An Open Letter Ms Reine Alapini Gansou, Chairperson of the African Commission

Balangbaa: The Campaign for Civil Disobedience in The Gambia.

An Open Letter
Ms Reine Alapini Gansou,
Chairperson of the African Commission
C/o Kairaba Beach Hotel
April 26, 2011

Dear Ms Gansou,
This no-confidence protest letter is addressed you in your capacity as Chairperson of the African Commission. The aim is bring the spotlight on the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), which is located in Banjul. And the intent is for you bring the concerns of the citizens of the host country of the 49th Ordinary Session, The Gambia, to the African Union (AU) body in order to educate policy-makers and the powers-that-be about what a sham the ACDHRS has become. First, allow me to diverge into another important area of concern to Africans all across the continent. As passive observers of the shenanigans that have dominated the operations of the African Union and its predecessor, the Organization of African Union (OAU), Africans have become frustrated with the redundancy, wastefulness and utter uselessness of the continental body and regional institutions such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The picture that has emerged is that the African Union and its predecessor the OAU have existed solely to serve the interests of the leaders of its member states. To that effect, these institutions have become white-elephants where millions of dollars are wasted each year for the purpose of preserving the selfish interests of corrupt leaders and brutal regimes. The past five decades have seen African leaders and their corrupt regimes squander the goodwill and economic fortunes of African countries and reduced their people to devastating poverty far worst than the one left behind by our colonial experience.
It is an absolutely disgraceful paradox that the continent with the largest share of the world’s natural resources, also shamefully boasts its poorest people. After fifty years of political independence, this lunacy and the political conundrum our continent is plunged into by the cruel machinations of greedy and self-centered despots and wayward bureaucracies, defies human imagination. This selfishness and greed, which cuts across Africa’s failed regimes is inexplicable in any rational way. Each year, for the past fifty years, the United States and European powers have transferred billions of dollars to regimes all across the continent, yet we have noting to show for it. Instead, Africa’s ever worsening poverty, which has generated civil wars and created civil strife in countries across the continent, will continue to fester and claim the lives of millions more Africans. And this is just the beginning. In the 1960s and 1970s, Africa was generally better off economically than the vast majority of Asian and Latin American countries such as China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, but today, African leaders visit these countries with their hands tucked between their legs shamefully begging for charity aid. Even today, almost every country in African is dependent on foreign aid to survive, and some, like The Gambia, depend on foreign aid from the United States and Europe for up to 80% of annual national budgets. Institutions like the AU and ECOWAS are still funded directly by benevolent Western governments and the United Nations. Despite this incredible transfer of wealth to the abjectly poor African countries, a World Bank study found that in 2005 alone, African politicians and bureaucrats looted $148 billion from their countries and stashed these funds in foreign bank accounts. This amount was more than the total foreign aid transfer to African countries for that year. This staggering amount of money is absolutely mind-bugling, yet it is true.
Now back to the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), an organization which has been in existence for nearly a quarter century, but which has done nothing to challenge the incredible human rights violations of Africa’s misanthropic  despots, in particular, the idiot we have in The Gambia; Yahya Jammeh. The ACDHRS has never issued a press release to condemn any one of the more than one hundred and thirty murders and executions of Gambians, Senegalese, Nigerians and Ghanaians, all of who met their sad fates at the hands of Yahya Jammeh’s agents of death. Never once has the ACDHRS made a public pronouncement or produced a document that challenges Yahya Jammeh’s criminal regime for its gross human rights violations. Meanwhile, the murders, executions, tortures, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and other serious violations perpetrated by Yahya Jammeh’s regime continue unabated. And now, the ACDHRS has turned into a white-elephant despite the inconsequential forums the organization is involved in, such the 49th Ordinary Session, taking place in Banjul right now. Each year, millions of dollars are being wasted in holding these meaningless meetings which have never produced any worthwhile results as far as we African are concerned. It would appear people who attend these useless meetings do so for the money and other perks they receive. Given its history of uselessness and inefficiency in the face of the ongoing human rights violations in The Gambia, which includes extra-judicial executions, forced disappearances, tortures and incarcerations in Africa’s worst prison, Mile 2 Prisons, The Gambia no longer deserves the privilege to host the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS). As a result, Gambians demand that the ACDHRS be moved to another country that deserves the unique honour of hosting the Center. As it is, the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) exists to throw millions of dollars down a bottomless pit. The money wasted to pay unearned salaries and other perks could be better utilized to serve other useful purposes. Since Yahya Jammeh uses the ACDHRS to project an unreal image of The Gambia, Gambians demand that the ACDHRS be defunded and relocated elsewhere.

By Mathew K Jallow: Balangbaa: The campaign for Civil Disobedience in The Gambia.

