Gambia: Hundreds disappeared, killed and tortured- New report

(AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL) Gambia must act to improve the deteriorating human rights situation across the country, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. “Climate of Fear Continues: Enforced disappearances, killings and torture in Gambia”, details how cases of enforced disappearances are yet to be resolved after several years, those involved in unlawful killings have not been identified and bought to justice, and torture is still widely used by the security forces. Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty International’s deputy Africa director said: “President Jammeh marks July 22 each year as ‘Freedom Day’ and yet Gambia is ruled with an iron fist by a government that ruthlessly quashes all forms of dissent. “Instead of celebrating ‘Freedom Day’, the Gambian authorities must act to end human rights abuses and the culture of fear. “Gambia’s government must immediately end incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, and investigate cases of extrajudicial executions. “Any person believed to have engaged in these illegal activities must face justice in fair trials.” On Tuesday three journalists and opposition party members living overseas, including former President of the Gambia Press Union Ndey Tapha Sosseh, were charged in absentia with treason in connection with the distribution of t-shirts bearing the logo ‘End to Dictatorship in the Gambia’. Four others were previously arrested in June and remain in custody in Gambia where treason carries the death penalty. Tawanda Hondora said: “These are prisoners of conscience who must be released immediately. President Jammeh must stop these acts of persecution.” Most victims of enforced disappearances in Gambia are journalists, opposition party members or security force personnel. Investigations by the authorities rarely take place and perpetrators are not brought to justice. Extrajudicial executions have been routinely carried out in Gambia especially against members of the security forces who oppose the government. Amnesty International has also documented cases in which students, journalists and foreign nationals have been killed by security personnel. One human rights defender in Gambia told Amnesty International: “They [unlawful killings] are seen as quickly getting rid of coup plotters and other perceived enemies, especially people whom the President feels have turned against him.”  Torture is also regularly used in Gambia to force confessions and to punish detainees. Significant evidence has emerged in trials in recent years suggesting that people were tortured to extract confessions, raising concerns about the admissibility of the evidence. Amnesty International activists in the UK are campaigning for Ebrima Maneh, who has not been seen since he was arrested five years ago by plainclothes police in Gambia. Amnesty is asking people to go to www.amnesty.org.uk and write to the Gambian authorities demanding that they reveal Ebrima’s whereabouts.

The Gambia: Selective amnesia or intellectual quandary

By Mathew K Jallow

His decision to challenge the status quo was a courageous act of political defiance; if not a daring assault on sixteen years of state impunity and uncaring nonchalance. Still, Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh was under no illusion about the fortified wall of resistance that loomed menacingly ahead of his aspirations for our country. But the paradigm shifts evolving from Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East have provided Gambians with a blueprint, an impetus and the moral obligation to take back control of our country from a regime that continues to abuse and manifest its deadly contempt for our people.

After a long hiatus from reality, Gambians can no longer continue the unsustainable paradox of luxuriating in political amnesia, as the country continues its degeneration into a morass of economic blight and social disintegration. While a hopeless sense of collective apathy and defeatism have permeated every aspect of our lives and made it difficult to extricate our country from the overpowering political quandary that has devalued our self-esteem and bankrupted our sense of moral rectitude, much of the blame for our subjectivity rests on our collective puerile naivety and callous indifference towards our country and to each other.

With The Gambia held captive in a vortex of social, economic and political degeneration, the pathway to our political liberty rests on a determination that values our and our posterity’s humanity and self worth. Still, as the banality of our paralyzing fear of Yahya Jammeh’s absolute power continues to hamper our ability to rationalize our national interests, our degeneration into lawlessness and anarchy is increasingly exemplified by an emerging national psyche that is devoid of empathy. Our duty to ourselves, our children and future generations must remain the cornerstone that inspires and motivates us to stand our ground against the ruthless machinations of a regime that is both arrogantly numbed to reason and calculatingly self-contradictory in its use and exercise of state power and authority. But the predilection to take Yahya Jammeh’s gross abuses lying down, has predictably worsened our chances of freeing ourselves from political bondage, prompting Professor Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh to deliver lectures that radiated the need and ideality of freedom and liberty for our downtrodden people. But increasingly too, the international community is focusing attention on Yahya Jammeh’s cruel dictatorship, and needless to say, sooner or later, his sadistic disregard for human life and morbid obsession with absolute power, will be his own undoing. But nothing in recent memory has perplexed Gambians and the international community as the arrest and detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, whose brush with the regime showcases Yahya Jammeh’s regime’s lethargy to freedom of speech, and more so still, its freefall into a pariah nation.

But Dr. Janneh’s arrest and continued detention have exposed, most notoriously in the blogosphere, a new dimension of the cruel underbelly of the Gambian society, where the abominable contortion of facts over the past three weeks is disgustingly surreal and sickeningly mischievous. The Ad hominem attacks on Dr. Janneh for his service under Yahya Jammeh’s regime, so pitifully devoid of sober judgment, says more about the superficial sanctimoniousness and provincial mentality of his nemesis than of Dr. Janneh. The viciousness and ham-handed approach with which Dr. Janneh’s arrest and detention were received by a scornfully misguided few, will never stain the integrity of an honorable man who decided to stand tall, so we all may follow his example out of the dungeon of political servitude; if anything, it will backfire miserably on those whose dark motives and off the wall comments are typically spawned by mean-spiritedness and lack of objective rationality. For a man who dared to do what most of us can only think, Dr. Janneh sits in prison, the victim of the dithering stupidity of a paranoid regime easily agitated into unnecessary acts of revenge and vengeance against perceived threats to its existence. Any malicious efforts to aggregate the pain of Dr. Janneh’s unnecessary incarceration by a regime that has proven time and again, that it lacks the legitimacy and the credibility under the eyes of the plurality of Gambians, will fail hands-down. The parochial mentality exhibited by a handful of Gambians in Dr. Janneh’s arrest and detention, even while the vast majority of Gambians and the international community are rallying behind the only man who had the fortitude and the guts to represent what every Gambian only dared think, is under-whelming to say the least.

