From Sukuta to now Brufut: Brufut residents use news conference to tell government they are prepared to go to any length to make sure their land are not forcefully taken from them
By Fatou Camara
People of Brufut on Saturday said they were prepared to go to any length to ensure their community land are not taken and used for purposes that don’t serve the interest of the town.
Brufut is among a host of towns in Kombo hit by land problem. The people are accusing the government of being at the centre of the problem.
“What the ministry of local government and lands did to us is very painful, they do not accord us any respect. They act as if they are more powerful than us by trying to take our lands and selling it to private individuals. How can a government be more powerful than those that voted it in?” the town’s VDC Chairman, Pa Lamin Fatty said at a news conference on Saturday.
Another native Lamin Bojang said anyone who attempts to take community land and use it for purposes that are not in the interest of Brufut should be ready to be squared off to by the people.
“Since in the 90s ,the Brufut Strassa field , the CSC Camp and a few other places had long been identified as Brufut community multipurpose centre . Therefore, who ever wants to take these places from us by force should be aware that you are trying something that is way bigger than you,” Lamin Bojang, a former army general and now presidential canditate of Gambia Action Party said.
On Selective Reading of the Quran and the Egregious Attempt to Justify Evil
It is the special beauty, sanctity and inviolability of the Muslim Holy Book that Allah, the Most Wise, has provided the means for its protection in the very verses of the Quran itself. Therefore it is most gratifying that the Mother of all books itself speaks thus about itself in verse 28, of Surah Zumar: An Arabic Quran without any crookedness, that they may guard (against evil).
In Verse 40 of Surah Fussilat is a warning most stern and scary for anyone with an inkling of consciousness about the Mighty Creator of the Universe: “Surely they who deviate from the right way concerning Our communications are not hidden from Us. What! is he then who is cast into the fire better, or he who comes safe on the day of resurrection? Do what you like, surely He sees what you do.”
How then can one who calls himself a leader of a community of Muslims in the matter of faith be so bold in the pursuit of crookedness and worldly gain that he makes an attempt to justify a most foul, deviant behaviour, strange to even the basest of animals, using the Quran? Of all evil human behaviours Allah has been most stern in His condemnation of homosexuality. Therefore, to see an Imam make any close attempt to justifying this evil act is really traumatising for any serious Muslim.
Yes, Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa) says in His glorious Quran:
“And surely We have honored the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We have given them of the good things, and We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created.”
This Quranic proclamation is most definitely a fact. But rather than meaning to make this verse a justification of false rights, this sublime proclamation is actually one of the reasons why the children of Adam, so honoured by the Creator should not debase themselves to levels, unseemly even for animals. Homosexuality is not a right for humans, it is a deviance and a corruption of human nature most foul. It should never be encouraged.
Coming to the other fragment of a verse of the Quran the misguided pseudo-scholar tries to use to justify his defence of homosexuality; when the Quran says that every owner of a right should be accorded their right, those rights are endowed to the created beings by their Creator. Neither the Holy Bible, nor the Quran, recognises sexual deviance as a right for human beings. So where on planet earth does this man come from with his crooked interpretation of scripture?
The problem we face in our country is that anyone who speaks the Arabic language is regarded as a potential Imam and Islamic scholar, and this is so dangerous a fallacy. This has created a lot of problems in our society, emanating from either deliberate or inadvertent misinterpretation of scripture, thereby misleading the public. Yet the supposedly innocent masses do not have much of an excuse. No one would take their sick child to an engineer for treatment. Therefore, why should a community of educated people choose an electric engineer for an Imam, no matter how eloquent such a person may be in the use of the Arabic language?
Our laissez-faire attitude towards religion is but a manifestation of our materialistic ethos, whereby we prioritise matters of our physical reality far and above our faith and all things of spiritual import. This malaise must be cured in our society if we are to find peace and enduring success in both this world and the hereafter.
The Quran, and the religion it explains, are vast oceans of knowledge, some parts are quite easy to understand and then there is another portion so complex that it is only for trained scholars from recognised authorities to venture into in terms of trying to derive rulings for the public. This situation is amply alluded to in Verse 7 of the third Surah of the Quran:
“It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muhammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise – they are the foundation of the Book – and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allah. But those firm in knowledge say, “We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord.” And no one will be reminded except those of understanding.”
And now let us compare the so called Islamic scholar’s selective reading of the Quran with the preaching of Sheikh Hamma Jaiteh who did a brilliant talk on the matter at hand during the most recent episode of the GRTS’s programme called Exploring Islam. With no attempt to encourage lawless persecution of homosexuals, the Imam was fearless and unequivocal in his condemnation of this horrendous attitude of homosexuality. It is unacceptable and unconscionable to make this deviant sexual practice fashionable in our society, and we should never legalise it in our judicial and social systems.