Statement from Federation of African Journalists on the Non-Inclusion of Freedom of Expression in the Agenda of the NGOs Forum preceding the 49th session of African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African Regional Organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents more than 50,000 journalists organised in 41 journalists’ trade unions and associations in 39 African countries, expresses its disappointment over the  non-inclusion of Freedom of Expression as a panel item in the agenda of the NGO Forum preceding the 49^th session of the African Commission on Human People’s Rights which is scheduled to take place on 25 – 27 April 2011 by the event’s host and the main organiser.

1)     FAJ received the brochure and the information from the event’s host and the main organiser, African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), on 25 March, which was also the date of the deadline for registration for NGO Forum.

2)     In the circulated brochure by ACDHRS, freedom of expression was included in the “proposed agenda” of the NGO Forum.

3)     Following internal consultations with its leadership, the affiliated sub-regional associations and like-minded free expression organisations, FAJ, which helped organise the last panel at the NGO Forum, formally requested that Freedom of Expression be included in the agenda of the NGO Forum. In response, the Secretariat of the ACDHRS declared that Freedom of Expression will not be in the panels of the NGO Forum due to a “late” request.

4)     Though the reason for the rejection of our request for Freedom of Expression panel in the NGO Forum was given with untrue rationale, we still await the reason for the removal of freedom of expression from the “proposed agenda” according to the brochure, which also indicated that the NGO Forum agenda is guided by the agenda of the ACHPR session.  

5) FAJ in further correspondences with the Secretariat ACDHRS did bring it to the attention of the Secretariat that freedom of expression is top in the agenda of the ACHPR session. Hence, should the organisers, who also circulated the brochure be true to the intentions, Freedom of Expression should be included in the agenda of the NGO Forum and not rejected and removed.

The decision of ACDHRS and the rationale in Centre’s response to FAJ’s written request are not convincing and clearly show that the Centre did not make adequate efforts to accommodate the issue of freedom of expression.

FAJ wishes to state categorically that ACDHRS’s decision to exclude freedom of expression from the agenda is unfair, undemocratic and unacceptable, and the Centre’s decision is additional support to and a tool for those who flagrantly violate freedom of expression and freedom of press in Africa.

FAJ regards this decision as complicated and dishonest, it is far removed from the defence of human rights and a major blow to the credibility of the Centre and the NGO Forum.

Gambia News: Rights Activist -Jammeh is a ‘brutal dictator who wants to cling to power by all means’

Edwin Nebolisa

Sentenced to six months in prison after falling foul of Gambia’s Jammeh government, democracy and human rights activist Edwin Nebolisa talks to Pan-African Visions’ Ajong Mbapndah about his ordeal


Jailing and deporting Edwin Nebolisa may not be the good riddance of a nuisance as the Government of President Yaya Jammeh thought. Far from keeping quiet, the prison ordeal described by Nebolisa as inhuman has greatly fortified him in his crusade for democracy, human rights and good governance in Africa. It is this crusade that led him to create the civil society organisation Africa in Democracy and Good Governance with Head Quarters in the Gambia.

The activities of his organisation and the outspokenness of Nebolisa landed him in the bad books of the Jammeh government and the result was a six month prison sentence “for providing false information to a public official in March 2010. Jailed in September of last year, Mr Nebolisa was released in January 2011 and deported from The Gambia to his native Nigeria.

As gruelling as the prison experience may have been, Mr Nebolisa tells Pan-African Visions’ Ajong Mbapndah that he feels stronger than ever and what he went through only justifies the need for Africans to be more engaged in the struggle to entrench democracy and better respect for human rights across the continent. The determination of Nebolisa is clearly seen when asked about the assessment of human rights in the continent and the future of Africa in governance and democracy. Nebolisa says much still has to be done.

President Yaya Jammeh, who many do not know besides the fact that he claims to cure HIV/AIDS and frequently changes his names, is described by Nebolisa as a brutal dictator who wants to cling to power by all means. The Judiciary yields to the dictates of Jammeh Nebolisa says and free and fair trials are inexistent when it comes to political issues.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: Mr. Nebolisa you recently got released from prison in Gambia, so why were you imprisoned in the first place?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: I was accused of giving false information to the office of the president, that African Democracy organisation and Good Governance (ADGG) is a non governmental organisation and seeks the nomination of Ms. Mariama Jammeh daughter of the president as ADGG/WWSF Geneva general ambassador, known same to be false. It was later amended to giving false information to a public officer. This was exactly how their charge sheet read.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: Prior to your imprisonment had you had any issues with the authorities in Gambia?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: Yes indeed, 2009 was the worst year for me and my organisation in the Gambia; prior to my imprisonment I had suffered a series of arrests and detentions without trial by the notorious national intelligence agency. This was also due to my interviews with various local and international medias, including the BBC Network Africa on series about the Gambia, ADG press releases and petitioning of various government departments for grave human rights violations; and of course our biannual magazine which had been critical of the government human rights records. In September 2009, Jammeh promised to cut off the head of all human rights activists if they did not leave the country.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: So how was the judicial process, did you have a lawyer, can you describe the trial process for us, was there anything in it you considered fair?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: In the first place we must understand that the Gambia is an authoritarian state with a democratic setting only in theory. In today’s Gambia, everything revolves around one person, President Jammeh. The ruling party, government institutions and all the fundamentals of the state revolve around him alone with hardly any distinction between them. Jammeh systemically neutralized the powers of the judiciary and parliament thereby rendering them ineffective. He frequently sacks judges, other judicial workers and at times even parliamentarians within his ruling APRC without due process of the law. My charge was trump up and thus I do not expect any fair process because there are no independent judiciary/judges, though I had one of the best lawyers in the Gambia that absolutely had no meaning. In the Gambia unlike anywhere else in the world, the judges are the real prosecutors, before the trial they will first find you guilty. This is even more worst with the Nigerian mercenaries that Jammeh imported into the Gambia to carry out his dirty work of using the court to silenced his critics in the event he is unable to abduct and assassinate them without public knowledge.

