By Buba Gagigo
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Secretary General and Party Leader of Citizens’ Alliance (CA), has backed President Adama Barrow’s Jarra Soma statement and said laws should be enacted to prosecute people who insult on social media.
“We have a lot of alarmists in the Gambia, they take things where it has not reached. Which dictatorship is coming back to the Gambia? If you know the president, that is not his temperament. He’s not a dictator type. He is a democrat, and the type of democrat he is, is not many in Africa, he is known for democracy, and that’s why we reached this level. That’s why Millennium Challenge Corporation said they are satisfied with our democracy and give Gambia money to strengthen our democracy,” he told Star TV while responding to a question about the president’s statement.
The political science lecturer also said he did what he was supposed to do during his meeting in Jarra Soma.
“What the president did in Soma, that is what he supposed to do. To protect his people and secure them. I have seen a lot of insults in the Gambia, and there was a time before social media, all of us were operating in the physical space. If I just looked at you and insult or slapped you, are you not going to report me to the police station? Now we have moved from physical space to virtual space. People that never know you will insult you on social media. That should be regulated.
“We should bring laws. The way we regulated our physical interactions by using laws, and we should enact laws to regulate our virtual interactions because this will not continue. That’s what the president is taking about that he will not accept people bullying others. And sometimes what happens on social media leads for people to commit suicide, others are traumatized. You cannot sit, and small children will be behind the keyboard insulting you and your parents, and when you meet them in the streets, they will fear even to greet you. That rudeness should stop in this country,” he said.
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay is the Secretary General and Party Leader of Citizens’ Alliance (CA).