statement goes on, "when you confuse a press offense with a common law offense (defamation) committed by a public means of dissemination [of information], it is necessary for the courts to remind you that freedom of the press comes with responsibility."

Ngom’s comments reflect the long-standing reticence of Senegalese officials to decriminalize defamation despite President Abdoulaye Wade’s 2004 call to local media stakeholders to submit proposals for reforms, according to CPJ research. Authorities have yet to react to the proposals, and in November, CPJ wrote to President Wade urging him to finally implement his 2004 commitment.

Committee to Protect Journalists

330 Seventh Avenue, New York,

Editors’s Note:

We totally disagree with the CPJ.

It cannot be right that journalists, who wield a power that Halifa Sallah this week called "Mightier than the Sword", should be free to libel and defame people with impunity.

How can you destroy someone’s character on the basis of an "anonymous" letter and claim journalistic privileges – as it is claimed here?

Here at the Banjul Daily Observer we "verify, verify, verify and if in doubt we leave it out". We will not defame and libel anyone unless we are certain that our evidence will stand up in court – in which case it will not be libel or defamation.