And, equally important, Yahya Jammeh’s political subterfuge designed to mask the reality of his less than noble intentions, has become an all too familiar fact of life in The Gambia. But as Dr. Janneh and his codefendant’s sagas, which are the latest in the never-ending stream of arrests and detentions of innocent Gambians shows, Yahya Jammeh will stop at nothing in his attempts to silence voices that have worldviews contrary to his. And Dr. Janneh, by dint of his outspokenness about the restoration of democracy in a country wallowing in political misery, has become only the latest victim of a regime that is maddeningly intolerant to even the most innocuous political dissent. This is the daunting issue facing Gambians; an issue so critical to our freedom and liberty, and so challenging to our sensibilities, as to wake us up from the selective amnesia and intellectual quandary that has corrupted our rationality. Together, we must rally around the common interest of our people, rather than be drawn into the dangerous depths of our narrow, self-serving prejudices. 

For like it or not, Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh has become the first real symbol of resistance to the dictatorship in our country; the Lui Xiaobo of The Gambia, if you will. The non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in The Gambia has the undivided attention of the international community and Gambians should never rest until the murders, disappearances, tortures, intimidations and mind-numbing plunder of our wealth and national resources ends, and The Gambia can once again join the community of free, democratic nations of the world. Gambians must commit to nothing less than a country that is free of tyranny; a country where the values of caring, sharing and empathy, which we hold so dear to our hearts, are once again  restored in our lives.

Gambia : Jammeh’s Shortsighted Vision 2020

Original article by Sarjo Bayang
All inspiring leaders know how to create stirring dreams in the minds of their people. They know how to write speeches (or at least deliver them) and put together mission statements which, if made into reality, would revolutionise the lives of those whom they serve. Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia has a curious ability to do just that. The problem is, Dictator Jammeh seems to have forgotten to deliver on his promises and goals.
Here’s his own special brand of nonsense, quoted from the State House website:
Mission Statement and overall orientation of Vision 2020 reads:
“To transform The Gambia into a financial centre, a tourist paradise, a trading, export-oriented agricultural and manufacturing nation, thriving on free market policies and a vibrant private sector, sustained by a well-educated, trained, skilled, healthy, self-reliant and enterprising population and guaranteeing a well-balanced eco- system and a decent standard of living for one and all under a system of government based on the consent of the citizenry.”
And here’s a brief look at what’s happening in reality:
Vision 2020 has absolutely no development plan to back it up. There are simply no measures put in place to implement these grand ideas.
Financial centre? The Gambia has, according to less in the state’s coffers than belongs to Yahya Jammeh himself. He is allowed complete freedom to claim development tenders and state financing. He owns many large business interests, and there is absolutely no good governance in place to hold him accountable for his wealth or business interests. Neither the Ministry of Trade nor the Ministry of Finance has any measures in place for accountability or the delivery of an improved economy- an economy which has been in steady decline.
Gambia is in decline- but Yahya Jammeh’s personal fortunes are increasing daily. His favourite publicity stunt is to “donate” resources back to the country he stole them from.
Tourist paradise? The World Tourism Council has released a report which is fairly damning: The Gambia is in the midst of a tourism decline. The industry, instead of becoming a mainstay for the country, is on the verge of collapse, and, with a depressed international market, is unlike to recover. Especially with absolutely no plans in place by Jammeh’s government to rescue this once key facet of the economy.
Trading? An Export-oriented economy? There has been no candidate remaining in the Department of Trade Industry, and Employment now renamed Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development long enough to improve trade in any measurable way. Government interference has seen the cotton industry collapse, and Jammeh’s own personal farming interests have pretty much ruined agriculture- he’s still obsessed with stealing lands from Gambians in order to create “State farms”- farms worked on by his own soldiers and police force (for no pay), and farms from which he derives any profits. Even his mother runs farms. Essentially, his farms in every province represent Gambian agriculture- but that’s no national improvement.
Manufacturing nation? A short-lived development project at Kanifing Industrial Estate was, for the most part, a flop. So many people used their development grants to build residential units that fears of industrial pollution prevented any major industries from being established. Gambia imports pretty much everything, right down to basic commodities.
Free Market Policies and a vibrant private sector? Again, there are very few businesses which can cope with unfair competition in the country, and Jammeh’s personal interest in competing with almost every kind of business in the country has also left both sectors useless. Notably, however, the banking sector has grown- implying that there is plenty of money changing hands- just not through legal or formal business channels.
Well-educated, trained, skilled and enterprising population? Jammeh’s own children are educated by American tutors in a private classroom, and claims to be building schools- yet systematically targets intellectuals for arrest and torture.
Guaranteeing a well-balanced ecosystem? Gambia has extensively rich ecosystems, and, under previous regimes, there were measures in place to protect these. Jammeh is selling off land to Asian investors, and developing on land previously protected.
Decent standard of living for one and all? Poverty and hunger are rife in the Gambia. The entire country relies on the “generosity” of Jammeh for basics such as food.
Healthy nation? Jammeh claimed he could cure AIDS and other ailments. Despite his claims, there has been no medical proof, and civilians are left to hide their unhappiness at his failure to cure their relatives. There is no medical fraternity in the Gambia rejecting his claims. Jammeh himself uses foreign doctors for his family.
System of government based on the consent of the citizenry? There will be elections in November 2011- elections Jammeh expects to win. Of course, political opposition has been criminalized, so there is no viable opposition party. He insists that he must lead “for forty years”.
So it’s pretty obvious that according to his own standards, Dictator Jammeh has failed miserably to live up to his own vision. Of course, he has nine years left to do something about it, but by then he’ll have invented something else to parade as the next best thing.

