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Alert

Government authorities order newspaper management to discontinue a popular column

(MFWA/IFEX) - On 13 October 2005 the Gambian authorities ordered the management of the independent newspaper "The Point" to discontinue the popular "Good Morning Mr. President" column because it was considered offensive to President Yahaya Jammeh's government.

Following the directive, the column disappeared from subsequent editions of the newspaper.

The management of the newspaper, which communicated with Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)'s Gambia source on 15 December, said that the authorities threatened to close down the newspaper if it failed to remove the column.

The source said the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Daba Marrena, told Pap Saine, managing editor of "The Point", at a meeting in Banjul that President Jammeh and other government officials were not happy with the column.

The source transmitted Saine's own testimony that, in a telephone conversation, Fatoumatta J.Ceesay, Member of Parliament for the ruling Patriotic Alliance for Restoration and Construction party, had urged Saine to discontinue the column.

The "Good Morning Mr. President" column examines topical issues concerning governance and presidential matters. It was started by the slain managing editor of "The Point", Deyda Hydara (see IFEX alerts of 19 December, 9 June, 19 May, 22 March, 25 and 22 February and 6 January 2005 and 17 December 2004).