Getting a Nigerian as a chief justice of the Gambia and a host of Nigerian Judges, Magistrates and State Counsel was a very important and strategic move by the tyrant Yaya Jammeh.

- First, it will help to shut the eyes and mouth of the Nigerian government because they will see it as a great honour and thereby shutting their eyes and mouth in the face of egregious crimes against humanity even when it involves her citizens;
- Secondly, it helps Jammeh to seek for increased financial aid and more support in technical assistance from the Federal Government at the expense of the Nigerian tax payers’ money;
- And thirdly, these are the only people that can carry out Jammeh’s dirty works without conscience at the expense of their career and reputation just for some few tokens of the dollar.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: How were the prison conditions, where you tortured were there a lot of political prisoners that in the jails?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: It was a terrible place, in fact, one can sum it up as a deliberate slaughter house; it also made me to appreciate some certain things, during my incarceration I had the opportunity to speak with some officers and older inmates who gave me terrifying informations about the way the prison is been operated and how people are silently killed with their foods being poisoned or injected; and there is no coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of death before burial. The prison is over crowded coupled with lack of medication and poor feeding which can also be attributed to one of the reasons for a high death rate that frequently occurs. I was tortured mentally, I was denied access to my visitors which was a gross violation of my rights and it contravenes the prison codes.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: So one of the precursors to your woes was writing a letter asking President Jammeh to make his daughter a good will Ambassador of the Africa in Democracy and Good Governance NGO you head. Why did you do that and what is it the President’s daughter did to deserve the honour?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: You know there is a popular adage that says ‘when you want to kill a dog, you now give the dog a bad name in order for you to be able to kill it’, there is this annual event of world day for the prevention of child abuse and violence against children in synergy with the international year of the child which was initiated by Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF – Geneva) since the year 2000, which ADG became a partner only in 2007. The programme encourages local initiatives. So, our 2009 initiative was to create greater awareness which was a huge success.

It was a committee that was set up that nominates all the personalities which includes the daughter of the president. The reason behind her nomination was that each year she took some gifts to the SOS Children’s village which was clearly stated in the letter that we wrote to her; moreover, we did not write any letter to the president or his office as they claimed, rather we wrote to Mariama herself in-care of her mother, Zainab.

Before the celebration of the week long programme in question, there was series of electronic and print media adverts; we were given a march-past permit by the Inspector General of Police, the march-past was led by the Army band which service we paid for; one of the recipients of the award was ASP Yamundow Jagne-Joof, the officer-in-charge of the child welfare unit at the police headquarter. The programme was covered and aired by the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) which is a state owned and the only television service in the country, various media also covered and published it. If all these things took place, so where is the false information and who is that person that it was given to, that never appeared in court?

They knew quite alright that there was nothing against me that was the reason they never tendered the said letter as evidence against me in court.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: What kind of leader would you say President Jammeh is, little is heard about him apart from claims that he can cure HIV/AIDS and not much is known either about Gambia, how will you describe the country?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: Jammeh is a brutal dictator who wants cling to power by any means necessary even if it means to wipe away Gambians, this is one man that controls all three arms of government, he is gradually grabbing all the lands in the Gambia; systematically using his people as mordern day slaves by making them labour in his farms without recourse to salaries or allowance.