Courtesy: africandictator.org

Gambia: Petition for the Release of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh and Others

Petition for the Release of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh and Others

Ndey Tapha Sosseh; Coalition for Change Gambia - CCG (Gambia)
Mathew K. Jallow; National Movement for Restoration of Democracy Gambia (US)
Abdoulie Jobe; Coalition for Human Rights The Gambia (UK)
Banka Manneh; Save The Gambia Democracy Project – STGDP (US)
Alieu Badara Ceesay; Campaign for Human Rights The Gambia (CHRG) – Scotland
Yaya Dampha; Human Rights for All ( Sweden
Bubacarr Baldeh; United Gambia for Democracy and Freedom (Senegal)


The Executive committee of the Coalition for Change-Gambia, in collaboration with the Gambian civil society organizations around the world, call on all Gambians, friends of The Gambia and Human Rights groups around the world to join us in condemning the unlawful arrest and continued detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh and others.
Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh and others, whose identities are still unclear, were arrested Tuesday June 7, Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 June 2011.
We the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations, hereby call on the Government of The Gambia to comply with the demand to:

• Immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Janneh and everyone associated with his arrest, or charge them as the 72 hours provision as stipulated in The Gambian Constitution has expired
• Grant Dr. Janneh and others linked to his arrest immediate access to legal counsel;
• Treat Dr Janneh and others arrested alongside him humanely, with dignity and not subject them to torture or any other form of physical trauma;
• Allow the family members of Dr Janneh and others arrested with him unfettered access to them;
• Jealously follow and respect the spirit of the laws and the Constitution of The Gambia in the treatment of the detainees;
• Transparently, judiciously and speedily resolve this unlawful arrest and detention against innocent citizens

We further call on all Gambians, friends of The Gambia, the international community, and International and Regional Human Rights organizations to support calls for the unconditional release of Dr. Amadou Janneh and all those arrested with him by signing this petition. We highly appreciate your fraternal cooperation in this most egregious case of state over-handedness.
Signed:
You can view and sign this petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/731/224/590/

The Gambia ALERT: Former minister missing after being arrested by plain-clothes security agents

June 10, 2011

Dr. Amadou Scattered Janneh, who recently criticized the disappearance of people and attacks on the media, was on June 7, 2011 arrested by plain-clothes security agents at his office in Serrekunda, The Gambia's largest town.

More than 72 hours after his arrest, the whereabouts of Janneh, a former Minister of Information, Communication and Information Technology, are still not known. No reasons have been assigned for his arrest and subsequent detention. 

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s sources reported that Janneh was picked up at about 10 hours GMT by plain clothes security agents who, without explanation, sealed off his offices, dismissed his staff members and drove him away in the direction of Banjul, the capital. 

Janneh, an ICT professional, was dismissed from the regime of President Yahya Jammeh as Minister on July 6, 2005 after serving as a Minister from April 4, 2004. He then set up a communication and information technology enterprise, Commit Company Limited, of which he is the Chief Executive Officer.  

The sources said Dr. Janneh has recently been giving lectures on a wide range of issues in the Gambia. He was a guest at the World Press Freedom Day event in Banjul on May 3.  On May 25, he addressed a public forum at the University of The Gambia to mark the celebration of African Liberation Day. On this occasion, the outspoken former Minister condemned the frequent disappearance of people and the hacking or blocking of websites of online Gambian newspapers.

In another development, the case of Dodou Sanneh, a former reporter of The Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) who is being tried for allegedly giving “false information” to a public officer, has been adjourned to June 13 by the Banjul Magistrate’s Court. According to the court, the adjournment will enable it to write to colleagues of Sanneh atGRTS who have been identified by the police as prosecution witnesses. The sources said Sainey Joof, the prosecutor, had told the court that the witnesses were unwilling to testify against Sanneh. 

For more information Please contact:

Kwame Karikari (Prof)

Executive Director

MFWA

Accra

Tel: 233-30-22 4 24 70

Fax: 233-302-22 10 84

Email: mfwa@africaonline.com.gh, alerts@mediafound.org

Website: www.mediafound.org

Gambians Condemn the Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh (#Gambia)

Press Release :The Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh

We the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations learnt of the arrest and detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, which occurred on the morning of Tuesday June 7 2011, with consternation and regret.

We were also reliably informed that in the process his unlawful arrest, his home was ransacked by agents of the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA). We members of the Gambian civil society fraternity condemn in the strongest terms, this dastardly abuse of the civil rights and denial of our fellow citizens the inalienable right to free association and assembly for purposes of legitimately opposing and petitioning the regime as enshrined in our Constitution.

Dr. Janneh, a high profile member of the civil society community in The Gambia, has a history of opposition to the regime of Yahya Jammeh, where he briefly worked as member of cabinet. Dr. Janneh's political inclinations are not the issue at this point, but his rights to express his views and his right to freely associate in furtherance of this aspiration for our country are.

Consequently, the Executive committee members of the Coalition for Change Gambia, in collaboration with the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations, call on all Gambians, friends of The Gambia and Human Rights groups around the world to join us condemning the unlawful arrest of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, and others and we further declare as follows:

A. that Dr.Janneh and everyone associate with his arrest, be unconditionally released with immediate effect or be charged within the 72 hours provision as stipulated in The Gambian Constitution.
B. that Dr. Janneh and others linked to his arrest be accessible to legal counsel without delay
C. that they be treated humanely and with dignity and not be subjected to torture or any other form physical trauma to their bodies
D. that their families members be allowed unfettered access to them
E. that the spirit of the law and the Constitution be jealously followed allow their immediate release
F. that this matter be handled transparently and judiciously by the Gambian authorities, and in a speedy manner

We the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations jointly condemn the unlawful arrest and detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, and others falsely associated with him and are urging their release with immediate effect. We will monitor progress on this matter in conjunction with partners in Human Rights work and friends of the Gambia worldwide.

Signed
Ndey Tapha Sosseh; Coalition for Change-Gambia (Gambia)
Amie Joof; Coalition for Human Rights-Gambia (Senegal)
Alieu B. Ceesay; Gambia Campaign to Fight Human Rights Violations (Scotland)
Banka Manneh; Save The Gambia Democracy Project (US)
Abdoulie Jobe; Coalition for Human Rights The Gambia (UK)
Yaya Dampha; Human Rights for All (Sweden )
Saihou Mballow; Movement For Democracy and Development (US)
Mathew K. Jallow; National Movement for Restoration of Democracy Gambia (US)
Bubacarr Baldeh; United Gambia for Democracy and Freedom (Senegal)

Gambia: Security Sector Reform Now! A year on since the record catch of more than two tons of cocaine

Today is one year since the record catch of more than two tons of cocaine was made in the small Gambian village of Bonto on 3rd June 2010 and there are still widespread speculations among people here that part of the catch may be recycled to the market. If anything, the name of the Gambian president came up several times in a host of cocaine-related cases currently being heard in Gambian courts. In fact just weeks before June 3^rd one prosecution witness, Silaba Samateh, while being cross-examined by defense lawyer, Borry Touray, was asked if    he had not told another witnessed that President Jammeh had tons of cocaine inside the country and that he was trafficking some of it for the Gambian leader. This at a time when the executive director of the National Drug Enforcement Agency, NDEA,  his deputy and several other top officials were, and are still being tried for selling cocaine exhibits meant for destruction in their custody. So the speculations surrounding the June 3^rd were not that far fetched and off the mark after all. And it was not only that.

