Joint Op-Ed

HRVP Josep Borrell & Head of UK Task Force, Michel Barnier

On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. We lost a member of our family. It was a sad moment for us, for European citizens – and, indeed, for many British citizens.

Nevertheless, we have always respected the sovereign decision of 52% of the British electorate, and we now look forward to starting a new chapter in our relations.

Emotions aside, 1 February turned out to be historic but also undramatic. This is largely thanks to the Withdrawal Agreement that we negotiated with the UK, which enabled us to secure ‘an orderly Brexit’. One that – at least for now – minimises disruption for our citizens, businesses, public administrations – as well as for our international partners.

Under this agreement, the EU and the UK agreed on a transition period, until the end of 2020 at least, during which the UK will continue to participate in the EU’s Customs Union and Single Market, and to apply EU law, even if it is no longer a Member State. During this period, the UK will also continue to abide by the international agreements of the EU, as we made clear in a note verbale to our international partners.

So, with the transition period in place, there is a degree of continuity. This was not easy given the magnitude of the task. By leaving the Union, the UK automatically, mechanically, legally, leaves hundreds of international agreements concluded by or on behalf of the Union, to the benefit of its Member States, on topics as different as trade, aviation, fisheries or civil nuclear cooperation.

We now have to build a new partnership between the EU and the UK. That work will start in a few weeks, as soon as the EU27 have approved the negotiating mandate proposed by the European Commission, setting out our terms and ambitions for achieving the closest possible partnership with a country which will remain our ally, our partner and our friend.

The EU and the UK are bound by history, by geography, culture, shared values and principles and a strong belief in rules-based multilateralism. Our future partnership will reflect these links and shared beliefs. We want to go well beyond trade and keep working together on security and defence, areas where the UK has experiences and assets that are best used as part of a common effort. In a world of big challenges and change, of turmoil and transition, we must consult each other and cooperate, bilaterally and in key regional and global fora, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, NATO or the G20.

It is perhaps a cliché but the basic truth is that today’s global challenges – from climate change, to cybercrime, terrorism or inequality – require collective responses. The more the UK is able to work in lockstep with the EU and together with partners around the world, the greater our chances of addressing these challenges effectively.

At the very core of the EU project is the idea that we are stronger together; that pooling our resources and initiatives is the best way of achieving common goals. Brexit does not change this, and we will continue to take this project forward as 27.

Together, the 27 Member States will continue to form a single market of 450 million citizens and more than 20 million businesses.

Together, we remain the largest trading bloc in the world.

Together, at 27, we are still the world’s largest development aid donor.

Our partners can be sure that we will stay true to an ambitious, outward-looking agenda – be it on trade and investment, on climate action and digital, on connectivity, on security and counter-terrorism, on human rights and democracy, or on defence and foreign policy.

We will continue to live up to our commitments. We will continue to stand by the agreements that link us to our international partners, such as the Economic Partnership Agreement between the West African States and the European Union, and we will continue to develop multilateral cooperation frameworks around the world.

The European Union will continue to be a partner you can trust. A steadfast defender of rules-based multilateralism, working with our partners to make the world more secure and fair.

The first point of civility must point to truth – otherwise all its roads to formulate a civil and a vibrant democracy will lead to chaos and disunity.

My hunch is – the folks of the ‘3 Years Jotna’ aren’t on some heroic quest for vanity, but even if they are – it remains their right! The government cannot usurp those rights and cannot criminalize civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the life blood of a democracy.

Some of us have never been part of the ‘The 3 Years Jotna Movement’ and have never supported it for practical reasons. I’ve always maintained that – it was badly conceived and improbable to attain considering the situation on the grounds. Among those concerns are; the drafting of a new constitution, the pending referendum, the possible fall out of ascending an unelected official into Presidency, and many other obstacles I cannot enumerate here.

Equally disappointed I was when Lawyer Darboe, a man I greatly admired and respected, switched positions on this matter, which seem to be only out of expediency – because his explanations were radically cheap on substance and utterly superficial in context.