His claim of curing HIV/AIDS and other diseases are all false.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights is based in Gambia In the face of what you have been through, are there any other avenues you are seeking to get redress?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: Yes, I intend to challenge it before the Ecowas Court of Justice sitting in the Nigerian Capital, Abuja. The African Commission are sluggish and the method of their procedures so frustrating; their decisions are not binding and in most cases not respected.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: Did human rights groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch come to your defence?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: The rapid responds by human rights families was overwhelming. Amnesty International, Frontline Defenders, Media Foundation for West Africa, IFEX, Elomah, Civicus, Lokarri, Foroyya Newspaper, BBC News, Radio France International and a whole lots of others that am unable to mention here. Their hard campaigns and petitions is the very reason why am alive today, because it is just like me being thrown into the lion’s deen and you know what that means.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: How does this sordid experience affect your sustained work in human rights and democracy?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: It does not affect me personally because it help to raise my moral and credentials but rather it hampers the work of the organisation, for us to be on our feet again, it needs a lot of finances and time.

PAN-AFRICAN VISIONS: What is your assessment of democracy and human rights in the continent and what next for Africa in Governance and Democracy?

EDWIN NEBOLISA: Available evidence indicates that many of the new democratic regimes remain fragile and some of the euphoria of the early 1990s had evaporated. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the authoritarianism and statism of the early post-independence years was in retreat, and, where it persisted, was vigorously contested in a context in which democratic aspirations were firmly implanted in popular consciousness and the pluralization of associational life was an integral part of the political landscape. It was indeed a mark of the changed times that, whereas previously development had been regarded as a prerequisite of democracy, now democracy is seen as indispensable for development.

The challenges confronting Africa's democratic experiments are many and complex and include entrenching constitutionalism and the reconstruction of the postcolonial state; ensuring that the armed forces are permanently kept out of politics, instituting structures for the effective management of natural resources; promoting sustainable development and political stability; nurturing effective leadership, and safeguarding human rights and the rule of law.

In Africa, as elsewhere, democratic government and respect for human rights are closely linked. Democracy is the best means the world has produced to protect and advance human rights, based on individual freedom and dignity. In turn, respect for human rights is the only means by which a democracy can sustain the individual freedom and dignity that enables it to endure.

Despite some improvements in some parts of the continent, Africa remains the site of very serious human rights problems. For example, in Sudan, the armed conflict in Darfur continues amidst the international arrest warrant issued for President Omar El Bashir and the dismal human rights situation shows no signs of improvement. Both government and rebels commit horrendous abuses. In Somalia, the civil war continues unabated and the human rights situation goes on deteriorating; the civilian population has been the ultimate victim, and more recently the political unrest in North Africa. The ousting of democratically elected presidents and intention to change the constitution for a third bid by some leaders is tantamount to constitutional coup d’état that is eating the continent like cankerworms. Only a handful of countries that hold the regular multi-party elections in Africa are rated as free, and in line with international and regional standards.

In addition, most of the countries in Africa operate ‘semi-authoritarian regimes’ because they have the facade of democracy; that is, they have political systems, they have all the institutions of democratic political systems, they have elected parliaments, and they hold regular elections. They have nominally independent judiciaries. They have constitutions that are by and large completely acceptable as democratic institutions--but there are, at the same time, very serious problems in the functioning of the democratic system. Semi-authoritarian regimes are very good at holding multi-party elections while at the same time making sure that the core power of the government is never going to be affected. In other words, they are going to hold elections, but they are not--the regime is not going to lose those elections. Semi-authoritarian regimes intimidate voters, as it happened in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Semi-authoritarian regimes manipulate state institutions for self-ends—governments don’t respect the laws, and don’t work through institutions. Semi-authoritarian regimes amend constitutions anytime they want.

Semi-authoritarian regimes will not introduce fully participatory, competitive elections that may result in their loss of power, and some are even unsure of how far they really want to go toward political pluralism in their countries. African politics in generally speaking is a matter of personality, not programs. For example, during the Obasanjo administration the prevailing idea was that the president was the father of the nation, the big man, or Kabiyesi, which means king, that is, no one dared question his authority.

A strong and effective democratic process should be able to establish a functioning administrative structure; and address the issue of how leaders are chosen; the issue of how different institutions relate to each other; the issues of how officials should act, for example, how the judiciary should act, the independence of the judiciary from other branches of government, and the problem of how the decisions that are taken by these democratic institutions can be implemented.

To move Africa forward, emerging democratic governments would have to confront a legacy of poverty, illiteracy, militarization, and underdevelopment produced by incompetent or corrupt governments. The syndrome of personal dictatorships and the winner-take-all practice as we continue to witness would need to be addressed, and there must be full respect for human rights; constitutional government and the rule of law; transparency in the wielding of power, and accountability of those who exercise power.

The basic rule of the democracy game is that the winners do not forever dislodge the losers. It is important for the consolidation of democracy that losers believe in the system and think that they can get back into the game. African governments must create an enabling environment in which traditions and values of the constitution will be able to take root and where rights and duties are set out. In this process, the separation of powers must be facilitated. Government must allow institutions to work and must allow citizens to exercise their rights, to live in accordance with their religious beliefs and cultural values, without interference. The legal order must be based on human rights, societal awareness of the instrumental and intrinsic values of democracy, a competent state, and a culture of tolerance.

