Pa Modou Bojang, the general manager of the Brikama community FM radio was intercepted on his way to Casamance at Jiboro village in the Gambia today 7 October 2008. Bojang until his arrest was involved in an ownership tussle over the community radio which he was manager for more than five years now.

He was on his way to his sister's funeral in the Casamance.At Jiboro he was intercepted and his hands were hand cuffed to the door of his own car, which was driven by the arresting officer. At the time of his arrest, he was with his wife Ya sainey Sanneh and his child was age six. The family were left starnded at Jiboro as he was driven to Banjul.At the offices of the National Intellegent Agency (NIA) his lap top and pass port were confisicated.

As manager his employers one Gambian Basiru Darbo and his Malian partner Abubacarr AL Turkey were in to disagreements as to who owns the radio. This went on for more than a month now and Bojang suffers as a result of that. Up to the time of going to press, it is not clear why he was arrested. Bojang is allowed bail at the tune of 1.5 million dalasi.

New York, September 12, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed byaSenegalese judge’s decision today to sentence a newspaper editor to three years in prison on criminal charges in connection with an editorial about President Abdoulaye Wade and his son. Today's ruling came on the heels of Thursday's sentencing of 12 individuals to several years in prison for ransacking two private newspapers last month.

A criminal court judge in the capital, Dakar, convicted El Malick Seck, managing editor of the private daily 24 Heures Chrono, under several penal code statutes including offending the head of state, publishing false news, andthreatening public order, according to news reports. Seck has been jailed since he first faced police questioning in late August.

Defense lawyer Demba Ciré Bathily told CPJ that he has appealed the ruling, which also banned24 Heures Chrono from circulation for a period of three months. The paper has been in circulation since July, according to Editor-in-Chief Sambou Biagui.

“Despite repeated claims by President Abdoulaye Wade to end the use of criminal libel laws, El MalickSeck faces a severe prison sentence. Troubling as well is the censorship that has been imposed on24 Heures Chrono,” CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes said. “Senegal’s press freedom credentials are deteriorating. CPJ urges the president to adhere to his pronouncements and ensure cases such as24 Heures Chrono are a thing of the past.”

The public prosecutor had requested a five-year prison term against Seck, who was arraigned on September 3 after five days of interrogation in the custody of the Criminal Investigations Division. Police impounded the offending edition of24 Heures Chrono, searched Seck’s residence, and temporarily sealed the newspaper over a front-page editorial saying that Wade and his son Karim, a special adviser, were implicated in a money-laundering case. Neither Wade nor his son have responded to the story, which was based on purported allegations made by an Ivorian politician in 2006, according to local journalists. No official allegation or charge has been made against Wade or his son.

The paper24 Heures Chrono was one of two vandalized last month, just three days after then-Transport Minister Farba Senghor threatened unspecified retaliation against the paper and three others over critical stories. Senghor denied any involvement, but he was sacked from the government, stripped of judicial immunity, and questioned by a judge over the incident.

On Thursday, a criminal court in Dakar sentenced 12 individuals, including a driver and two bodyguards of Senghor, to five to six years in prison and a total of 22 million CFA francs in damages, according to news reports. 

Senegal has been considered a haven for press freedom in Africa, but this year has been marked by hostile government rhetoric toward the media.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.

It is with great sadness therefore that we view situations where access to information is deliberately shut down and the public unfairly deprived of it. If information is to benefit the people we should keep all our schools and libraries open. Radio stations should be allowed to operate and certainly the press, being the most immediate and popular source of information, should never be muffled, suppressed or in any way hampered without very good and clear justification. Reasons or decisions for closures and the like should be made known to the public as the end consumers of information and, above all, must be fair and unimpeachable.

In our case, official information is made available to the public but given from one perspective only, namely the governments perspective. From what seems to be the current government policy on the dissemination of official information, only a select category of papers, with potential government leanings perhaps, are allowed official information and invited to the majority of official events and forums. Except for carrying press releases the private media is habitually left out of actual official functions for reasons unknown. This is unfortunate because citizens are in effect deprived of getting all the angles to an issue and allowed to draw their own conclusions from them. In the present situation there seems to be only one angle and one point of view. Therefore it can be concluded that what the public is subjected to is indoctrination where the state fails to recognise, and effectively holds sway over, the rights and freedoms of the individual citizen to balanced information.