Nevertheless, me and many others, stand with all of them in defense of their rights to dissent, to assemble and the legitimacy of the movement.

We cannot go back to the imbecilic trifles of the past brutal regime. We can start exercising the draconian laws of punishing or criminalizing dissent, arresting journalists and shutting down radio stations at the government’s volition.

There is no real substantial argument offered why such harsh measures are being taken against our fellow citizens. The tendency to bring those old techniques to terrorize the masses is repugnant and will never be tolerated in The Gambia. Civil disobedience cannot be criminalized. It’s simply wrong.

The government and the law enforcement can hide behind these foolish draconian laws to use them as penance against our fellow citizens, and they will certainly not suffice to perpetuate injustice for long.

Like it is with individuals, the life of a nation unfolds in series of surprises. Events are often unpredictable but it seems our conducts remain habitual – even as a nation. We must all work to change some habits; to truly love one another and stand for the rights of all our people, especially those we disagree with.

The temperament of a leader can be a gift or curse that accommodates  the national impulses and events we know not whence they come. A leader of a nation cannot be contemptuous towards a section of the population simply because they oppose his rule or question its legitimacy. That is antithetical to democracy. It cannot be a crime to be asked to keep your own word. A leader cannot too arrogant to explain why he has to negate on his commitment, arguable within reason and solid legal grounds.

Modesty give you the private entrance into the hearts of the people of this great nation, but arrogance is shutting you out of those solemn entrances. Temperament is the means to climbing the pedestal of the natural aristocracy. It wasn’t bolster, ineptitude and arrogance that brought Barrow to power, and they won’t be the instruments to keep him there either.

His rise to power is the culmination of a million efforts by a million citizen.  An honest effort to remove a dictator, to make him a prime custodian of our newly found democracy. That his very position has been conferred to him by the votes, the sweat and tears of many of those he now label as treasonous criminals. Still, many real criminals of the past regime stand erect besides you, Mr. President.

To those making the arguments to justify this aggression again fellow citizens, beware. Just about any argument can be made in the name of ‘love of country’ and ‘national security’- and then go on to insult, assault or label half of our countrymen or classify them as criminals or bad people. If you claim to love your country, try loving all our countrymen. Aren’t those two the same? What is a country without its people?

If a president seeks blind loyalty, he will certainly have it, but it will also ruin his presidency, and will be remembered as just another rascal that betrayed his people. Blind fealty gives thinking a fix direction, it is a killer to authentic discourse and it’s a dangerous double-edged sword that will certainly destroy your legacy.

Mr. President, many doubted your intellectual prowess and competence even at first glance, but admired your modesty, stood with you and prayed for your success from the very start. But I’m guessing lack of self-esteem is not humility. You can’t give up an ego you never had.

Now, it feels like many of us were wrong at the presumption of your humility. Taking the affairs and the security of our nation seriously is wise, but taking yourself too seriously is a sign of folly and overblown ego.

There is no luck in great presidencies and nothing can preserve its legacy beyond it’s intrinsic value. The effect of every great leaders on the minds of their people is in the depth of their own thought, moral integrity and their capacity for good they can render to those they govern. Mimicking a despotic murderous dotard like Jammeh is no roadmap to greatness.

You can’t masquerade your contempt and misgivings with the pretentious claim of national security. A coat of paint over a termite infested wood won’t take away the rot.

If something doesn’t commensurate your values or beliefs it might annoy greatly you but doesn’t necessarily make it wrong or illegal. It might inconvenience you but doesn’t mean they’re subverting democracy.

These trifles of an overzealous government are only transient, we the people shall set our rate and place in the history of our nation.

Onslaught by your security services is not only unacceptable; it is despicable and a stain on your presidency. They act as if we take for granted something that is freely granted to us. Like an immense gift beyond our metrics for valuation that we are abusing. Like an ungrateful child that outrun the sympathy a government afforded her.

The rights of the citizens aren’t your charitable givings. But, any attempts to stifle those rights are your own misgivings.