Democracy requires that those who have authority use it for the public good; a democratic system of government begins by recognizing that all members of society are equal. People should have equal say and equal participation in the affairs of government and decision making in society, because, in the final analysis, government exists to serve the people; the people do not exist to serve government. In other words, governments must enhance individual rights and not stifle their existence. Repressive laws on many African countries’ statute books against personal liberty and habeas corpus must be removed from the statute books.

In most African countries, a tremendous amount of information does not circulate beyond a small portion of the urban population, owing to illiteracy, language barriers, and costs. Because the individual ignorance of personal rights and understanding of what democracy means has encouraged authoritarianism in Africa, political education at the grass roots is necessary. If a genuine democracy is to become a reality in Africa, the participation of the masses has to be sought by politicians, and not bought by manipulators. Politicians should try to understand what the masses know, because they sometimes lack the ability to articulate their interests and grievances. However, politicians also should be educated about human rights and respect for the constitution. Education is crucial to the development of a culture of tolerance, which, it is hoped, would contribute immensely to the creation of an enabling environment for democracy.
We must therefore encourage citizens to learn the habits of civil disobedience on a massive scale, rather than taking up arms and ammunitions. We must encourage people to go out and demonstrate peacefully, to show their opinion regarding issues, because eliminating the culture of fear is crucial to our democratic growth.

Mr. Nebolisa, thanks for talking to Pan-African Visions.

EDWIN NEBOLISA: The pleasure is mine.



Source:PAMBAZUKA NEWS


This article first appeared on Pan-African Visions

Gambia News:Detention without Trial, Disappearances without Trace

FOROYAA -The Gambia -Foroyaa continues to monitor the long detention without trial and the disappearances without trace of Gambian citizens. Many of these family heads were said to have been picked up by men in plain clothes. According to some families, they are yet to establish the whereabouts of their loved ones since they were whisked away some years ago.
Mrs. Masireh (Marcie) Jammeh, Mr. Harunah Jammeh, Corporal Alfusainey Jammeh, a Prison warden, all natives of Kanilai in Foni in the Western Region of the Gambia and Mr. Jasarja (Sarja) Kujabi, a native of Foni Dobong, went missing since 14 July 2005.
The family of Masireh and Haruna Jammeh said their family heads were taken away in their presence and since then they have not set their eyes on them or heard of their whereabouts. Jasarja Kujabie’s family said he was arrested on his farm and was escorted to his home to change his farming clothes and was later taken away. The family said they have done all what they could do to get information about him but to no avail.
The family of Prison warden, Corporal Alfusainey Jammeh said he was stationed as guard at the compound of the Director General of The Gambia Prisons Service, Mr. David Colley for some time. They said he was called to report to Police Headquarters in Banjul, but he never returned home. The family said he later called to inform them that he was being detained, but did not give any reason for his detention.
The ex- District Chief of Foni Kansala, Alhagie Momodou Lamin Nyassi and his two close friends, Alhagie Buba Sanyang (alias Bubai Sanyang) and Ndongo Mboob, all natives of Foni Bwiam, went missing on the same day. Their families said the three friends were picked up by men in plain clothes on board a numberless white pickup vehicle on the evening of 4 April 2006, as the trio was seeing each other off after a visit from the house of Sanyang. The families said since then they have never heard or traced their whereabouts, even though they tried all avenues accessible to them.
Journalist Ebrima Manneh (alias Chief Manneh), a State House reporter for the Daily Observer Newspaper went missing since 7th July 2006. His family said he left for work on that day and never returned home. The father said he approached all the concerned authorities and influential personalities within the country for them to intervene to help in the search of his son, but his efforts did not yield any fruits. He said he had visited all the known prisons and numerous police stations across the country in search of his lost son but the authorities never allowed him access to the installations.
His colleagues at work said he was picked up by a man in plain clothes. They said he was later seen on board a white car heading towards Banjul and never returned to work.
The Media Foundation of West Africa (MFWA) took the matter to the Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja for The Gambia government to release him. The Gambian authorities never appeared before the Court even though the Court made it known that they were served with summon of the suit against them. After a long legal debate without Gambian government appearing in any sitting, the ECOWAS Court delivered judgment and asked the Banjul authorities to release him and to also compensate him an amount of US 100,000. Eight months after the Court’s order the Government made an official comment that Journalist Manneh had never been in their custody. Since then the matter was left like that.
Mr. Kanyiba Kanyi, an employee of the Christian Children Fund (CCF) said to be an opposition sympathizer, went missing since 18th September 2006. His family said he was arrested by men in plain clothes on board a cab at his house in Bonto village in Kombo East, while they looked on. They said his junior brother was later arrested on the same evening and detained over night at the Serious Crime Unit at Police Headquarters in Banjul.
His family said they took Lawyer Ousainou Darboe who filed a “Habeas Corpus” at the High Court for the state to produce him but to no avail. They said the matter has been in court for almost four years and no progress is forthcoming. They added that they do not even know where the case stands as at now. The family said they are completely devastated.
Major Wally Nyang of The Gambia Armed Forces is said to be in detention at the Mile II Central Prison since early March 2010. His family said he was arrested at his house at the Yundum Barracks shortly after he closed from work.
Mr. Abdoulie Njie and Alieu Lowe, both residents of Fagi Kunda are being detained at the Mile II prison since 27 March 2006. The duo were arrested in connection with the 21 March 2006 abortive coup plot. Their families said they have never heard charges preferred against them since their arrest. The family said they are allowed to visit them some times, but not at all times.
Mr. Ebou Jarju, a former Steward at State House, who was first arrested on 20 March 2008, in the presence of his family and held at Banjul Police station up to 11 January 2009, when he was released without any charges, only to be re-arrested a week later is still in custody. His family said he is currently being held at the Mile II Central Prison. They said they could not have access to him since then. The family said he was last seen two weeks ago at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital under the escort of Prison officers. They said he appeared drained.