Nine accused nationals of foreign countries are being tried in court for possession and distribution of the catch but most people have lost interest in the case. This lack of interest is not only because all the accused persons are foreigners, and without any close relatives around, but because most Gambians believe the authorities are not telling them all they know about the case. Many Gambians believe leading members of the government were involved in that particular case. How could a group of foreigners, without any local support structure, risk bringing in over a billion US dollar worth of any illegal substance and stockpiling it in a village just about 45 kilometers outside Banjul? It certainly does not sound sensible that such a group of South Americans, speaking little English and none of the local languages, would get themselves in the business of importing, stockpiling and distributing such huge quantity of cocaine without any support base among the locals, especially those in powerful and influential government positions. Even in neighboring Guinea Bissau where both the linguistic and cultural settings would have been better managed by the South Americans, they needed local support base within the security forces, powerful government circles and influential politicians. The west African sub-region has now being identified as an important hub, transit point and stockpiling warehouse for South American cocaine destined for Europe, but no where have the South American operated without local partners.

As early as 2004 signs of West Africa as new route for the international cocaine trade had been emerging. According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, UNODC, annual cocaine seizures in Africa as a whole averaged about 0.6 metric tons between 1998 and 2003. This represented only a minute portion of the global seizures of cocaine.

However, since 2004, African seizures have been above 2.5 metric tons, almost five times more than before. In July 2005, the Spanish navy seized over 3 metric tons of cocaine in a Ghanaian ship, representing almost 40% more than the total West African cocaine seizures of the previous year. According to the same UNODC sources in 2006, two seizures in Western Africa, one made in Ghana (1.9 mt) and one Guinea-Bissau (0.6 mt), accounted for 90% of all seizures reported on the continent. Out of the 5.7 tons of cocaine seized in 2007, 99% were reported from Western African countries: 2.4 mt were seized in Senegal in June, almost 1.5 mt were seized in Mauritania between May and August, 0.6 mt in Guinea-Bissau in April, 0.5 mt in Cape Verde in March, 0.4 mt in Benin in August and 0.2 mt in Guinea. Despite the doubling and redoubling of quantities of the narcotic drug seized in the sub-region, many experts suspected this was just the tip of the iceberg. Lack of seizure reports from countries like The Gambia did not necessarily mean the absence of trafficking in these countries, but more likely the deficiency of law enforcement capacities, or worst, complicity of influential government officials.

The growing use of Western Africa as a large cocaine stockpiling location was further confirmed by seizures made by European and Latin American countries of cocaine shipments bound to Africa.

In June 2007, a cocaine trafficking network was dismantled at Brussels airport. The network had been active for about two years, trafficking cocaine from Gambia and Sierra Leone. That same June 2007, Venezuelan authorities seized two and a half tons of cocaine on a private plane that was about to take off for Sierra Leone.

Intensified American war against the cocaine trafficking had forced the South American cartels to shift market to Europe where markets were growing even more lucrative but increased law enforcement successes in the Caribbean and in Europe compelled the cartels to look for alternative routes for the trafficking of the drugs to the European market. Traditionally, South American traffickers smuggled cocaine via Central America and the Caribbean to the United States and across the Atlantic to Europe. But with declining markets and tighter law-enforcement in North America and higher demand and wholesale prices in Western Europe, traffickers sought ways to step up supply to Europeans and found in West Africa a new and safer channel to this fast-growing market. By 2005, Guinea-Bissau had become a hub, and cocaine seizures in the region grew more than twenty times since 2005. Spain is the main entry point of cocaine into Europe and traffickers exploit Spain’s historic and linguistic ties with Latin America, as well as its long coastline. In 2005, Spain’s seizures of 48 metric tons of cocaine accounted for 45 per cent of all cocaine seizures made in Europe, and rose by almost half from 2004 to 2005 after Spanish enforcement agencies intensified their control along the northern coast. According to official Spanish sources up to 70% of Spanish cocaine seizures is made at sea.

Holland is another traditional entry point for cocaine into Europe but by 2005 the authorities there tightened control, enforcing a 100% controls policy on flights from specific Latin American countries. Many believe it is all this that prompted some traffickers to find alternative channels through Africa. The continent’s geographical location made it an attractive staging post from South America to the growing cocaine market in Europe. Drug enforcement authorities believe that most cocaine shipment destined to Europe is transited through Venezuela and Brazil, the South American sub-region closest to West Africa. Incidentally West African countries provide the most permissive working environment for

Drug traffickers due to widespread corruption and poor law enforcement structures. Many countries here have weak states and unstable regimes faced with difficulties of controlling their territories, maintaining law and order and administering justice. The archipelagoes of Guinea Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands alone have hundreds of uninhabited islands where even the semblance of law and order are unknown, providing idyllic setting for all sorts of smugglers. Without such geographic physical features that can provide cover for the narcotic business that both the Cape Verde Islands and Guinea Bissau have, The Gambia’s competitiveness in offering sanctuary for such criminal activities, appeared to lie in the complicity of its authorities, a monolithic support, unmarred by the violent rivalries of the fractious and volatile authorities in Bissau. Many South American drug cartels preferred a safe haven in a country under one-man rule to the contending multiple contending centers of power that obtains in Bissau. With president Jammeh’s totalitarian grip over almost everything, the cartels wish for a predictable local partnership looked more assured in The Gambia than in Bissau where there was fractious tumult within the government system or, say Dakar, where there still are pockets of incorruptible sections in government administration.  

Rumors of President Yahya Jammeh’s involvement in the cocaine business began circulating when Guinea Bissau navy chief, Rear-Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto, fled from alleged coup-plot related house arrest in Bissau to take refuge under the Gambian leader’s protection in Kerr Serigne, just outside Banjul. Since then the rumors of Jammeh’s involvement in the cocaine trade have increased not diminished. Tchuto’s name is among top Bissau-Guineans under US sanctions for alleged involvement in the narcotic business.

