Good luck. It was nice to have you onboard. The Freedom Newspaper never hired you as an Editor, as a point of clarification. The term associate editor is an honorary title given to young promising writers like you. Associate Editors never edit our stories, as you can attest to this fact. Throughout, your association with Freedom, you never edited a single piece. You reserve the right to leave anytime you deem it necessary.We can vividly remember when you emailed the Freedom Newspaper about a year ago, requesting to be filing sport stores for us. You also asked our Managing Editor to help you with a supporting letter for your supposedly intended asylum application here in the US. Editor M'Bai respectfully declined your request since you never worked for his paper. M'Bai also told you that he cannot write such letters without the approval of the paper's editorial board. He finally declined your request for good reasons. He advised you to liaise with other sources in the Gambia to realize your dream. We are stating these facts for the records because we do not want anyone to black mail us. The Freedom Newspaper has never deviated from its editorial policy. Our editorial policy remains in tack and nothing can shake us. You either subscribe to it or don't associate yourself with us. People come and go, but the Freedom Newspaper remains.
Coming back to your asylum case, we are compelled to cite it as a reference to defuse any form of black mail coming from any quarters. Off late people are claiming to be full time editors of Freedom, when they are not. There are material evidence available regarding your letter soliciting for support. We are aware of the fact that some people join this paper for their own selfish interest, but the Editorial board of this leading paper would always shatter the hopes of such individuals, because no one can use us for his personal gains.
We are not implying that you joined the Freedom Newspaper for such reasons, but the truth be told there is a double standards in your so called letter of resignation. Don't hide in the name of associate editor to smear our hard earned image. An editor is expected to have editorial right, which was never given to you in the first place. Your never determines what goes into this paper, no are you privy of its daily content. You are also not in the position to identify our Banjul Correspondents. An editor should should be in the position to know staffers of Freedom, but in your case there is nothing like that. As far as we are concerned, you a regular opinion writer, just like any other private contributor.
Admitted, we made the mistake by creating such a conflict of interest by honouring you with associate Editor title without clearly defining your role. Your case reminds us about dictator Yahya Jammeh, who was honoured as a Doctor, when in actual fact, he is not a doctor by profession. We regret any discomfort this might have caused to you, but the time has come for us to set the records straight. This paper is not disowning you in anyway, but we are morally required to tell Gambians and friends of the Gambia about who is who at Freedom. Please accept our observations in good faith.
On behalf of the Freedom Newspaper Management, I wish you good luck in your future endeavors. Have a great day......
Signed........
Pa Nderry M'Bai
Publisher/Managing Editor
Freedom Newspaper
Raleigh, NC.
Tel.919-872-50-28
From: muhammed jawara
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 8:27 PM
To: editor@freedomnewspaper.com
Subject: Muhammed Jawara----Urgent
Resignation
Dear Brother,
It is with deep regret that i want to tender my resignation from the editorial team of the Freedom Newspaper. All through the time i have been writing, i have learned immensely about events in the Gambia and to an extent, Africa as a whole. I must also acknowledge my utmost respect for you, for listeing to me on issues that we have seen differently. A prime example is when we had a lengthy discussion about whether to publish the name of the police officer who was deported from Eqypt as an HIV positive patient. I was impressed by your willingness to listen to my perspective on that issue and many others that i cannot mention.
That said, my observations of the stories Freedom Newspaper carries on daily basis have made me conclude that the direction the paper is taking is not what i thought it would when i agreed to be part of the team. Therefore, remaining part of the team would only make me torture my conscience, which i strongly beleive is unnecessary under the circumstances.
Henceforth, i would still contribute when the need arise as a contributor and not as an Associate Editor.
I wish you and the rest of the management team the best of luck in your endeavors, and hope that we all work to make The Gambia the place we can call home.
While i anticipate your timely response, i remain.
Muhammed Jawara
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