In Gambia, Jammeh asked to clarify Manneh's 'death'

After much denial about the whereabouts of Chief Ebrima Manneh, President Yahya Jammeh now says he is dead. The CPJ wrote to him to clarify.Below we produce the letter from the CPJ.

March 21, 2011

H.E. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh
President of the Republic of The Gambia
State House
Banjul, The Gambia

Via facsimile +220 4227 034

Dear President Jammeh:

We request clarification of your March 16 comments suggesting "Chief" Ebrima Manneh, a reporter for the Daily Observer, may have died. Manneh disappeared after witnesses saw him being arrested by state security agents in the offices of the Daily Observer on July 7, 2007. The government has previously denied any knowledge of Manneh's fate.

"Let me make it very clear that the government has nothing to do with the death of Chief Manneh or Deyda Hydara or the disappearances of so many people," you said in a meeting with representatives of Gambian media that was broadcast on state television. You also suggested Manneh might have disappeared after attempting to illegally migrate to Europe or the United States.

Your statement implies knowledge of Manneh's fate that has not been conveyed to the journalist's family or disclosed publicly. In all previous public comments, administration officials have consistently denied any knowledge of Manneh's detention, whereabouts, or legal status. Those comments were made despite sightings of Manneh in government custody after his 2007 arrest. Government denials were also issued in response to a June 2008 ruling by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, which found sufficient evidence to conclude Gambian authorities had improperly detained Manneh.

In the interest of transparency and to relieve the anguish of Manneh's family, which deserves to know his fate, we call on you to fully disclose your knowledge of Manneh's fate and to order all appropriate investigations into his case.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Joel Simon
Executive Director

Souce:cpj.org

Gambia News: Jammeh Slams Journalists’ Demands ‘Ridiculous’

By Saikou Jammeh

Gambian president Yahya Jammeh has slammed as ridiculous the demands made by Gambian journalists for the decriminalisation of anti media free laws and subvention ofto media outlets.

“Some of you [journalists] have made ridiculous demands that cannot be met. Tell me one country where there is no libel law and where government subvents the media?” Jammeh told the Gambian media chiefs and their editors at Statehouse on Wednesday.

The uncommon gathering between the government and the independent media was made possible thanks to the efforts of the newly appointed Director of Press and Public Relations, Fatou Camara.

The government-media relationship has been tense for over a decade. The government boasts of creating an enabling environment giving rise to proliferation of media outlets. However, the media practitioners decry lack of liberty in the face of ‘unwarranted arrest, detention, intimidation, lack of access to official information and laws that impede on freedom of speech.

The unsettled murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the mysterious missing of journalist Ebrima Manneh, as Sam Sarr of Foroyaa told the president and his cabinet, trigger uneasiness on the part of the executive. 

And the meeting witnessed renewed calls made by media chiefs for government to address these issues for any progress to be made, but their demands were met with yet an objection by the president.

However, both parties expressed satisfaction with the initiative and hope it could be the beginning of a new chapter in government-media relations with promises of follow-up meetings all, but geared towards smoothening the rough edges. 

Source:dailynews.com

Gambia News: BALANGBA: Gambia’s popular uprising necessary and perhaps even inevitable

By Mathew K Jallow

The swanky private jet with the distinctive Gambian flag festooned conspicuously on its sun-scourged sides stood idly in a secluded corner of Ronald Reagan's International airport in Washington, D.C. As its primary occupant, accompanied by a large entourage of bodyguards and other human accessories made their way in a convoy of limousines to a plush and opulent hotel in a seedy part of suburban D.C, the country she left behind three thousand miles away on the miserable continent of Africa, was crumbling under the weight of her husband's repressive regime. And this was only one of Mrs. Zaineb Jammeh and her children's many shopping forays to the U.S. But this time it was different. Mrs. Zaineb Jammeh, for all intents and purposes, had this time around come for the kill; to purchase a big-ticket item worth over a million dollars. And the house she bought was an investment she and her husband Yahya Jammeh hope to hedge against his inevitable downfall.