Now, a year since the June 3^rd cocaine seizure perhaps it is time we bother less about President Jammeh culpability and more on what we should about saving the country from becoming a narco-state by calling for security service sector reform. With the former Inspector General of police in court facing over sixty count charges, among them about twelve of them cocaine-related, a man who shortly before earned the explicit endorsement of President Jammeh; the whole top echelon of the NDEA on the dock for cocaine trafficking, among other things and dozens of other drug cases involvement men in the security services, that sector sure does need urgent reform. In the words of Yahya Jammeh himself, Gambians have lived under a police chief who was possibly an armed robber. We therefore cry, SECURITY SECTOR REFORM NOW!

Courtesy of TheGambiaJournal.com

Gambia: A storm brewed over The Gambia

By Doko Wato Sita

A storm brewed, and came over our little beloved nation in 1994. At first this impending storm was greeted with much dancing and joy in the streets, in villages throughout the length and breadth of the land ,for indeed a great drought had persisted for many years, where lack of transparency, accountability, and proper administration had made everyone yearn for a day like this, and where everyone thought that indeed the day of reckoning had arrived.

When the dust subsided, out emerged five young army men. They called themselves soldiers with a difference. Out of the core grew a man, reminiscent of Stalin, ignorant, ugly, ignoble, vicious, and calculating, bent on distorting the dream, if there was any; bent on eliminating all those who came with him from that impending storm. Where is Yankuba Touray, Sanna Sabally, Edward Singatey, and Sadibou Haidara? So also must we ask ourselves what happened to these who were with Stalin after Lenin’s death? This man, who is now the spitting image of Joseph Stalin, reflects all that is bad about The Gambian; greedy, selfish, jealous, mean, arrogant and materialist to the core. Now he sits and reigns supreme, over all and sundry, where none dear speak against him, not even cough up words of condemnation against him.

A bandit in sheep’s clothing, a buffoon in alligator shoes, with a name so long, that all hyenas and wolves in The Gambia can comfortably fit into. These hyenas and wolves are none other than the notable mafia clans and families who came to lend support to the dictator. Well educated and well exposed Gambians who have read better, and should know better, but taken with materialism, greed and the urge to ape the colonialist become the extended family to the dictator, working tirelessly in the boiler rooms of his government and administration, pouncing on innocent victims, yet heaping all the blame on the President. Let us take the case of Beatrice Allen. It hurts me so much that I weep as I write this letter.

A noble, clean spirited woman as Beatrice Allen, wanting to just pursue the right way, is maligned, humiliated and brought to court on trumped up charges by a corrupt clique of hoodlums. It would seem that for The Gambia, it is the women who are becoming the true defendants of justice, and the ones crying out for justice. Now we have another innocent victim Mr. Touray of Prestine Consulting, who left his comfortable and highly successful career in the United States to return to his homeland to contribute to that nation’s development. Let us face ourselves and tell the truth, Yaya did not put that man in jail, Gambians did, as they have done with many who came back home with intelligence, a new vision, a new product, or a new business, not of their own and not from their own (the mafia clan that is), and who they then see as threatening to their entrenched status. They are then impelled to seize on that returnee’s idea, concept, or assets. They are the mafia families, and from where Yaya draws all his technocrats.

 It is Gambians who put Mr Touray in jail. You see these morons, have no originality, no new ideas, no innovation, and like alligators, they wait for their next feed in terms of what other expatriate Gambian returnee with fresh concepts or ideas comes to establish himself or herself in The Gambia. These people feel that they are the divine ruling class of The Gambia. Unfortunately, Mr. Touray did not belong to the ruling families of The Gambia; he was neither a son, nor nephew of one of the powerful mafia clans, notwithstanding the fact that the sarahuleh community invested in him. That is the truth behind his arrest and broad daylight attempt to seize his rightful property and investment. Beatrice wanted to do things the right way. No corruption, no diverting of funds, and The Gambian does not like that. You don’t stand in his way to grabbing the money, and this is why she landed in trouble, and one man Yaya Jammeh cannot be responsible for it. It is the Gambians who put Beatrice in jail. How many Gambians have already suffered in the same manner, and how many more will these morons go after. I even venture to say that most of these people languishing in mile 2 were put there by Gambians, either out of jealousy, greed, selfishness, and indifference. What is the reluctance in us to call a spade a spade?. Why do we hide behind these long tirades against the dictator whilst leaving out the mafia ruling families? We shall not advance one inch in our war against the Jammeh regime without exposing these rotten, and evil clans dominating both the public and private sector in The Gambia. Who are these Gambians? A bunch of super morons, perpetuating a mafia clique of “ man am na, yow amu lo, yow bokulo, teh warulo am” mentality. I ask you, who is worse? the dictator, or the perpetrators and advantage takers under his rule, who use the system created by the Dictator to harass innocent citizens.

We must go beyond the realm of “Masla”, and start calling a spade a spade. I am itching to expose some of the members of this mafia clique. When the President pounces on people’s property, he is encouraged and emboldened by the policies of these mafia families, as they greedily line up behind him, waiting for the pickings and the apportioning of seized assets. If Yaya has his way and takes over Libya’s assets in The Gambia, watch how these vultures stay close behind him, to eagerly devour the pickings. There is reluctance with Gambian journalists to write about these mafia families; they remain sacrosanct, untouchable, as all the blame is then put on one man –Yaya Jammeh. Yaya is just head of the pack, and when regime change comes, these same mafia families will adapt and clinch to a new leadership as bees to honey. They will be the first to throw stones at the departing government, and profess their hypocritical allegiance to the new one. Therefore getting rid of Yaya Jammeh would not necessarily solve our current problems. As the noted African economist George Ayittey explains, the “vampire African states” are “governments which have been hijacked by a phalanx of bandits and crooks who would use the instruments of the state machinery to enrich themselves and their cronies and their tribesmen and exclude everybody else.” (“Hyena States” would be a fitting alternative in the African landscape.) Africa is ruled by thugs in designer suits who buy votes and loyalties with cash handouts.” You mafia clan families. We are sick and tired of you and your antics. Your fighting for leadership in the sports business in The Gambia landed Beatrice in trouble. A friend told of how he shared a flight with one of you, a short one from Dakar. There you were with your daughter. I am sure you were not on any official trip, yet there you were being picked up by that stupid status symbol “ VIP car”. It is this bourgeois attitude on the part of the mafia, privileged clan that is holding back the development of our country. You hide behind the dictator; quick to curse him privately, but ready to look like a follower in public. You have imposed yourself as the new colonialist on your people You mafia clan families, and ex-ministers, I am threatening to expose your names in my next article, as you sit there in The Gambia, munching discreetly and quietly on their mountains of wealth; I ask you where have you thought of reaching out to the masses, or contribute your own quota and money to The Gambia’s development? Haven’t you seen what the Bill Gates, the Ted Turners and countless of your counterparts in the Western world, from where capitalism and democracy came, are doing with their wealth? Government is not the sole driver of economic growth. It is the private sector that drives growth, and the wealthy play an enormous role in it.