With clear reference to authentic science and both the Christian and Muslim Holy books, Sheikh Hamma makes it clear that homosexuality is out of order with human nature and that it should never be condoned in our society. In the Holy Bible he refers us to chapters 18 and 19 of Genesis; and in the Holy Quran, he reminds us about verses 80 to 84 of Surah Araaf:
“And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, “Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds? Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people.”But the answer of his people was only that they said, “Evict them from your city! Indeed, they are men who keep themselves pure.”So We saved him and his family, except for his wife; she was of those who remained [with the evildoers].And We rained upon them a rain [of stones]. Then see how was the end of the criminals.”
Add to the foregoing, the preachings of such a luminous authority as Shiekh Dr. Mbaye Kebba Kah who reminded us in a Khutba(sermon) yesterday that Allah condemns homosexuality and admonishes us against it on 10 separate occasions in the Holy Quran.
Therefore, in conclusion, it is beyond the power of the human being, no matter how articulate that person may be, to use the words of Allah to deceive people regarding what is right and what is wrong. Our Holy Book asserts its own inviolability and its God-ordained incorruptibility in the end part of verse 41 and the whole of verse 42 of Surah Fussilat: “and most surely it is a Mighty Book: “Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it; a revelation from the Wise, the Praised One.”
Momodou Sabally
Former Presidential Affairs Minister, Founder-President, Sabally Leadership Academy (SLA).
Army complains that d’constitution has failed to clearly define their role – but the CRC says it consulted all security forces but did not receive any written submissions from the army
By Lamin Njie
The nation’s foremost military official has said adhoc interpretations of the role of the military would present a problem for it, emptying his mind on the failure of the draft constitution to clearly state the military’s role.
“…if you leave it in a vacuum, subject the military to what you call adhoc interpretations in terms of what they should be doing, then it’s going to be a problem for the military,” General Yakuba Drammeh said during a meeting with GRA officials last week.
The general added, as reported by QTV: “Let’s our roles and functions be defined clearly in the constitution but it should not be subjected to what I call adhoc interpretations of what the military should do given the circumstances.
“In this case, it’s going to be a misuse of the military and we do not want the military to be misused. And the only way we can preserve the integrity of the military, it must be enacted in the constitution to say, ‘do this, don’t do this’.
“We want to build a reputable and professional military and that can be achieved if we have clear-cut functions and mandate. We don’t want the armed forces to do anything that is unconstitutional, we have learnt past mistakes and we do not want to repeat the past.”
The constitutional review commission responding to the army chief’s comments said it received no written submissions from the army.
The CRC through communications director Sainey Marenah told The Fatu Network: “The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), prior to the drafting of the Draft Constitution for the Republic of The Gambia, had convened a consultative meeting with all the national security outfits (see paragraph 629 of the CRC Report) at a joint security sector meeting held at Baobab Resort in Kololi on Thursday 22nd May, 2019.
“The joint security sector consultative meeting was part of the Commission’s broader stakeholder engagement strategy to elicit expert opinions from different security institutions in respect of the Draft Constitution.
“Present at the consultative meeting were the National Security Adviser and the Heads and/or representatives of all the national security service institutions, including The Gambia Armed Forces headed at the time by the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Masanneh Kinteh. Prior to the consultative meeting, all the national security service institutions were invited to make, and had indeed provided, written submissions to the CRC. Their submissions were discussed during the consultative meeting. The meeting also afforded the CRC the opportunity to raise appropriate questions regarding alternative methods of dealing with some of the security issues that were contained in some of the written submissions. These were all thoroughly discussed, and there was ultimately general satisfaction that the consultative meeting was indeed very useful and, as far as the CRC was concerned, it facilitated the drafting of the Chapter in the Draft Constitution regarding the Security Services.
“Following publication of the proposed Draft Constitution on 15th November, 2019, the CRC publicly invited the general public and all other stakeholders to review the Draft Constitution and provide written comments to the CRC. No written submissions were received from The Gambia Armed Forces. However, the written comments and further proposals received from the National Security Adviser were considered in finalizing the Draft Constitution.
“Accordingly, any views to the effect that the national security service sector or any institution thereof was not consulted by the CRC during the constitutional review process would be erroneous and misleading. The CRC encourages the general public and all other stakeholders to read the Draft Constitution and the accompanying Report together in order to be better guided in understanding and appreciating the rationale for some of the decisions enshrined in the Draft Constitution.”
Top US court backs protection for LGBT workers
The US Supreme Court has ruled that employers who fire workers for being gay or transgender are breaking the country’s civil rights laws.
In a 6-3 decision it said federal law prohibited discrimination based on sex or gender and rejected the argument that the authors of the law had not intended that meaning.
The ruling is a major win for LGBTQ workers and their allies.
And it comes even though the court has grown more conservative. (BBC)
‘What have you done?’ RAR’s response to GDC’s Ebrima Nyang
Please allow us “Rising Against Racism” to respond to Mr. Nyang´s accusation. This is something that we don´t want to be dragged in to, however, we feel it necessary to correct his baseless and illogical accusation aimed to discredit our efforts and it is detrimental to any progressive society. Otherwise, we would not have given him the public relevance he is dearly looking for.
To start with, there are people in this movement who did what they could possibly do to some of the incidents you have mentioned. What have you done? What has stopped you from doing it?
