Africa-Press – Gambia. The Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) leader Mai Fatty has expressed strong disagreement with the anti-Pura protesters, most of whom are remanded in prison awaiting trial for holding procession without permit.
In a statement shared with The Standard, Fatty said the sacred right to protest stands as democracy’s beating heart, yet it must pulse within the arterial boundaries of law and order.
“For when citizens raise their voices in righteous dissent, the guardians of peace, law and order bear an equally sacred duty to ensure that expression does not metastasise into chaos, and that legitimate grievance does not birth illegitimate violence.”
He added that democracy, when misunderstood as licence to do whatever “you want, rather than accountable citizenship becomes not civilisation’s crowning achievement, but its gravest peril, such as a mob masquerading as a movement, anarchy draped in the false robes of righteousness”.
“The majesty of law knows no favourites, bends to no faction, yields to no crowd; it must fall like rain upon the just and unjust alike, for in that impartial cascade lies our only salvation from tyranny or social anarchy.”
Fatty said justice wears a blindfold not from ignorance but from wisdom, and those sworn to uphold her decrees must do so with unwavering resolve, whether the transgressor wears a crown or carries a banner, whether they are youth or aged.
“Why?. Simply because the rule of law is democracy’s steel spine, and without it, all our freedoms collapse into the dust of history’s broken promises.
“We should all let the courts dispense justice according to law and nothing else. We must all ensure that our laws are enforced fairly and impartially regardless of whose ox is gorged.”
In a democracy, he added, “We must look at both sides of the coin and not be magnetised by subjective emotion and unguided sentiment. Every citizen has rights but in the exercise of those rights, every citizen should equally be bold and brave to bear the legal consequences of his/her actions. That is the dictate of the democracy we all claim we must practice”.
“I have always believed that laws must be respected by all without distinction; that in order not to be consumed by the law, one must, as a democratic necessity, obey the law. We always talk about rights but ignore that without laws there would be no rights or freedoms. It is now time we all focus on the imperative to respect our laws, so as to preserve our rights and freedoms. If we do not obey our laws, we risk losing both. Laws should be obeyed by all, without exception.”
He added: “No one has the right to choose which laws to respect and those to violate. If you believe particular laws are unjust, use the courts or lobby your Parliamentarian to effect law reform. Change is a process, not deliberate rupture. Democracy is not anarchy and even those you disagree with also have rights you must respect within that same democratic system.
“One may protest but your protest may be opposed by thousands of citizens who may support the Government with different perspectives. That doesn’t make you a better citizen than them. The right to protest is constitutional and the right to also denounce your protest is equally constitutional. Both must exist and must be openly expressed because they are legally of equal force. In this country, we are intolerant of divergent views and that negative perception has to end.
“Your protest does not mean others have no right to denounce it. One person’s hero may be another’s villain. Democracy evolves but in this country, we practice one-sided democracy and that has to end. Democracy should work for all. Its contours are delineated by discipline, objectivity and maturity. That is the practice of democracy,” the GMC leader said.
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