Africa’s elite, with their burgeoning wealth never benefits the continent’s growth . As Mathew Jallow,our Gambian journalist, writer and Human Rights Activist noted “ African politicians and government officials have engaged in corrupt practices, and a 2004-2005 World Bank Report showed that $148 billion were embezzled out of Africa by politicians and bureaucrats; a significant amount being aid and loans earmarked for development activities to benefit Africa's vast poor”. now how selfish can you get? What did John F. Kennedy say to us, “ if a society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot protect the few who are rich”. But mark the words of our Rasta singers “ a hungry mouth is an angry man” The uprising we see in North Africa will be different when it comes south. Ours will be characterized mainly by “burning and looting”. That’s right. Go ahead and build your mansions, amass your wealth, and continue to ignore the masses.

 Go to your Fajara clubs, play your tennis as the colonialist did, and have your wives drive their cars with stupid vanity plates; spend your time throwing lavish parties; spend your inordinate time in these dark, and dingy “dakas”, drinking and whiling the night away; go to the mosques, dressed in resplendent khaftans exuding false religiosity and see if that will protect you when the mob comes. Who can protect you when the time comes?, when the dispossessed and long neglected youth from the interior of the country lose patience and invade the capital, I ask you where do you run to? A second storm is on the way, mark my words, and none of you backward Gambians shall be spared. Mother Africa shall exact from you, what you have failed to bestow upon her. Mark my words. 


Source:freedomnewspaper

Members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF)Missing For Months Families in Desperate Situation

(Foroyaa) - Reliable information gathered by Foroyaa has it that five detainees who were or are still are members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) namely, Warrant Officer Class (WO2), Bai Lowe, Staff Sergeant Abdoulie Jallow (alias “Jalino”), Lance Corporal Sang Mendy, Lance Corporal Anthony Mendy and Ex-Lance Corporal Abdoulie Sarr, a former soldier are currently held in detention incommunicado at the Mile II Central Prison for almost a year without trial. All five men were reportedly arrested sometime in July 2010.
According to the Family of WO2 Bai Lowe, a native of Fass Njaga Choi, in the Lower Niumi District of North Bank Region, was permanently stationed at the Kanilai Military post as one of the heads of a Special Unit of GAF. The family said they last communicated with him in late June 2010, since then they have never heard any thing about him, until a couple of months ago when they heard that he is in detention at the Mile II Central Prison. They said they have tried all avenues to have access to him at Mile II Prison but to no avail. The family indicated that any time they visited Mile II Prison to have access to him the authorities there would tell them to visit at another time. The family said they are desperate to have official confirmation of his whereabouts and condition.
The family of Staff Sergeant Abdoulie Jallow (alias “Jalino”), who hails from Giboro Kuta, in the Kombo East District of West Coast Region, said he went missing since the summer of 2010. They said they only heard that he is being detained at the Mile II Central Prison. They stated that they have tried to have access to him at his place of detention, but their efforts bore no fruits as the authorities always denied custody of him. They said they are not aware of any charges against him in any court of law.
The family of Lance Corporal Sang Mendy, a native of Tumani Tenda, in the Kombo East District said he was reportedly missing from his guard post at Kanilai village since July 2010. They said they could not establish the reason for his disappearance, but later realised that he is in custody at Mile II Prison. The family indicated that they are not aware of any charges against him since his arrest.
According to the family of Lance Corporal Anthony Mendy, an indigene of Kandongu Village, in Foni Bintang District, they heard of his arrest and subsequent detention from his colleagues in the Force after a long search. The family said it took months before they could establish his whereabouts. They said they gathered information from some of his colleagues that he was arrested from Kanilai and is now being held at the Mile II Central Prison. They said they have visited the prison on several occasions to see him, but the prison authorities would not allow them access. They asserted that they could not also get any explanation from the prison authorities on the denial of access to him. They said they have constantly visited the prison to have access to him, but to no avail.
The family of ex-Lance Corporal Abdoulie Sarr, a native of Mbollet-Ba Village , in the Lower Niumi District of North Bank Region, said the dismissed soldier was arrested at his residence in Banjul at the early hours of 14 July 2010. The family said Sarr had joined the Army on 4 February 2001, and posted as State Guard up to 8 June 2010, when he was discharged from the Force. They said he has already acquired a job with Gam Petroleum Company and was to commence work a week before his arrest. The family indicated that the dismissed soldier received a phone call at around 1:30am, from an unknown person demanding to know his location. They said Sarr told the caller that he was at his residence in Banjul and within half an hour there was a knock on the door. They said upon opening the door, four armed men appeared in military uniform. They said they recognize the four men as members of State Guard Unit headed by one Lieutenant Buba Bojang. They said Lieutenant Bojang told Sarr that he was under arrest on the orders of the then State Guard Commander Brigadier General Lamin Bojang.
The family said he was told that the reason for his arrest was that his half brother Musa Sarr, also a soldier, had a problem at his guard post in Kanilai and could not be traced. The family said since that day they never set their eyes on him, but only heard that he is being detained at Mile II Central Prison. They indicated that they are not aware of any charges against him neither was he taken before any Court of Law. The family questioned how Sarr could be linked to the problem of his half brother. They said the run away soldier was staying with his family at a separate place from them and has not visited them since his brother was discharged from the army.
The families of all five men said they are not aware of any charges against their loved ones and pleaded with the concerned authorities to release them from custody.
The Position of the Army PRO
According to the GAF PRO, Lt Omar Bojang no army personnel is under detention at the Central Prison at Mile 2. He said the persons mentioned in the article are not current members of the Gambia Armed Forces.

