{"id":95274,"date":"2026-03-21T10:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T10:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/gambian-minister-challenges-former-ministers-criticism"},"modified":"2026-03-21T11:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:37:15","slug":"gambian-minister-challenges-former-ministers-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-minister-challenges-former-ministers-criticism","title":{"rendered":"Gambian Minister Challenges Former Minister&#8217;S Criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong> <\/span><b>The Gambia\u2019s Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, on Tuesday questioned the legitimacy of veteran journalist and former Information Minister Demba Ali Jawo to criticize government policy, calling him \u201cconflicted\u201d in his assessments.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Ceesay made the remarks in an interview with West Coast Radio while responding to Mr. Jawo\u2019s comments on President Adama Barrow\u2019s recent statements concerning the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDA is not the person who can now criticize in a legitimate manner what the government does because he\u2019s conflicted,\u201d Dr. Ceesay said.<\/p>\n<p>The minister defended President Barrow\u2019s diplomatic approach, emphasizing the need for measured language amid international crises. As chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he said, the president must maintain neutrality while pursuing behind-the-scenes efforts to mediate tensions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is a leader, a statesman who will have to be measured in his statements when there is a conflict; you do not just make a statement because you add oxygen to fire,\u201d Dr. Ceesay said. \u201cThe president is working behind the scenes 24 hours a day to put an end to his conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Ceesay said President Barrow has been actively working behind the scenes to mediate the international crisis. \u201cHe understands what he is doing, he knows what he is saying, and he has his advisors who know exactly the right words to say,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing concerns that the president\u2019s statement might appear biased, the minister defended it as measured and balanced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe statement was very fair, very balanced, and it spoke to the crisis and the situation as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The minister also criticized Demba Ali Jawo for his efforts to form an association opposing the president. He argued that Mr. Jawo\u2019s activism undermines his ability to provide neutral commentary on government affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDA is conflicted because DA is trying to form an association to go against the president; that person cannot be a neutral voice that can criticize the government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has a motive, he has an agenda, and his agenda is not in the national interest because he has clearly shown that he is conflicted, that he wants to form an association that is going to remove the president, so it clearly means that he is against this government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that Mr. Jawo\u2019s activist background limits his understanding of diplomacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn activist who doesn\u2019t understand the nuances of diplomacy critiques a diplomat who is doing his job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Gambia<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. The Gambia\u2019s Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, on Tuesday questioned the legitimacy of veteran journalist and former Information Minister Demba Ali Jawo to criticize government policy, calling him \u201cconflicted\u201d in his assessments. Dr. Ceesay made the remarks in an interview with West Coast Radio while responding to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":95273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-95274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gambian Minister Challenges Former Minister&#039;S Criticism - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Gambia. 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