BANJUL, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The President of the Republic of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, on Sunday urged citizens to embrace diversity and tolerance for peaceful coexistence.
"We can only continue to enjoy a peaceful atmosphere if we embrace our diversity, and as citizens selflessly contribute to making The Gambia the best it can be," Barrow told hundreds of Gambians in Banjul marking the 53rd anniversary of the country's independence.
"We will always have our differences but we must learn to respect those differences," he said.
Gambians must remember that despite political, ethnic, economic, gender differences, the commonness is that each is a Gambian.
"We have won the war against dictatorship, which is the easy part. Maintaining the peace for our democracy to thrive will be our utmost challenge," Barrow said.
"This will require patience, tolerance, and even mistakes will be made, but we will correct them as we work towards perfecting the new Gambia," he said.