Editor´s Note
The law is clear. No one should be detained for more than 72 hours without appearing before the courts or be released. Charge them or release otherwise the government will continue to be accused of flouting the constitution and the laws of the land. 

Gambia Fails in Freezing So-called Ghadafi’s Assets (#Libya)

(Daily News) - Gambia government’s decision to close down so-called assets of embattled Libyan leader, Ghadafi has failed. Business is instead bustling at Jerma Hotel, Laico Hotel and Dream Park, The Daily News confirmed from official sources.
Gambia government had on Friday, Aril 22, pronounced the freezing of all assets owned by Ghadafi in the country. Laico Hotel, formerly known as Atlantic Hotel, Jerma Hotel, and Dream Park are said to be part of Ghadafi’s assets and therefore freezed with effect from April 22. Over a week on, business is as usual at these places.
The Daily News has confirmed that none of the said investments are owned by Ghadafi. All the three investments are owned by private Libyan citizens.
Gambia’s Tourism Minister has also confirmed that the said investments are neither freezed nor closed down yet.
“I don’t think we can close them down like that,” an unnamed senior government official told The Daily News. “What we can do is to appoint an administrator to oversee the operation of the businesses.”
Eugen Dielthelm is the general manager of Laico Hotel. He stared in astonishment when informed by a The Daily News reporter, who went to him for interview about the development. But he said he wasn’t aware. This was the sixth day after the pronouncement. “It’s a surprise,” he spoke softly, “When was that announcement made?”
“Can I see the press release?” he enquired further, this time looking worried. He logged onto the State house website: www.statehouse.gm to be assured. He then telephoned a person, he said, was the tourism minister, Fatou Mass Jobe.
“Fatou,” he said on the telephone, “I am with a journalist and he told me that my hotel is to be closed-down by the Gambia government.”
After a brief conversation, he looked positive. “My hotel is not closing down,” he said. “If Gambia government is having issues with the Ghadafi’s government that is not my problem and that should not affect my hotel.”
He added: “I am the general manager and I am still the general manager, nothing has changed here as far as I am concerned.”
Mr Muhammed, proprietor of Jerma Hotel, was however aware of the development. But he declined to comment any further after saying the issue has been cleared up with the ministry.
“I can tell you that this [Jerma] hotel is a private investment,” a man who prefered to be anonymous has said. “Yes, the owner is a Libyan, but the ownership has nothing to do with the Libyan government or Ghadifi.”

Author: Lamin Jahateh

Gambia:Yahya Jammeh organizes Prayer Fest to ward-off political unrest in The Gambia

By Mathew K Jallow

In what can only be described as unprecedented and unconventional, Yahya Jammeh over the weekend ordered the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council to hold a two-day prayer vigil in the town of Gunjur 30 miles south of Banjul. According to our sources, the objective of the two days of prayer is to help ward off the turmoil and political upheavals that are ravaging North Africa, the Middle East, Kenya, Zimbabwe and most recently, Burkina Faso.

The prayer vigil, which was performed by over 400 hired Islamic scholars, mobilized from around The Gambia and neighboring Senegal, who each received a cash payment of 1000 dalasis and a bag of rice, and attended by hundreds, were tasked to pray throughout the day and all night for Allah to prevent what is dubbed the “spring of discontent” from taking hold on Gambian shores.

As a benediction of the prayer fest, twelve bulls were slaughtered as sacrifice to the “gods” and two trucks filled with rice were also donated for distribution by the highly superstitious Yahya Jammeh, whose brand of religion combines traditional Islam and primitive African idol worship.

A section of beach where a mosque and a shrine are located was ordered closed to the public, and residents of a nearby beach-side motel were evacuated and relocated. It can be recalled that nearly five years ago, Yahya Jammeh banned pilgrimages and offering of sacrifice at the same mosque and shrine, which were built as a dedication to Shiek Umar Futuyou, a famous 19th Century Islamic cleric from Senegal, whose name the locals attribute to miracles, only to reverse that ban a year later.

Spearheading the prayer vigil was the President of Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, Imam Momodou Lamin Touray, who my sources describe as “Jammeh’s errand Boy. The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, which consists of 50 Islamic scholars, has over many years acted as a political arm of the Gambian dictatorship, in the process benefitting and regularly accepting large sums of bribe money and vehicles from Dictator Yahya Jammeh. As it is, the political turmoil that began in Tunisia early this year has toppled or are on the verge of toppling many decades-long dictatorships across North Africa and the Middle East, have only recently turned south towards Sub-Saharan Africa. In the West African, Burkina Faso, the first causality of black Africa’s “spring of discontent,” spontaneous and violent uprising demanding an end to the twenty-three year dictatorship of Blaise Campoare, who took over power in a military coup back in 1987, have flared up throughout most regions of that country.

The two day prayer vigil, which according to our sources brought unwanted attention to the seaside town of Gunjur, was marked by Yahya Jammeh’s usual pomp and pageantry, designed to deflect people’s attention from their miseries, if only while it lasts. Ironically, however, the two day prayer fest was marred by one tragedy and mishap after another.

The weekend prayer vigil began with the tragic death of a child, whose life was cut short by Yahya Jammeh’s “presidential” motorcade. Without coming off as insanely conspiratorial as the mad Glen Beck, this fifth child whose death was caused by Yahya Jammeh’s motorcades in as many years, is beginning to look more like “child sacrifice” as practiced by primitive African cultures.

This is not far-fetched for the deeply superstitious Yahya Jammeh, considering that in the early years of his reign in the 1990s, he was known to have fed the corpses of his victims to the crocodiles in his “personal zoo” located in his native village of Kanilai about 90 miles south of the capital Banjul. In another instance, a man carrying a bag of rice was seriously injured after he fell into a well as villagers scrambled and jostled for the rice Yahya Jammeh ordered distributed to Gunjur villagers.

Yet another man was also seriously injured in the process of slaughtering one of the twelve bulls Yahya Jammeh brought as sacrifice to his animist “gods.” But the attention grabber of the weekend’s prayer pomp and pageantry was not Yahya Jammeh, who has become stale news everywhere he travels in and outside the country, but a brave young man who hurled insults at Yahya Jammeh, blaming him for the dire economic and social problems the country has faced throughout the years of his dictatorship.