For, retrogressive individuals even whereas you dance in the middle of a river, they will still accuse you of throwing dust on them. They cannot initiate any meaningful ideas. However, they are against everything. These are the pandemics of every developing and progressive society.
In his argument, he said: “ In The Gambia we have very painful stories that requires the same amount of attention as the show that is just put out today for George Floyd, but it was never done for our fellow brothers.”
He went ahead to mention some names and incidents. In fact, he should have stretched his list up to the time of the first republic or beyond. Now, going by his analogy, no one should ever protest of anything in the Gambia. Because all what we are witnessing today, a similar thing had happened. Therefore, hence no one had protest about it, we should allow the trajectory to remain. Is this the type of people a society wants? We doubt! Everything must start somewhere. There are certain incidents that triggered something to happen or come to being.
For Mr. Nyang, we are doing this for the people of America, that shows how ill inform he is. A Gambian happens to be a casualty of a similar incident. This thing is beyond George Floyd or Lamin Sisay despite we will continue to grieve with their families. Now, it is for all blacks regardless of where you live. A saying, a pregnant cat, and a pregnant rat, if the parents escaped each other their spouse would not.
If anyone think you are safe because you are not living in United States, you need to think twice. Your spouse or relatives might be there for studies, holiday or whatsoever.
Who gave you that moral authority to determine what people should demonstrate on and what they failed to demonstrate about? You need to understand that in society there are several things that people can condemn and demonstrate about. Some have passion for child right and they only protest when it comes to the issue of child. Are the children only the human beings? Likewise, women, disable, animal and environment.
But people of your kind, if you see people protesting about environment you will argue why not human rights. Such people even God cannot satisfy them, and they are enemy of every progressive society.
By Rising Against Racism
‘We need help, we’re suffering’: Gambians in UAE ask government to help bring them home
By Lamin Njie
Some Gambians in United Araba Emirates are struggling with food and shelter in the Arab nation.
At least 51 Gambians including 15 students have put forward their names to be repatriated due to hardship they are facing in UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Muhammed Kambi the secretary general of the Gambian Association in UAE told The Fatu Network on Sunday 51 people including about 15 students have expressed interest in being repatriated.
“We have engaged the embassy in Dubai on the repatriation of Gambians. The minister of foreign affairs have actually responded but his response is not well appreciated,” Kambi said.
“His response was that Gambians are stuck in all parts of the world and if they start in one country, they will have to do it everywhere else too. But situations sometimes that look similar can also be different. Dubai is a different place and expensive.”
Another Gambian in Dubai told The Fatu Network: “We are suffering here. There are some who have not worked for the past four months and they cannot even afford to pay their house bills, rent and food. We need help from the government.”
Among the Gambians who want to return home are those that travelled to Dubai on business trips.
The foreign ministry reacting to claims of Gambians suffering in UAE said the government is concerned about the plight of Gambians abroad.
“With regards to these people in UAE, government doesn’t have the required resources as at now to evacuated them,” foreign ministry spokesman Saikou Ceesay said.
He added: “These are not the only Gambians stranded abroad. There are Gambians in Qatar, there are Gambians in Senegal, there are Gambian in Mali, there are Gambians in UK, there are Gambians in Libya, there are Gambians in almost all parts of the world who want to come [home].
“Even country who have bigger resources than The Gambia have not been able to evacuate all their citizens abroad.
“With regards to citizens abroad, the government through the ministry of foreign affairs is very much concerned about the plight of citizens abroad. It’s one of its top priorities.”
‘We’re not going to abandon you’: Defense minister Faye tells military they have the support of the whole country
By Lamin Njie
Defence minister Sheikh Omar Faye has assured the country’s military of the support of President Adama Barrow ‘his cabinet and the entire government’.
“In this noble armed forces, we are together with you. President Barrow, his cabinet and the entire government and the entire country will be supporting our sons and daughters. We’re not going to abandon you because you’re putting your lives in the front for this country. We have to say thank you to all of you,” Mr Faye said on Friday at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital as men and women of the Gambia Armed Forces gathered there for a largescale blood donation effort.
Earlier on, the nation’s top military official Yakuba Drammeh revealed that the army was the first port of call each time the EFSTH is in ‘desperate’ need of blood.
“Perhaps if I may assert the Gambia Armed Forces during the period under review, we’ve been the largest single blood donor to Edward Francis [Small] Teaching Hospital,” General Drammeh said.
Protest of discrimination
By Ebrima Nyang
What happened to George Floyd and Lamin Ceesay is a sad story that no one wishes to happen because they both deserve to live like any other American citizens. I condemn racism in the strongest term possible, because it does not promote diversity of the human kind.
In as much as I hate to see black people being subjected to racism around the world. The just ended Protest organised by few Gambians is nothing but a discriminatory one.
In The Gambia we have very painful stories that requires the same amount of attention as the show that is just put out today for George Floyd, but it was never done for our fellow brothers.
What puzzle me about the today’s protest is, what the protesters cannot do for their own citizen brothers is what they had done today for an American citizen.
Haruna Jatta was killed and no one spearheaded a protest to give him a justice
In the Faraba incident at least three youth were killed for claiming their land and nothing was done or organise for them by the George Floyd protesters.