Mrs. Zaineb Suma Jammeh, the quintessential Imelda Marcus, cold and seemingly heartless, had done it again. But all this was last year. This year, far to the north of The Gambia, where the golden sun scourge the rugged landscape across the northern edges of the African continent; and the tip of the Atlas Mountains soar brazenly high above the ominous clouds, the political geography of a continent is changing as rapidly as an eye blink. The harsh and unforgiving odd twins, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert, at once serene and violent, are witnessing one of the greatest political upheavals of the past several decades. The Maghreb region of North Africa, with a history as old as human existence, is undergoing a bold political transformation that is making the unceremonious revolutionary swells and violent collapses of Eastern Europe's socialist regimes look like picnic. And as history repeats itself in the Arab world, the striking political and economic parallels between Eastern Europe then and the Maghreb and the Middle East now, is glaringly evident. But evident also are the similarities between the dictatorial regimes of North Africa and the Middle-East, and The Gambia, where Yahya Jammeh's exercise of absolute power is akin to the obsolete kingdoms and out-dated feudal systems of long ago. The compendium of excesses that have defined Yahya Jammeh's regime over the past decade and half are unequalled both in the depths of their gravity and the broadness of their reach.

By far Yahya Jammeh and his regime's greatest and inarguably most serious criminal offences against the Gambian people and the world are the litany of executions, murders and disappearances of citizens and non-citizens alike. Anecdotal evidence shows that the frequency and regularity, with which the murders, executions and disappearances occur, has greatly reduced, but it does not make the crimes any less grave and serious in nature. Between January and February of this year alone, two civilians deaths under police custody were reported, and a third, the high profile murder of my nephew Sgt. Illo Jallow, former chief body-guard of Mrs. Zaineb Suma Jammeh, left Gambians bewildered and demanding answers. But as usual, Yahya Jammeh has remained mute and appear unburdened by his criminal responsibility for these extremely serious crimes against our people. To-date, over hundred known deaths by execution and murders at the hands of agents of the regime have been recorded and still sixteen more forced disappearances at the hands of the feared, but now moribund National Intelligence Agency remain unaccounted for, most since 2005.

These deaths and disappearances figure as serious moral and criminal aberrations as they are, represent only a part of Yahya Jammeh's overall record of atrocious abusive behavior and denigration of Gambian society. As of now, The Gambia's descent into chaos in governance and the disintegration of its social and political fabric have combined to put the country on edge, as thousands of its citizens who have fled the country and a million more who remain powerless and captive to the Yahya Jammeh regime, call for a popular uprising in their demand for a change of government. The reasons, motivations and the need for regime change in The Gambia are many and varied, yet they all stand on a strong and credible foundation based not on political hyperbole, but on objective fact and lived reality. Before the advent of the proliferation of Gambia's vocal overseas on-line media, the atrocious executions, murders and disappearances were blatant and frequent, but that has since changed, as the vigilant media has to a significant degree forced the regime to alter its habits of criminal behavior, if only in a modest, but impactful way.

Notwithstanding these significant developments, crimes against our people has remained a constant feature in our country, instigating a widespread hatred of Yahya Jammeh and his cabal of criminal rapists, drug dealers, violent robbers and businesses extortionists. These off-the-wall evidences of corruption and citizen intimidation are bad enough, but if you ask me, they pale in comparison to endemic and institutionalized government corruption, which has now risen to the level of a crisis. The calamitous social and economic imbalances that have developed over the past decade and half have left a lasting, if not a traumatizing imprint on the Gambian mind. In his effort to build a wall of intrigue and mysticism around him, Yahya Jammeh instead succeeded only reducing himself to a buffoon and a phenomenon of senselessness and stupidity as evidenced by the bizarre witch-hunting exercise around the country two years ago.

To date the statistics surrounding those incidences of random terrorism directly primarily against the elderly and the weak, remain unknown, but a rough estimate has put the deaths to a dozen elderly men and women, excluding three dozen more who were hospitalized for prolonged periods of time and whose health status is unknown at this point in time. But if these examples of tyranny and moral bankruptcy are not enough, the general narrative of the country's welfare point to a doom and gloom scenario. Unemployment of the population, especially, the youth is as high as seventy percent, and this is a growing trend particular due to the thirty percent decline in tourist arrivals, which began a decade ago and is not projected to get better anytime soon. But even that is only a part of the story of how Yahya Jammeh with the willing collaboration of some elements of the military and security forces, has instilled paralyzing fear and hopelessness across our country, and this is evidenced by how some tribes and other selfish elements in the military and security forces are willing to play along with Yahya Jammeh's subjugation of our people and the denial of opportunities to select tribes Jammeh has categorized as enemy and marginalized.