Finally, it is not clear why the private media is not allowed to state activities and functions and we would like to know. We therefore appeal to His Excellency the president, as the country’s top citizen, to look into these complaints and help resolve this patent discrimination against the private press in The Gambia. In this regard, the president can rest assured of our continued goodwill and professionalism which has been amply demonstrated at the AU summit, at all the July 22ndand similar celebrations and in our regular acknowledgment of all the efforts of government that deserve unreserved commendation.

We regularly inform the public about the work and development projects of the government in the country. Unfortunately we do not always have access to the necessary information even to do this.

It is also our duty to inform the public of what is going wrong and for that we honestly have no apology as that is what our profession requires.

Everything being equal, and all protocols observed, we wish to invite the president once more on behalf of the entire media family, to consider our appeal for greater partnership between government and the private press in the interests of the people and our national development. Long live democracy! Long live press freedom! Long live The Gambia!

 Freedom is possible only in a democratic political system in which governments are accountable to their own people, the rule of law prevails, and freedom of expression, association and belief are guaranteed. This can only be achievable where freedom of the press is found. Read this report to know whether you are in a country that allows the freedom of the press in order to enjoy the above.

Out of 195 countries and territories in the world assessed, 74 countries (38 per cent) were rated Free, 58 (30 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 63 (32 percent) were rated Not Free. This shows a global picture of the situation of freedom of the press in world. This represented a modest improvement over the 2005 assessment in which: 73 Free countries, 54 Partly Free, and 67 Not Free countries. However the findings of the 2006 represents a negative shift from the survey results of five years ago, which was the last recent high point of press freedom.

Read to know where your country or region falls in terms of how free your media is or how suppressed it is. This is an authentic survey conducted by Freedom House, a reputable international media NGO, based in New Yoke the USA.

Mali tops Africa as one of the countries with a FREE media status; she is followed by Ghana, Mouritius, South Africa, Cape Verde, Benin, Namibia, and Sao Tome & Principe. They are among 74 countries with similar records. The world list is toped by Finland and Iceland with 9 points each. These countries were followed by Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

 The Gambia is once again rated as NOT FREE, among 21 other Sub-Saharan states which included states like Burundi, Angola, Chad, and Liberia. These countries are among other 63 countries worldwide, in a total of 195 countries in the world where a survey is conducted. The Gambia stands number 77 out of the 195 states that do not have a free press.

The Gambia like others who where rated NOT FREE, has a hostile media environment, we have seen in the past crackdown on journalists and in some cases mediums have been closed down without court orders. Journalists have been detained beyond the 72 hours limits and in most of those cases there were no charges against those detained journalists.

Apart from the above cases cited, there is this unfinished case of the killing of Deyda Hydara. 

The legal environment for the Gambia is one yet to be desire. The two laws that are in place is no way that can guarantee us a place in a FREE MEDIA state, and these are the Newspaper Amendment Act of 2004, and the Newspaper Registration Act of 2004. These laws need to be taken out of our books of laws if we are to make any head way for a FREE MEDIA state.

 According to the ratings by Freedom House Gambia score a total of 77 points, 24 for the legal environment, 33 for political environment, and 20 for economic environment. This placed her 77 out of 195 countries. The Gambia’s status has been one of NOT FREE since 2002. with 66, in 2002, 65 in 2003, 63 in 2004, 72 in 2005, 73 in 2006 and 77 in 2007.

The five worst –rated countries continue to be Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, and Turkmenistan., in these states independence, media are either non inexistence or barely able to operate, the press acts as a mouthpiece of the governing regime, and citizen’s access to unbiased information is severely changed from 2005-6, reflecting an extreme level of repression and stagnation of the media.

How ever on the contrast, Western Europe continue to boast the highest level of press freedom world wide; in 2006, 24 countries(96 percent) were rated FREE and 1 (4 percent) was rated Partly Free, and there were no NOT FREE in the region.

In the Sub- Saharan Africa, overall 8 countries (17 percent) were rated Free, 19 (39 per cent) were rated Partly Free, and 21 (44 per cent) remained Not Free. Press freedom conditions continued to be dire in Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe, where authoritarian governments use legal pressure, imprisonment, and other forms of harassments to sharply curtail the ability of independent media outlets to report freely. All three countries continue to rank in the bottom 10 performers worldwide.