A Garawol man was shot by the Senegalese’s force in The Gambia and he was abducted to Senegal and no one protested for him too.
Despite our political differences, Solo Sendeng puts his life for this country and no group of protesters ever organise one to demand justice for his death.
All these mentioned above are real in The Gambia and are all against human rights but were never protested upon to give them justice.
As I am speaking more than $20m is so far raise for the Floyd’s family. The million dollar question is what have we ever done in the name of the people we lost?.
If our own brothers are killed in our own country and there is nothing we can do for them, but prefer to request for a permit for an American to demand justice for his death. The question is where does our nationalism lies?
The death of Lamin Ceesay is a very unfortunate one just like the death of our other Gambian brothers.
All Gambians deserve equal call for justice as all lives matter to our nation.
N DISPUTE OF A FABRICATED COUP RUMOR
“Sai sai wahul daygha wai yahanna khol” is a Wolof maxim translated thus: “the rascal may not tell the truth but can poison the mind”
I will start by extending a warm welcome to His Excellency President Adama Barrow to one of the most congenital challenges of Gambian presidents, dating back to the declaration of our independence by President Sir Dawda Jawara in 1965. That is to emphatically state that rumors of coup plots, cooked up or genuine, have persistently been an inextricable headache to Gambian presidents, occasionally impacting the security configuration of the state in radical ways. Where its perplexity lies is the mastery of differentiating the fabricated from the veritable ones.
Scanning over the subject through the past decades since independence, it becomes crystal clear that the first rumor of coup in the Gambia happened in 1980. Precisely the morning Constable Mustafa Danso, the sentry on duty at the Bakua Field-Force Barracks walked up to the camp commander, Commander Emmanuel Eku Mahoney and shot him at close range with an SLR, killing him instantly on the footstep of his office door.
Rumors of the attack as a looming coup quickly spread across the country like wildfire which a year later actually happened; yet, it was reported to have failed that day only because his fellow conspirators betrayed the plan of the moment by not acting after Danso was tasked with executing the commander first. Commander Mahoney’s counterpart, Co-Commander Bojang was a principal suspect, eventually indicted and dismissed from the force in early 1981. However on the day to execute his eviction from his residence in the barracks on July 29, 1981 Kukoi Samba Sanyang, a civilian politician mysteriously took command of the 500-man-strong paramilitary force and led them into the infamous bloody abortive coup of 1981. The initial rumors of that coup were all factual with the evidence obvious, nonetheless the PPP government at the time had no idea of how to prevent it.
The next significant but rather phony one happened in April 1987 that had found me already enlisted in the Gambia National Army (GNA) and commissioned a 2nd lieutenant. It was apparently about intelligence received by the PPP government from undisclosed sources of an imminent armed insurgency into the country by renegade rebel leader Kukoi Samba Sanyang and his gang of international mercenaries, “better trained and determined to overthrow the PPP government that time”.
I was a platoon commander in “B” Company, commanded by Captain Maba Jobe. And for almost a week the entire security forces in the country including the Senegambia confederation battalion, deployed troops to designated strategic regions in the country with Capt. Jobe’s company assigned to protect the Kombos from a base hastily built in the deep Gunjure forest. Nonetheless, with all the serious efforts and resources wasted in the elaborate exercise, not a single commander or government official could later tell us what the hype was all about. Because the Kukoi-insurgency story was all baloney.
In hindsight the incident could have been attributed to the stalemate between President Sir Dawda Jawara and his Senegalese counterpart President Abdou Joof for the former’s reluctance to succumb to the latter’s adamance to federate the two states and change the Gambian dalasi to the CFA Fran, an agreement signed by both leaders but had been stalling since 1982. Hence I beg to ask, was the insurgency threat a possible trumped-up scare tactic by the Senegalese government to accentuate the indispensability of their troops in the country in a bid to persuade Sir Dawda to hastily implement the federation protocol? Quite possible indeed. Being the nonsensical rumor it turned out to be in 1987, I couldn’t find any other good reason beside that.
Arguably, in 1990 and 1991 the GNA soldiers after serving their tour of duties with ECOMOG in Liberia, returned home to angrily organize two demonstrations against the PPP government; they were unorthodox protests ultimately reckoned to have been prompted by delays in payments of their allowances. But intelligence gathered prior to their departure from Liberia outlined both incidents as potential coup plots against the PPP government but as customary, the rebellion was undermined by the failure of their officers to join them in the morning of the strike. The scary demonstrations essentially brought about government’s successful solicitation of Nigerian troops who soon after came and took command and control of the GNA in 1992.
For those who were familiar with its evolution, the 1994 coup was the final and most rumored conspiracy against the PPP government before it happened on that Friday morning of July 22. To enumerate the subsequent incidents of coup rumors, true or false against the AFPRC/APRC government will take a whole chapter in a book or many more.
