Retired Lt Colonel Samsudeen Sarr, a former army commander has responded with disappointment to the Gambia Armed Forces, GAF, which on Tuesday accused him and politician Essa Mbye Faal of making ‘misleading’ comments about the army.
In statement issued Tuesday night, the army said it has noted with serious concern a growing trend of unfounded and irresponsible commentary in the media and public discourse regarding its operations, conduct and role, particularly from Mr Samsudeen Sarr, a former commander and Mr Essa Mbaye Faal, a political figure. The army said it deems these utterances as not only misleading but also potentially incendiary.
It accused Sarr of raising issues around the presence of GAF’s infantry soldiers at strategic security installations such as the Denton Bridge in Banjul, framed in a manner that seeks to misrepresent the professionalism, role, and apolitical nature of the armed forces.
“Similarly, Essa Mbaye Faal recently alleged in an interview that the GAF is being neglected by the government of The Gambia, claims made without context or evidence, and therefore serving only to politicise the armed forces and/or drag it into a political discourse with leaders of political parties and their followers,” GAF lamented.
It said such postures would unjustly erode public confidence in an institution that has made significant strides to transform itself in line with the Security Sector Reform agenda of the government.
“Therefore, GAF strongly condemns these utterances, which it considers unethical, unpatriotic, and unbecoming of any responsible citizen, particularly from a former senior military officer and a public figure.” the army said.
In response Sam Sarr said no amount of uniformed posturing will prevent concerned Gambians from asking why our own soldiers are benched while foreigners patrol our presidential grounds. “Nor will it stop us from wondering why a bridge into the capital feels more like a checkpoint in a war zone. If questioning this status quo is “unethical,” then perhaps we should redefine ethics altogether,” the former army commander said.
He said GAF’s press release would have been more useful had it simply admitted: “We have no good answers at this time.”
“That would have been refreshingly honest, even admirable. Instead, what we got was a master class in how not to respond to criticism-defensive, dismissive and dripping with contradictions.” Sarr said.
He said if anything, GAF’s response has validated the very concerns it sought to dismiss. “For in its panicked prose, we saw not professionalism, but petulance or bad temper; not reform, but regression”, Sarr concluded.