It goes without saying, the young Gunjur man, whose name is still to be released, was seen being arrested and taken away by Yahya Jammeh’s retinue of bodyguards and security personnel. The weekend prayer vigil itself symptomatic Yahya Jammeh’s fear of the widespread discontent in The Gambia, not just the harsh economic conditions Gambians find themselves living under, but the gross human rights abuses, which over the nearly two decades, have included extra-judicial executions, murders, and disappearances of citizens, tortures, arbitrary arrests and detentions and harsh conditions of incarcerations of political dissidents and members of the military and security forces.

But for now, whether Allah will answer to the town of Gunjur’s weekend prayer fest and immune Yahya Jammeh’s military dictatorship from the spreading political upheavals that have consumed Yahya Jammeh’s friend and next door neighbor, military dictator Blaise Campoare of Burkina Faso, will remain to be seen. But one thing is clear, conditions for a violent uprising in The Gambia are rife, and it may well be only a matter of time before the genie is pulled out of the bottle.

As it is, Yahya Jammeh’s prayers seem sixteen years too late; sixteen years that not even Allah is unwilling to sweep under the rug just for a little prayer and a little blood sacrifice.

Gambia News:Veteran Politician Questions President Jammeh’s Source of Wealth

Daily News -The national president of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), Dembo Bojang alias Dembo By Force questioned Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s source of wealth.
The veteran politician says President Jammeh dishes out money and other forms of gesture to students, musicians, military personnel and others like a benevolent king without disclosing to Gambians his source of wealth. 
President Jammeh came to power in 1994 through a military coup when he was a Lieutenant with a monthly income of less than D2000.00. But he appears to have amassed enough wealth during his 16-year rule. He once responded to such queries by saying that his source of wealth is God.

However, Dembo is not convinced by this explaination. Addressing a mass political rally at Tallinding on Saturday, Bojang said, President Jammeh should disclose his source of wealth and to make a declaration of his bank account.
According to him, Jammeh is fond of dishing out money to people and delivering vehicles as personal gift, noting that it is about time that President Jammeh tell Gambian where he gets the money he is dishing out. 
“We don’t mind President Jammeh’s enjoyment of his presidential privileges but let the wealth of the nation not be squandered by him,” he cautioned.
Dembo By Force said, Gambian currency has suffered a long depreciation under the Jammeh regime coupled with skyrocketing of prices of daily commodities. 
He said they bear no hatred for President Jammeh, but rather, his system as a result of his comportment towards governance of the country that, he said, leaves much to be desired.
He described Jammeh as the Alpha and Omega of the Gambia who is enjoying all privileges of his position, while the economic situation of Gambians is worsening.
He stated that the president is ‘fooling Gambian’ women by making himself a champion of women empowerment.
“The women that he claimed to have empowered are those adding the numbers of people in his propaganda by involving them in march passes, providing them with “ashobi” (uniforms) just to hoodwink them,” Dembo said.
“I want to tell women that Jammeh is selling all what they (women gardeners) are selling, ranging from vegetables like cabbages and other garden and farm produces and still he claims to be empowering you,” he alleged.
He alleged that landlords and bread winners of families are missing, jailed and others fled the country, stressing the country cannot afford to be governed in such a manner.
He called on Gambians to throw their weight behind UDP to effect, as he puts it, “the desirable change to salvage the country from its present predicament.”

Author: Baboucarr Ceesay

Coalition for Change – The Gambia Distances itself from Gambia Gov’ts Position on Cote D’Ivoire

Press Release Refccg18/4/11

The Coalition for Change – The Gambia (CCG) wishes to dissociate itself from the statements and position of the Gambia Government on events in Cote d’Ivoire.

The most recent inconsequential state televised statement of President Jammeh calling for fresh elections and refusing to recognize President Alassane Ouattara in defiance of the international community, despite findings by virtually all independent observers and monitors that Laurent Gbagbo lost the November election, underscores the pariah character of the Gambian regime. 

The amateurish manner in which the statement touched on an array of issues – Lumumba, Sankara, Compaore, imperialism, etc. – is a shame to many Gambians.

The world may not be aware, but the Gambian people know that anytime President Jammeh senses the hotspot, he starts throwing mud hoping it will stick.  From his pronouncements relating to AIDS, homosexuals, human rights defenders, the Iran arms scandal, the Libya crisis and Gaddafi, the Holy Qur’an burning, to the Cote d’Ivoire, Jammeh has always had something to hide or deflect. 

 The most recent rant also raises serious concerns on President Jammeh’s reaction if he were to lose the November 2011 presidential elections.  Will he, like Gbagbo defy all logic and reason, despite all evidence to the contrary and cling on to power by any means necessary?

President Jammeh’s latest remarks further strengthen the resolve of the CCG and progressive Gambians to ensure that 17 years of repressive rule must come to an end now.

The CCG is therefore calling on Gambians, the people of Cote d’Ivoire, West African Citizens, and the international community to disregard the Jammeh administration’s rants on Cote d’Ivoire.  The statement does not in any way reflect the position of the Gambian people vis-à-vis developments in that country.  The people of The Gambia support the position of ECOWAS, the International Community and recognize the democratically elected government of President Alasanne Ouattara.

The CCG takes this opportunity to congratulate Presidentt Ouattara, the Government and people of Cote D’Ivoire. 

The group also renews its call to all freedom and peace-loving organizations and individuals to support us in the campaign to end despotism and dictatorship in The Gambia.

SIGNED:

CCG EXECUTIVE

April 18, 2011

CONTACTS:

NDey Tapha Sosseh, Secretary-General / Spokesperson SGCoalitonForChangeGambia@gmail.com

CoalitonForChangeGambia@gmail.com, TheGambiaVoice@gmail.com, ccgtg411@gmail.com

TWITTER: @ChangeGambia, @KomboMansa, @TheGambiaVoice

Facebook group: Coalition for Change – The Gambia

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[i] Coalition for Change Gambia has as its members, journalists, lawyers, doctors, businessmen/women and civil society groups in and outside The Gambia concerned about the deteriorating state of affairs in The Gambia. Further information and details, including requests for membership can be accessed and processed through the Secretary General.

[ii] Interested media organisations should contact the Secretary General for more information.  Audio material is also available and can be accessed upon request.