Amazingly, no sooner had the Nigerian Army Training And Assistance Group (NATAG) assumed their responsibility in the country in 1992 than another preposterous rumor of a coup emerged from senior operatives of the National Intelligence Service (NSS) who had accused the then Inspector General of Police, IGP Pa Sallah Jagne and his assistant, DIG Ebrima Chongan of planning to topple the PPP government. Of course, the whole allegation was eventually invalidated but not before leaving a sour taste in the mouth of the authorities about the trustworthiness of the newly amalgamated GPF with the defunct Gambia National Gendarmerie. It essentially compromised the PPP government’s confidence in the GPF that hitherto had proven their loyalty and resilience to operate as a formidable counterbalancing force against the GNA. The Nigerians, on the other hand, not cognizant of the safer balance of power between the two sister forces on the ground, recklessly pivoted the fulcrum by arming the army far stronger than the police. That naturally gave the GNA all the vital edge to overthrow the PPP government two years later without any resistance.
Accusing IGP Pa Sallah Jagne and DIG Ebrima Chongan of even entertaining a coup plot was as absurd then as accusing Hon Halifa Sallah, Ba Tambadou, Sheriff Tambadou, Masaneh Kinteh, Essa Faal and all the names listed in the unsavory audio in circulation today of being part of a military coup.
Only unsophisticated minds with no clue about military operations will dignify the rubbish of 28 AK 47 rifles, 6 Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs), 8 sniper rifles and an undisclosed number of pistols, shipped from Holland and delivered to a cemetery in Jiboro village in the Gambia to overthrow the government. What about the ammunitions and the experts trained to utilize the sniper-rifles and RPGs. Empirical evidence of well trained snipers and RPG gunners imbedded in a tested fighting platoon have been proven far deadlier in the battlefield than a whole battalion of regular infantry forces carrying light weapons.
US Navy seal sniper Christopher Scott Kyle in his four tour of duty to Iraq was confirmed by the American Department of Defense to have killed 160 enemy combatants in the battlefield, each with a single sniper shot. He is, so far, the best sniper ever known in American history.
During World War Two, German snipers were notorious for killing whole platoons of infantry soldiers before snipers like them were brought in to hunt and kill them.
Anyway the last time I checked, the GAF had no trained snipers or RPG gunners tested in peace or war times.
As far as my knowledge of the combat readiness of the GAF is concerned they only have Kalashnikov rifles and Light-Machine Guns (LMGs) following the removal and shipment of all their heavy weapons to Dakar by the Senegalese troops after the 2017 impasse. Moreover, all ammo shells in stock were also exploded or destroyed.
If the objective of the person in Europe heard in the audio is to turn himself into an outlaw to prove the risk of being persecuted upon returning to the Gambia, an evidence to back his quest for political asylum as insinuated in some quarters, I am afraid to advice him that the trick has failed every credibility test. That could however be the only logical conclusion from such a malarkey.
Except, as in the past, to justify the need to extend the indefinite presence of ECOMIG/Senegalese forces in the Gambia, now being warily questioned by many Gambians in all walks of life. Their open-ended presence is now viewed as a shuttle way to retain President Barrow in power against any future contender of which there is no better way of achieving that than to spread occasional rumors of coups and the image of an insecure Gambia. Yes, this asinine rumor of a coup, in my judgment, should have never been dignified by the government.
Is this not the second rumor of a coup since President Barrow took office? Trust me, your excellency, brace up for more if you intend to stay in office for your “prophesied 15 years mandate”.
Thanks for reading! Till next time.
Samsudeen Sarr
New York City
Full text of RAR’s statement at Saturday’s protest
Gambians under the banner of Rising Against Racism group on Saturday protested outside the US Embassy in Banjul over the death of George Floyd.
Below is the official statement of Rising Against Racism read outside the US Embassy by Momodou King Colley.
Good Morning friends, comrade, and members of media,
I stand before you to read this statement with tears of sorrow. On 25 May, George Floyd – a black American man was brutally killed by a white American Minneapolis police officer. It is unconceivable that such a thing could happen in 2020
The way and manner in which Floyd was murdered is an act of provocation and contempt that has been going on in United States for centuries. Whenever we cried, we are laughed at and they give flimsy excuses, justification and counter arguments and the racism, discrimination and harassment continues.
Now, we are left with no option but to stand at their level even if it would be the end of world civilisation, but we are determined to fight. We have no tears left.
I don´t have to get into the story of how The United States has become their country. In fact, it does not matter where a person comes from and the pigmentation of his skin. Racism and discrimination in all forms is unacceptable.
In essence, we are not here to appeal to the United States to respect and protect the rights of blacks, but we are demanding it. Otherwise, the United States government should ask themselves whether they want to live in isolation. We cannot and will not allow their Embassies to operate in our various countries while they continue to treat black people with complete disregard and contempt.
Therefore, we are calling on the United States government to make sure Justice takes place in the case of George Floyd, Lamin Sisay and others. And to act on what they preach.
Dr Tangara reaches out to top US lawmaker for help in death of Momodou Lamin Sisay
Dr Mamadou Tangara has solicited support from US lawmaker Karen Bass in the death of Gambian Momodou Lamin Sisay.
Sisay was killed in a reported police shootout last month in the US state of Georgia.
