By Abdoulie John
The United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, on Tuesday urged Gambians to stay vigilant at a time when a new wave of tribalism continues to rise in different parts of the world.
“Never allow tribalism to show its ugly face in Gambian politics,” he said in a keynote address delivered at the Gambia Conference on Reforms and Democracy being held at African Princess Hotel in Kotu, some 9 km away from Banjul.
Organised by the Gambian chapter of Rigth2Know-Africa and its partners, the three-day (June 10-12) conference comes at a time the West African nation is emerging from the shadows of a two-decade long dictatorship, which has left an indelible ink on almost everything Gambian. The meeting brought together leading voices of the Diaspora who were instrumental in bringing to an end the ‘rule of fear’ that plagued the country.
In wake of the new political dispensation, the UN top official asked Gambians to put the supreme interest of the nation first.
Over these past months, the Gambia’s new government has launched major institutional and constitutional reforms geared towards promoting the respect for the rule of law, human rights and accountable governance systems. However, some missteps have prompted many civil society groups to sound the alarm bell calling on the government to be on the right track in order to deliver on its promises.
Adama Dieng, who was formerly the Registrar of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, further emphasized the need to reflect on preventive measures that can deter people to fall into the trap of tribal politics.
Dieng seized the opportunity to call on the government and civil society organisations to renew their commitment to work for a better Gambia for all
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