A Happy Secondary Anniversary to

The Gambia Echo

Dear Editor:

I wish to join your numerous readers and well-wishers in wishing The Echo and its dedicated editorial staff a happy second anniversary and more grease to your elbows.

Veteran Gambian journalist Demba Ali Jawo narrowly escaped assassination by Gambia's current Interior Minister Ousman Sonko.

Indeed, the existence of The Echo and the other online newspapers has made quite a significant contribution to the Gambian media landscape. With the media climate in The Gambia not being quite conducive for the dissemination of divergent views, The Gambia Echo and the other online publications have become quite an effective forum for the expression of divergent views and opinions for Gambians and non-Gambians, both at home and in the Diaspora.

While the Gambia Radio & Television Services at home can continue to spend more than 50% of its airtime showing people offering free labour at President Jammeh’s farms as well as so-called cultural activities at Kanilai instead of covering important national issues, thanks to online publications like The Echo, Gambians can still read and debate serious national issues.

Therefore, the proliferation of online publications has clearly shown that in this electronic age, no matter how hard any government may try, it is not possible to continue to manipulate and control the type of information its citizens consume.  The more there is an attempt by the government to control and regulate the media at home, the more The Echo and the others will continue to grow and prosper as the alternative voice of the people. And the sooner the government realizes that the people will always have an alternative forum for news and information, the better for everyone.

D. A. Jawo,