His death has seen the Gambia government ask the Gambian Embassy in Washington to work closely with US authorities to ensure his death is investigated.
The minister of foreign affairs Dr Mamadou Tangara spoke on the phone with Congresswoman Karen Bass over Sisay’s death last Thursday, according to the ministry.
“He asked for truth and justice to prevail in the case of Gambian citizen, Lamin Sisay, 39, who died in Georgia, Atlanta, US,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Additionally, Minister Tangara expressed concern about the safety of Gambians and African Americans in the US. In solidarity, he expressed that “Neither of us is safe until all of us are safe.” He also extended an invitation for Congresswoman Bass and members of Congressional Black Caucus to visit The Gambia, land of Kunta Kinteh.”
Congresswoman Bass is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and also the Africa Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the United States Congress.
Anti-racism group petitions US government as march is held over George Floyd and Momodou Lamin Sisay deaths
By Sarjo Brito
Gambians under Rising Against Racism organisation on Saturday took to the streets, joining the rest of the world to decry police brutality, racism and other injustices against blacks.
The world has witnessed a wave of protests following the fatal arrest of George Floyd in the United States.
The protesters marched from the Pipeline mosque to the American Embassy where a petition was handed to regional security officer at the Embassay Rebecca McKnight.
“In the words of the US Ambassador Paschall, ‘those who peacefully gather to demand justice, an end to racism and discrimination and meaningful reform as putting into action the values of democracy and respect for human rights and human dignity for all. The US Embassy shares these values with Gambians and we thank you for this petition and opportunity to engage us on this topic’,” McKnight said shortly after receiving the petition on behalf of the US Embassy and the US government.
Earlier on, RAR official Momodou King Colley said their petition is not an appeal; rather a demand for the United States to respect and protect the lives of black people.
“In essence, we are not here to appeal to the United States to respect and protect the rights of blacks, but we are demanding it. Otherwise, the United States government should ask themselves whether they want to live in isolation. We cannot and will not allow their Embassies to operate in our various countries while they continue to treat black people with complete disregard and contempt,” Colley said.
Chanting, ‘black lives matter’ and ‘no justice no peace’, the protesters began their march from Pipeline mosque shortly before 11am.
Halfway into the less than a mile march, the protesters stopped and placed a knee on the ground as they chanted, ‘black lives matter’.
On March 25, a white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the neck of George Floyd for nearly nine agonising minutes. Floyd then died.
Palpable anger has since continued to trail Mr Floyd’s death both in America and beyond.
One of the protesters Kemesseng Sanneh said ‘enough is enough’ and asked that the civil rights of black people be respected.
Even though the turnout was not that good, Sanneh said numbers do not matter in times like these.
‘This is a red line’: Mai Fatty slams homosexuality as an ‘exceedingly’ disgusting lifestyle
Mai Ahmad Fatty declared ‘this is a red line’ on Friday as he slammed homosexuality as an ‘exceedingly’ disgusting lifestyle condemned by Allah.
The GMC leader said the overwhelming position of most Gambians about LGBT is ‘crystal’ clear.
He wrote on his official Facebook page: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. Anything contrary to that will NEVER find legitimacy in the Republic of The Gambia. Without a scintilla of doubt, a GMC Government will enact the most stringent penal statute ever, in response to such egregious deviant conduct.
“We will not be on an active search for culprits, but they will not find tranquility to practice such evil. We do not even want promoters of LGBT to join GMC. If you are not yet part of us, and it means that much to you, please stay away from us. It’s exceedingly disgusting lifestyle condemned by Allah and for which an entire generation was obliterated (according to the Scriptures).
“If LGBT means so much to you above and beyond, welcome to the highway exit from GMC. I call on all those who share this view to boycott all politicians, Imams and Priests who directly or indirectly propagate or condone this bestiality. No one should pray behind an Imam or a priest who defends this haraam nonsense. This is a RED LINE.”
Mr Fatty is the latest political leader to make his position known on homosexuality.
UDP leader Ousainou Darboe recently told The Fatu Network he is conservative when it comes to the issue of homosexuality.
BER programme gets launched at summit at State House
The National Business Council on Friday June launched the Business Environment Reform programme at a meeting held at the State House.
This council, comprising ‘pertinent’ government ministries and representatives of the private sector operators was launched in response to the National Development Plan of better positioning the private sector as engine of the country’s economic growth, State House said on Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the President who is the chair of the country, the Vice President Dr Isatou Touray expressed delight of government that these business environment reform process is ongoing in spite of the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic on the country, according to State House.
“Covid 19 affects us all but business must go on and the private sector is the engine of economic growth for us as stipulated in the National Development Plan,” Vice President said in her opening remarks, according to State House’s state.
Edrisa Mass Jobe, Chairman of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry emphasised that the long-time adage of private sector being “engine of economic growth” need to move beyond words to practical implementation of programmes by government in order to concretise such an achievement, State House said.
“The private sector can only do well if allowed by government. Hence the need to interface and work together with the sector creating employment, contributing to poverty alleviation and national development through providing needed revenue to government for financing social development,” he posited, according to State House.
