Gambia for Five Years want 300,000 protesters to take to the streets January 12

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By SULAYMAN WAAN

Ebrima Sorrie Bah, secretary general of Gambia for Five Years and Peace Building (GFYPB) has said that his movement is targeting about 300,000 (three hundred thousand) people to demonstrate on January 12, 2020 for President Adama Barrow to complete his five years constitutional mandate.

He said his movement has been issued a police permit to protest on January 4, adding that his team is going to maintain the same permit but transaction is underway with the police to change the date and venue of the protest.

Mr. Bah made these remarks in an exclusive interview with The Monitor recently in Serekunda.

He added that it depends whether the movement will be able to bring the targeted number or whether they will fit at the protest ground.

On December 16, the Three Years Jotna movement accompanied by thousands of Gambian took to the streets and demanded President Barrow’s resignation to honour the agreement of coalition 2016 that brought him and ended former president Yahya Jammeh’s 22 years dictatorship.

The group handed a petition to the president Barrow through the government spokesperson, Ebrima Sankareh.

GFYPB another movement that many regarded as a counter group to the Three Years Jotna also threatened to protest for President Barrow to complete his constitutional five-year mandate.

Mr. Bah, who believed to be a defender of te constitutional said his group is expecting hundreds of thousands protesters across the country to participate on what he called a massive solidarity protest demanding President Barrow to stay in office until 2021.

“We are going to petition the president to serve for a term of five years,” he said.

He added: “We are on track to make sure that the Gambian people come out in their large numbers willingly to show solidarity to the five years constitutionally sanctioned presidential mandate.”

However, he denied claims that President Barrow is backing the GFYPB movement, saying at this juncture his group is financially challenged which he said would have not happened if it is backed by the president.

“If you refer back to the way GFYPB was formed. You would realise that if the president had a hand in the movement, it would have been manifested because we are struggling financially to exist,” he noted.

“We are barely depending on donations and contributions to be able to finance our activities.”

According to him, we have goodwill ambassadors both at home in the diaspora who have contributed immensely in our programmes,

He further stated that his movement will be responsible for providing transportation, accommodation, feeding and communication for the people who are going to travel from different regions of the country to partake in the protest.

The head of GFYPB said he is not defending the constitution to gain any political reward from politicians but said he barely want to serve the interest of the country.

He maintained that his movement was neither established to counter the Three Years Jotna nor to serve as a rival but.

He added that it came to defend the constitution to ensure peace in the country after realizing threat of the Three Years Jotna.

He called on all and sundry to abide by the law and allow President Barrow continue in power until 2021.

“If anyone have grievance against President Barrow you can settle it at the poll during elections,” Bah concluded.