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| Untying the hostages/prisoners (photo credit: Saikou Jammeh) |
“Gambia Secures Release of Eight Senegalese Soldiers From MFDC,” the headline of the Daily Observer, a
leading pro-government newspaper said on December 10, 2012.
The headline,
similar to that of The Point, a
privately-owned leading newspaper was referring to the release of eight
Senegalese prisoners’ who were held by separatist rebels, the Movement for the
Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC).
The Point had its facts quoted from the national
broadcaster, the Gambia Radio and Television
Services (GRTS) which erroneously reported on the ceremony, held on Dec. 9 in
Casamance - 200kilometers from the Gambian border-village of Tamba Kunda.
The fact is that
the release of the prisoners (7 soldiers and a fire-fighter) was born-out of talks between the Senegalese
Government and the rebels held in Rome, Italy. The Gambia Government was only
there to facilitate the release of the hostages and did not secure their
release, a local journalist who witnessed the ceremony told The North Bank Evening Standard.
“The rebels
had decided not to have any contact with the Senegalese Government on this
occasion, hence, the Gambia Government was invited to facilitate the release of
the hostages and hand them over to the Senegalese. So the two newspapers and
the TV’s reportage of the event are inaccurate,” the journalist added.
The Daily
Observer and GRTS (the TV) further reported that Gambia’s Minister for
Presidential Affairs Dr. Njogu Bah (recently appointed Information Minister)
read MFDC rebel leader Salif Sadio’s statement on his behalf.
But according
to another journalist who was present, Dr. Bah only translated into English Sadio’s
statement when he spoke in French. Sadio also spoke in Wolof, a popular local
commercial language widely spoken in the Senegambia region.
He added: “I
think this whole issue is a violation of the principles of ethical journalism
especially accurate reportage.”
“I think if any credit is due specifically as to who
secured the release of the hostages; it should go to the Catholic Church's Sant'Egidio
community, the mediator in the Casamance conflict.”
Earlier, the Sant'Egidio community said in a statement
that the release of the eight prisoners is the first positive result from
renewed peace talks seeking to end a 30-year-old, low-intensity conflict in the
Casamance region.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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