The meeting ended with adoption of the report and launching the reform, which will begin from July towards December 2020 – with each month dedicated to a key sector.
The vice president, Dr. Isatou Touray has been appointed “Political Champion” of the council, a position expected to bring much needed political will to the partnership.
The Sheer Display of Opulence! I Challenge Pres. Barrow to Declare his Assets.
Just as we ask, where did Yaya Jammeh get the money to build those massive buildings in Kanilai so also we ask from where did Adama Barrow get the money to build such massive structures in Mankamang Kunda? Yes, it is not strange to see African leaders immediately begin massive infrastructural developments in their home villages as soon as they gain power. We can recall former Ivorian president Houphiet Boigny who built the largest church in the world in his village of Yamoussoukro which he made the official capital of the country. We can also recall the huge castles and an international airport Mobutu built in Gbadolite in the jungles of Zaire just like the massive structures in Sirte built by Gadhafi of Libya.
In light of the foregoing these buildings and ceremonies in a tiny rural hamlet called Mankamang Kunda, home village of Pres. Adama Barrow do not send a good picture for this country. I do not know exactly when the face of Kanilai began to change to what it became by December 2016 but it is clear that within three years the face of Mankamang Kunda has changed tremendously.
The incidence of corruption was one of the major hallmarks of the Jammeh Misrule. His open display of unchecked power and outlandish opulence were so blatant that he normalized abuse of power and at the same time encouraged an unconcealed culture of immorality in the society. With abuse of power and opulence, he weakened the very foundations of the cultural, religious and legal values of our society thereby perpetuating a life of vanity and self-centeredness.
Therefore, when this country came of that past we do not deserve another leader who will follow the footsteps of such past leaders. Unchecked power and opulence when combined are greater than a nuclear weapon. Not only do they destroy the leader himself but they also end up destroying the entire society. Barrow should have advised himself to pursue contentment, humility and self control and not to succumb to power, wealth and sycophants.
Just like Jammeh and his mansions in Kanilai so also in Mankamang Kunda the masses of our people who are impoverished and deprived stand in awe in the middle of their poor huts and dusty homes to gaze at such luxurious buildings especially at night with their scintillating lights! How many people in Mankamang or Kanilai ever got to celebrate a birthday much more get a cake? This display of luxury can only come by through power since Jammeh or Barrow never built any structure of significance in their home villages before they became President. It is such images of lavishness and luxury that pollute the minds of our people to believe that indeed politics and power are about self aggrandizement.
As Gambians we must not accept any elected and appointed public official to engage in such open display of opulence and abuse of power. Clearly this is a stark indication of corruption that must be investigated. While the Anti-Corruption Commission is yet to be set up, it is necessary that the National Assembly raise concern over this matter for special consideration. Yes, Barrow has a salary of D3 million per annum (D255,000 per month) but there is a need to justify if that is the only money used to build these mansions or not? Barrow should not accept gifts of any kind or from anyone to build houses for him. Failure to investigate these houses is to encourage a culture of corruption which can only destroy our society as it has been over the years.
Furthermore, both the IEC and Ombudsman should disclose the assets of the President. This is necessary for the health and strength of our democracy and good governance and to combat corruption, abuse of power and open display of opulence. Assets declaration by public officials, especially by the President must be disclosed publicly otherwise the very purpose of assets declaration is defeated.
Section 223 of the Constitution requires that all public officers under the purview of the Ombudsman declare their assets every two years. While this may not include the President, but in the interest of transparency and accountability and in the interest of fighting corruption I challenge Pres. Adama Barrow to declare his assets publicly, ASAP. By so doing, he would have generated immense public trust and confidence in his leadership as well as make a clean break from the past to build a future we deserve.
For The Gambia Our Homeland
Draft Constitution is at the INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
It is becoming clearer that the passing of the draft constitution has a much steeper path than we would like to believe. Most pundits, political observers are beginning to recognize the difficulty of passing one of the most important agenda items that some Gambians paid the ultimate price with their life. Recently, I wrote a piece to remind President Barrow of the importance of supporting and campaigning for the draft because it is his legacy, not to mention one of the most fundamental changes that would create the new Gambia.
I am of the belief that it is indeed a winning strategy for him, but somehow his supporters see it differently. Seeing the position of his cabinet having problems with some issues in the draft, hearing a position taken by a cabinet member who is very much adamant to campaign and votes NO to the draft, and the latest pronouncement from Siaka Jatta, an important political adviser of President Barrow, it is becoming clearer that the Barrow Government is gearing to campaign against the Draft. With a seventy-five percent threshold for the draft to pass in a referendum, knowing the position of the APRC to vote against it, and the final clarion call by the supporters of the Govt to campaign against it, the chance for the passing of the draft is looking almost impossible.
Unless of course, we pull the only arrow in our quiver to stop them. A collective effort among all parties and not a partisan approach can be the best strategy to isolate the President and his supporters and make it a fight for the soul of the Gambia.
