{"id":44675,"date":"2023-10-11T16:54:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T16:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?p=44675"},"modified":"2023-10-11T16:36:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T16:36:02","slug":"deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion","title":{"rendered":"DEPUTY SPEAKER SAYS BARROW\u2019S COMMENTS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>President Adama Barrow has come under heavy criticism for comments he made while addressing the ruling NPP supporters at a rally marking the opening of the party\u2019s bureau in Jarra Soma. The president said the country\u2019s democracy is getting out of hand.<\/b><\/p>\n

His comments were severely criticised by opposition leaders and activists, who labeled the remarks \u201cunpresidential, dangerous, and reckless\u201d.<\/p>\n

But his party\u2019s deputy spokesperson and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Seedy Njie, said the president\u2019s comments were necessary to address the unwarranted insults against innocent Gambians but he has no intention to return the country to its dark days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe comments were meant to cement his position as the duty bearer of protecting the rights and properties of all Gambians. You don\u2019t expect the president to sit and watch this country descend into anarchy. But I can assure you that his comments were far from attempting to suppress or curtail freedom of expression. He is not even thinking along those lines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said the president will not, under any circumstances, negate his duty to protect the rights and liberty of the people he governs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the president\u2019s position that we can always agree to disagree, but let us engage in a healthy and productive argument that would chart a better future for this country. Insulting people\u2019s parents and questioning how they were born is not democracy. That is not right, and it is not freedom of expression. If you disagree with someone\u2019s opinion and insults his or her parents, you are not democratic. You are not tolerant. You are vilifying, intimidating, and in conflict with natural and traditional laws. It is also against our religious beliefs as Muslims and Christians. Therefore, the president is trying to right the wrongs because it is his responsibility to ensure that everybody is safe and protected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said the president is apt to say he would not tolerate any individuals or groups that are bent on destabilising the country to go unpunished.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you don\u2019t belong to any organisation, institution, or group that is bent on insulting people, you need not to worry,\u201d DS Njie said.<\/p>\n

He said those who make it a habit to insult people\u2019s parents are the most intolerant beings. \u201cBe it their leader or themselves, if you by any chance mistakenly insult them, they will take the law into their hands. So, the president is saying that is not human rights. That is not rule of law. Now he wants to protect everybody, whether you are NPP or not,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said that even in the advanced world, citizens do not insult their leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president is saying every Gambian has the right to his opinion, and any Gambian has the right to criticise the government, but no one will be allowed to insult him or his government officials,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Media<\/b><\/p>\n

Commenting on fears that Mr Barrow is trying to suppress the media, Njie said those analyses are completely false, adding that the president is committed to consolidating the country\u2019s democratic process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the president said is that no medium will be allowed to host a program and allow people to call in and insult others. You cannot host a program only geared towards insulting the president, government officials, or individuals. So, the president is saying that cannot be accepted anymore. Nobody would be allowed to intimidate or destabilise this country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said no genuine activist or democrat would condemn the president\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics should be about ideas and policy. It is about what value you can add to make the country better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Deputy Speaker Njie said he cannot imagine how great The Gambia would be if people stop insulting and hating each other based on politics or personal vendettas.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. President Adama Barrow has come under heavy criticism for comments he made while addressing the ruling NPP supporters at a rally marking the opening of the party\u2019s bureau in Jarra Soma. The president said the country\u2019s democracy is getting out of hand. His comments were severely criticised by opposition leaders and activists, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":44673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,10,2366],"tags":[2355,2361,260],"class_list":["post-44675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-parties","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nDEPUTY SPEAKER SAYS BARROW\u2019S COMMENTS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Adama Barrow has come under heavy criticism for comments he made while addressing the ruling NPP supporters ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DEPUTY SPEAKER SAYS BARROW\u2019S COMMENTS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Adama Barrow has come under heavy criticism for comments he made while addressing the ruling NPP supporters ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-11T16:54:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/10\/sm_1697029254.31395.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"852\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"DEPUTY SPEAKER SAYS BARROW\u2019S COMMENTS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-11T16:54:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion\"},\"wordCount\":668,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/10\/sm_1697029254.31395.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"parties\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/deputy-speaker-says-barrows-comments-blown-out-of-proportion\",\"name\":\"DEPUTY SPEAKER SAYS BARROW\u2019S COMMENTS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION - 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