 In the Americas, 17 countries (48 percent) were Free, 16 (46 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 2 (6 percent) were rated Not Free in 2006. Just under half the countries in the region have media that remain classified as Free, although this includes the Caribbean, whose countries generally have very open media environments, offsetting the les rosy picture in Central and South America.

The Asia –Pacific region as a whole exhibited a relatively high level of press freedom, with 16 countries (40 percent) rated Free, 10 (25 percent) Partly Free, and 14 (35 percent) rated Not Free.

Central and Eastern Europe / Former Soviet Union, for the combined CEE/FSU region 8 countries (28 percent) out of a new total of 28 countries, after Montenegro’s independence- remain classified as Free.  10 (36 percent) are rated Partly Free, and 10 (36 percent) are classified as Not Free

Middle East and North Africa region continued to show the lowest regional rating , with just 1 country (5percent) rated Free, 2 (11 percent) rated Partly Free, and 16 (84 percent) rated Not Free in 2006.During the year the average region wide score declined , as did the average score in the political subcategory.

These conclusions are reached through an examination of the level of press freedom in each country which currently comprises 23 methodology questions divided into three broad categories: the legal environment, the political environment, and economic environment. For each methodology question, a lower number of points are allotted for a freer situation, while a higher number of points are allotted for a less free environment.

The legal environment category encompasses an examination of both the laws and regulations that could influence media content and the government’s inclination to use these laws and legal institutions to restrict the media’s ability to operate. An assessment of a positive impacts of legal   and constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression; the potential negative aspects of security legislations, the penal code, and other criminal statutes; penalties for libel and defamation; the existence  of an ability to use freedom of information legislation; independence of the judiciary and of official media regulatory bodies ; registration requirements for both media outlets and journalists; and the ability of journalists’ groups to operate freely.

Under the political environment category, in order for the Freedom House global surveyors to reach   a conclusion an evaluation to a degree of political control over the content of news media is established first. Issues to be examined include the editorial independence of both state owned and privately owned media; access to information and sources; official censorship; and self censorship; the vibrancy of the media and the diversity of the new available; the ability of both foreign and local reporters to cover the news freely and without harassment; and the intimidation of journalists   by the state or other actors, including arbitrary detention and imprisonment, violent assaults, and other threats.

The third and the final category is the economic environment. This category examines the economic environment for the media. It includes the structure of media ownership; transparency and concentration of ownership; the cost of establishing media as well as of production and distribution; selective withholding of advertising or subsidies by state or other actors; impacts of corruption and bribery on content; and the extent to which the economic situation in the a country impacts the development and sustainability of the media.

We will bring you detail reports on each country under the three categories: FREE, PARTLT FREE and NOT FREE.

Monday 18 August 2008, at the Kanifing magistrate court, Fatou Jaw Manneh a Gambian journalist who have being standing trail for the past one year five months was fond guilty on four counts. On count one she was fined D80,000 or one year imprisonment, on count two she was fined D70,000 or one year imprisonment, on count three she was fined D40,000 or one year imprisonment, and on count four she was fined D60,000 or one year imprisonment. The fines totaled to D250,000 Gambian currencies, this is equivalent to $15,000.

In a packed full court the magistrate in delivering his judgment said one thing is obvious,and that is in the manner and circumstances the acts are committed is one of a deliberate act, and above all it was a calculated act by the accuse. He said the accused was never on the grounds and do not know what is on the ground she just picked her pen and decided to write things that comes to her mind.

Magistrate Jawo said he is convinced beyond all doubts that the prosecution has proven their case beyond reasonable doubts , he stressed that beyond reasonable doubt dose not mean beyond all doubts. And he is convinced that the prosecution has done that. He told the court that he has not seen any contradiction by the prosecution witnesses on all the counts. He told the court that the prosecution called three witnesses.

The articles in questionposted on Freedom newspaper web site bearing her names were confirmed to be her own. All of which indicated that President Jammeh debunk our hopes and that he is a thorn in the flesh, he lacks direction, and that Gambians are in dare need of an alternative, She also indicated in her articles that President Jammeh is a bundle of terror. She said that there is a need to speak out. Magistrate Jawo told the court that the articleswere all seditious.

