QUESTION OF THE DAY
Rule of law is different from the rule of might. Any alleged patrol of border areas by forces that are not part of the Gambia Armed Forces or ECOMIG is a matter that the President should subject to both security and military intelligence to confirm the facts and then take measures to protect the land and people of the country.
The Gambia has very porous borders and movement of goods and people take place away from official view. Some parts at the border are ill defined. One would not know which foot is in Gambia and which is in Senegal.
Good neighborliness requires joint patrol of borders to prevent unilateral action that may threaten life and property of sovereign citizens. Each Government is a protector of the sovereignty of its homeland and the life and property of its citizens. Hence preventive security measures should be taken in border areas in the form of joint patrol to prevent incursions which may be attributed as taking the law into one’s hands. The more Senegalese and Gambian forces are trained to see both peoples as their family members, the more protected our people would be and the greater the peace and harmony between the two countries. Hence both countries should identify their problem areas at the border and agree to establish joint patrols to handle those places identified as trouble spots to avoid unexpected encroachments and their attendant tensions. That is the way forward.