One only has to look at the people of influence in every agency, department and ministry of the government; starting with the military to the smallest government agency, in order to determine that that level of unfairness is untenable and unsupportable in the long run. In government agencies and institutions where the heads does not derive by Yahya Jammeh's preferred tribes, an immediate assistants or a junior employee in Yahya Jammeh's chosen tribes, who are planted agents reporting directly to Yahya Jammeh, are mandated by Yahya Jammeh to exercise power and control over every government institution in the country. But tribalism too is only a part of the story of how Yahya Jammeh has run the affairs of the country into a ditch. In the business sector, Yahya Jammeh's involvement in every manner of business endeavour; example import and export, to bakery, food distribution, construction, transportation, entertainment, sand mining, agriculture, meat processing, supply and distribution of general goods, and port handling among many other business enterprise ventures.

Yahya Jammeh's participation in the business sector is illegal and undermines the entrepreneurial spirit in the country largely due to the disadvantage other businesses are put into. For one thing, Yahya Jammeh's and his chosen few do not pay the customs and excise, labor and import taxes, which other businesses are subject to, consequently, other businesses cannot compete in the marketplace with goods imported by Yahya Jammeh and his cabal of corrupt tax cheats, who can afford to undercut the going market price of good and commodities. In other areas, one of the most intriguing aspects of Yahya Jammeh's reign is the question of where gets the billions of dalasis he uses to buy loyalty, bribe and give away to people and groups who do not deserve to have it. Recently, Yahya Jammeh put aside more than two million dalasis as prizes for Quran recital competition.

This is not only discriminatory in a multi-religion society, but it is unbecoming for a government in a secular state to sponsor religious activities of any nature. The separation of religion and politics must be absolute and unambiguous. The government's primary responsibility is to the physical and mental wellbeing of its citizens; not their spiritual sanctity, consequently funding of any religious activity of any nature falls behind the parameters of what is naturally acceptable. But one of the most disturbing aspects of Yahya Jammeh's rule is quality of public servants, whose competence and qualifications are called into question. Yahya Jammeh's war on the educated class has significantly reduced the quality of government performance and rendered our civil service to a mere skeleton of its former self.

If anyone knows anything about management and administration, it is that there is a huge financial, logistics and competency cost involved in the frequent hiring and firing of civil servants regardless of their hierarchy levels in the bureaucracy. To look at this in just one angle, the implications of hiring and firing means that no one stays in any particular job long enough to acquire a grip based on knowledge developed on the job. In other words, no one remains employed in any particular position long enough to develop competency and professional expertise in their field of work. There is a calculable drain on our meager resources which is more than just a financial component, but includes other indexes that measures national security as well as the quality of life of our people. For now, suffices it to say that we have a completely dysfunctional and collapsed government bureaucracy, which will take a lot of work to rebuild into a fully functioning and efficient state apparatus serving the needs of our people. The challenges that lie ahead post Yahya Jammeh are daunting, but they are surmountable. We have capability and the capacity to successfully give our people the government they really deserve after nearly half a century of unbridled corruption, nepotism, tribalism and political patronage. The youth of our country and our future generations deserve nothing less. But as long as Yahya Jammeh remains in total control of every aspect of our lives, The Gambia will continue its downward spiral and divisive descent into political anarchy and bureaucratic chaos. And that is our worst case scenario. The obligation to save our country of this eventuality means that a popular uprising a-la Libya, Tunisia and Egypt is not only necessary, but perhaps even inevitable. 

Proverb: The absence of war does not mean the existence of peace.

Gambia News:“Freedom Of Expression, Assembly Sacrosanct”

“Gambians have an inalienable right to freedom of expression and assembly,” said Lawyer Assan Martin.
The human rights lawyer said the Constitution of this country which is the supreme law of the land, guarantees these freedoms.
He indicated that a good chunk of our constitution deals with liberties and freedoms.
Barrister Martin made these remarks recently when he was questioned whether Gambians have a right to peaceful demonstration and procession or not.
He added that the rights in question are sacred, but said it is a question of whether the relevant institutions such as the police and courts are ready to follow what the Constitution says.
Martin said there can be no good governance without adhering to the provisions of the Constitution.
“No nation will progress if constitutional rights and values are not respected and observed,” he emphasized.
He described freedom of expression and assembly as vital, saying citizens can find solutions to problems if these freedoms are allowed to flourish.
“Solutions can only be found to citizens’ problems if we allow freedoms within our society,” the human rights lawyer observed.
Martin added that basic freedoms such as right to expression and assembly form the basis of any genuine democracy.


Source:foroyaa.gm