Counsel for the accuse Lamin Jorbateh rose up to plea on behalf of the accused. He said his client has being going to court for one year five months now. He told the magistrate that she is a banker in the USA and is pursuing a degree course which she already lost two academic years all due the on going case. He told the court that the accuse is a young woman with two children who are to maintained by her with a custodian sentence that will not only affect the accused but the kids as well.

He told the court that the accused came here bereaved as she lost her father. The ordeal she has under gone now is enough a punishment. He urged the magistrate to tamper justice with mercy. He said his client is a first time offender.

Here are and on the full charges: She first appeared before the courts on 3 April 2006. On count one she is alleged that she acted with seditious intention contrary to section 52(1) (a) of the Criminal Code.Count two, states that , publication ofseditious words contrary to section 52 (1) (c) of the Criminal Code The third cont states publication of false news with the intendsto cause fear and alarm to the Gambia Public, contrary to section 59 (1) of the Criminal Code.

The particulars of the offence indicated that Fatou Jaw Manneh, between January and March 2007, with seditious intention, granted an interview contained in a publicationdated 23 October 2005, consisting of the following words to which is indicated . BETRAYAL Jammeh is tearing our beloved country into shreds he debunked our hopes and became a thorn into every issue that is related to progress in the Gambia, be it social, political or economical. Worst of all, he is a bundle of terror. There is a need to speak out. If you lookaround the Gambia particularly at the condition people are living in, you will see what I mean, that Gambian are desperatelyin need of an alternative to this egoistic, frosty imam of APRCtive. Jammeh is full of energy but very negative energy and he totally lacks direction, what he needs is to come clear to the Gambian people and say that he has failed us all miserably, that he will be doing every thing to revitalized his promises to the Gambian people, excuse his ten years of office, rather than forcing us to recognize the developments that do not exist..

Tomorrow 22 July 2008, will mark 14 solid years of the leadership of the APRC government under the stewardship of President Yahya Jammeh who came to power through barrel of a gun on July 22 1994.Then in 1996 Jammeh like many of his military colleagues in the sub region and beyond turn into a civilian, contested and won the elections, since then he won two more elections in a country that has no presidential term limit.

 The Gambia as a developing country had scored some developments in certain areas but notwithstanding have some short comings under Jammeh. The Media Agenda’s reporter at large went on a wide raging vox voice to feel people’s feelings on where the coup took us in the last 14 years and whether there was a need to celebrate the day.

Mustapha Kujabi a student said for him it is difficult to make comparisons since he was too young during the first republic. One thing he made clear is that no matter what he cannot condone a military rule. He condemns all coups including the one that brought President Jammeh to power. He however said he thinks there are some developments in terms of schools.  I think yes the day can be celebrated but with little cost owing to the hard living conditions of ordinary Gambians.

A journalist who whish not be named in this article said there is absolutely no cause for celebrations as far as he is concern. I would like to see justice done in the pending cases of my colleagues like Deyda Hydara and the disappeared Chief Ebrima Manneh.One cannot celebrate when ones colleagues are killed and got disappeared with little commitment by the state whose responsibility is to do so as people’s representatives.

Nyambi Drammeh a farmer in the URR village of Perai said yes there is a cause to celebrate as the developments speaks for themselves, unless one is blind to see. Apart from the bad road conditions from Banjul to Koina on the south bank, under the Jammeh regime we have seen much development. The schools, the health centers, the television and rural electrifications speak for themselves.

Fatoumatta Suko told this reporter that she is disappointed by the regime because as a farmer if she cannot find a market for her produce will there be any cause for her to celebrate July 22. NO, she said. I need to feed my family from these produce, to educate my kids and to take care of the welfare of my family as a single parent.

Lamin Ceesay a university student said yes there is much cause for celebrations as if it were not the Jammeh regime I would not have seen the walls of a university, so bravo President Jammeh.

“We need good governance, free press, and progressive democracy” said Kumba Fatajo of Laminkoto village of CRR. Without the above she said there is no cause to celebrate July 22. For her a coup is a crime and should not be glorified.