Mr. President, you and a sod – too drunk to remember his own name have equal stake to this country that we all love. Civil disobedience is the life blood of a democracy. Get use to it!

Website: jamaldrammeh.net
Facebook: jamal.drammeh
Twitter: @jamaldrammeh

The United Democratic Party [UDP] Diaspora vehemently condemns the disproportionate use of force against lawfully assembled protesters who gathered on January 26, 2020 after the Inspector General of Police had issued them a permit, and the disproportionate charges preferred against them following their arraignment in the Kanifing Magistrates Courts. Consequently, the diaspora unit of the UDP without reservations, stands by and in Solidarity with the accused particularly its UK constituent member, Mr Yanks Darboe,the 7th accused of the 3 Years Jotna Movement’s executive.

Persons of conscience do not wait and watch injustice, oppression and repression erode their fundamental rights and freedoms and not lift a finger. They do not allow fear of government excesses and its consequences paralyze them to look the other way. Yankuba Darboe embodies that.

It is not lost on any Gambian that Mr Darboe was a strong, recognizable rights defender and activist who was very instrumental in the protracted fight to oust dictatorship, restore rule of law and good governance in the Gambia. As citizen and human rights lawyer, Mr Yanks Darboe had consistently challenged Government excesses with footprints and scars to show for it. He stood up and against abuse of power, state brutality and unjust treatment of citizens irrespective of political, ethnic and religious belonging. He invested his time and resources in ushering in this Government. To see his own Government target and punish him for no just reason, is a shame and indictment of the President who campaigned and won elections on the sweat and blood of victims of oppression barely three years ago.

Most importantly, Mr Yanks Darboe and his co-accused are victims of political vindictiveness. However much one might have disagreed with the movement, let’s not forget that they were not born out of a vacuum. The essense of their cause was to hold politicians – in this case the President – to account for a covenant he had with the Gambian voters to end self-perpetuating rule. It would be redundant narrating how we got here but our very recent history should teach us that the silence of our majority enabled the dictatorship. If there’s one thing that we must learn as a people and country is to resist the emergence of any authority that would curtail or confiscate any of our freedoms and right to dissent, especially.

The UDP Diaspora is reaffirming its National Executive’s position in demanding that these frivolous charges be dropped against peaceful protesters while advising the State to resist any temptation to misuse and abuse its powers. What had happened on January 26, 2020, was reminiscent of President Jammeh’s repressive modus operandi, and it brought back the painful memories of brutal murder of Solo Sandeng and the rights violations that followed. The country has chosen to adopt a ‘Never Again’ slogan with a resolve to never allow dictatorship rear its head again. We implore the President and his Government, especially the security forces to commit themselves to the collective aspirations of Gambians in realizing a free democratic Gambia where all rights are responsibly and deservedly exercised without inhibition.

Free Yanks Darboe and his co-accused.

Pata Saidykhan

For The Chairman

United Democratic Party – DIASPORA

Abuja, Nigeria, January 31, 2020 — Gambian authorities should immediately drop the charges against broadcast journalists Pa Modou Bojang and Gibbi Jallow, and permit the Home Digital FM and King FM radio stations to reopen, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On January 26, police raided the offices of the privately owned radio stations Home Digital FM, in Brikama, and King FM radio station, in Tallinding, and arrested several staffers, according to Home Digital FM manager Omar Fofana and Jallow, a reporter and general manager of King FM, both of whom spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Police arrested Bojang, a reporter and CEO of Home Digital FM, during the raid and held him until January 28 at the police station, when they charged him with incitement and released him after posting a bail of 250,000 dalasi ($4,887), according to Fofana and Bojang, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app.

Police arrested Gibbi Jallow and two technicians at the station, Ebrima Jallow and Madiou Jallow, during the raid, Gibbi Jallow said. All three, who share a family name but are not related, were held in a police station until January 28, Gibbi Jallow told CPJ. He said he was charged with inciting violence and was released on the condition that he provide documents about land he owns. The technicians were released without charge, according to Kebba Kamara, a King FM reporter who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Bojang and Gibbi Jallow told CPJ that the stations remain off the air, and that no court dates had been set. Jallow told CPJ that he plans to appeal the stations’ closure in court.