As we get ready for the General elections in 2021, I have seen some proposals, lamenting the need for a coalition of parties just like 2016 to defeat and remove President Barrow. I can see why people would like to revisit the playbook of 2016, but for someone who has spent years advocating for a coalition of parties as to the only viable option for the removal of Jammeh; This would not work this time and will only lead us to a cul – de – sac at a dead end. But outside of a hail Mary pass, the Gambian people can be galvanized by our commitment to bury the 1997 constitution, and demand from our leaders to collectively campaign and mobilize the support needed for the passing of the Draft.
To get a good chance at passing the draft in the upcoming referendum, all the political parties and leaders will have to put on hold the partisan approach and work together and convince the Gambian people that now is the time to take a stand for what is indeed in the interest of the country. The parties do not necessarily have to form a formal coalition but should be very clear to the voters that they are working together against reactionary forces that are only interested in taking us back to the past twenty-two years of hell. Having the leadership of CA, UDP, PDOIS, PPP, GFA, GMC, GDC, and newly formed parties, take a collective stand and aggressively campaign for the passing of the draft can give it the chance it deserves.
The threshold of its passing is no doubt high; therefore, harmonizing and mobilizing the opposition parties to strategically take this approach and less of the partisan strategy would no doubt isolate the reactionary forces who are only driven by self and party at the expense of what is in the interest of the Gambian people.
I am sure because of the bitter pill from the 2016 coalition effort that has left some sour taste in our mouths among the parties should not be in the way of launching an effort for the sake of the passing of this important agenda item. There is no doubt that the Diaspora can play a facilitating role in working together and convince our party leaders to look into the possibility of working with other parties in a collective effort during the referendum; this is one spear in our quiver that can give life to the draft constitution that is right now in the intensive care unit. I can hear folks saying, each party can campaign for the Yes vote and it would amount to the same thing, but I beg to differ because the current Govt would love to see the referendum play out as some partisan battle which would only confuse the average voter. Parties and their leadership working together, strategize together and take their message together, would no doubt be much more impactful.
After we get the referendum pass, we can all go back to our parties and set the stage for 2021. GDF, STGDP, and all other groups in the bygone era that struggled to save our country in the Diaspora, the fight for the new Gambia cannot be achieved until we get the draft constitution pass in the upcoming referendum. What are we going to do about it?
By Musa Jeng, Atlanta, GA
Justice ministry expresses gratitude to US over Michael Sang Correa – ministry then calls on runaway junglers to take advantage of TRRC
The Ministry of Justice said late Friday it welcomed the indictment in the United States of Michael Sang Correa, a member of the Junglers Patrol Team under former President Jammeh, for alleged crimes of torture committed in The Gambia.
“The Ministry is particularly grateful to the United States Government for its continued strong support to and cooperation with The Gambia Government especially in respect of the on-going transitional justice process,” a statement said.
“The indictment of Mr Correa by US authorities is an extraordinary legal milestone. It demonstrates that no matter where such crimes are committed, and wherever the culprits may be hiding, global accountability mechanisms will reach them, and that there is no hiding place for those who commit such crimes in today’s world.”
According to the ministry of justice, the Government of The Gambia will continue to cooperate with US authorities in Mr Correa’s case, as well as in other active cases in the United States in which The Gambia Government has an interest.
The ministry also used its Friday’s statement to renew its “strong encouragement for those who are still at large to take advantage of the TRRC process while that window remains open”.
“The alternative is to face certain prosecution for your crimes and there will be no hiding place or sanctuary for you. You can only run but you cannot hide forever, and you will be caught,” the ministry said.
America proposes major changes to its asylum system
By Lamin Njie
The United States Department of Homeland Security is proposing major changes to the country’s asylum law and procedure which could see most asylum seekers find it extremely difficult to be approved.
In a 161-page rule seen by The Fatu Network and reviewed by our legal team, the DHS is pushing for a number of changes that would affect almost all asylum seekers.
The draft rule is set to be published in the Federal Register on 15 June 2020, for 30 days of public comments before it takes effect.
One proposed change would authorise DHS to place aliens with positive ‘Credible Fear Interview, CFI,’ in a new “asylum and withholding only proceeding” rather than a 240 proceeding, that gives aliens many procedural safeguards.
Also, DHS proposes to heighten the screening standard for torture claims. Currently, aliens subjected to expedited removal need only show at their CFI that there’s a “significant possibility” for the alleged harm. The new rule proposes a “reasonable possibility.”
In another proposed change, asylum officers would be empowered to make a “frivolous” finding after review. Presently, only an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeal can make such a finding because it permanently bars an alien from benefit.
Elsewhere in the draft rule, DHS proposes that even if an alien meets his or her burden to be granted asylum, adjudicators may still deny the request based on newly introduced negative discretion. Some of them include: an alien’s unlawful entry or unlawful attempted entry into the United States unless such entry or attempted entry was made in immediate flight from persecution or torture in a contiguous country; subject to certain exceptions, the failure of an alien to seek asylum or refugee protection in at least one country through which the alien transited before entering the United States; and an alien’s use of fraudulent documents to enter the United States, unless the alien arrived in the United States by air, sea, or land directly from the applicant’s home country without transiting through any other country.