Both Home Digital FM and King FM had recently covered protests and interviewed activists calling for President Adama Barrow to step down this year, pursuant to a pledge he had made in 2017 to serve for only three years instead of his full five-year term, according to Bojang, Jallow, and news reports. Barrow took office in early 2017 after defeating longtime President Yahya Jammeh, whose government had a long record of press freedom violations.

“A democratically elected government resorting to dictatorial censorship tactics is a huge setback for press freedom in Gambia,” Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, said from New York. “Authorities should drop all charges against Pa Modou Bojang and Gibbi Jallow, and King FM and Home Digital FM must be allowed to resume broadcasting immediately.”

The arrests and raids came after President Barrow’s executive office ordered both outlets to be suspended for allegedly violating their licenses by “demonstrating notoriety for peddling incendiary messages and allowing their media to be used as platforms for inciting violence,” according to a statement signed by Ebrima G. Sankareh, a spokesperson for the Gambian government, which CPJ reviewed.

Bojang and Mustapha K. Darboe, vice president of the Gambia Press Union, a local trade group, both told CPJ that authorities had not specified when Home Digital FM and King FM would be permitted to resume broadcasting. Jallow told CPJ that security officials had barricaded the area around his office and he could not get inside.

Jallow told CPJ he believed King FM’s coverage of the issue was fair because they also broadcast interviews with people who advocated that Barrow remain in office until the conclusion of his five-year term. On the day of the raid, King FM had only played music and had not broadcast any political coverage, Jallow said.

“Police and paramilitary officers stormed the station and said they had orders from above to shut down the station,” Bojang said. During the raid, police did not explain what they meant by “orders from above,” nor did they give further details on the Abuja, Nigeria, January 31, 2020 — Gambian authorities should immediately drop the charges against broadcast journalists Pa Modou Bojang and Gibbi Jallow, and permit the Home Digital FM and King FM radio stations to reopen, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On January 26, police raided the offices of the privately owned radio stations Home Digital FM, in Brikama, and King FM radio station, in Tallinding, and arrested several staffers, according to Home Digital FM manager Omar Fofana and Jallow, a reporter and general manager of King FM, both of whom spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Police arrested Bojang, a reporter and CEO of Home Digital FM, during the raid and held him until January 28 at the police station, when they charged him with incitement and released him after posting a bail of 250,000 dalasi ($4,887), according to Fofana and Bojang, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app.

Police arrested Gibbi Jallow and two technicians at the station, Ebrima Jallow and Madiou Jallow, during the raid, Gibbi Jallow said. All three, who share a family name but are not related, were held in a police station until January 28, Gibbi Jallow told CPJ. He said he was charged with inciting violence and was released on the condition that he provide documents about land he owns. The technicians were released without charge, according to Kebba Kamara, a King FM reporter who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Bojang and Gibbi Jallow told CPJ that the stations remain off the air, and that no court dates had been set. Jallow told CPJ that he plans to appeal the stations’ closure in court.

Both Home Digital FM and King FM had recently covered protests and interviewed activists calling for President Adama Barrow to step down this year, pursuant to a pledge he had made in 2017 to serve for only three years instead of his full five-year term, according to Bojang, Jallow, and news reports. Barrow took office in early 2017 after defeating longtime President Yahya Jammeh, whose government had a long record of press freedom violations.

“A democratically elected government resorting to dictatorial censorship tactics is a huge setback for press freedom in Gambia,” Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, said from New York. “Authorities should drop all charges against Pa Modou Bojang and Gibbi Jallow, and King FM and Home Digital FM must be allowed to resume broadcasting immediately.”

The arrests and raids came after President Barrow’s executive office ordered both outlets to be suspended for allegedly violating their licenses by “demonstrating notoriety for peddling incendiary messages and allowing their media to be used as platforms for inciting violence,” according to a statement signed by Ebrima G. Sankareh, a spokesperson for the Gambian government, which CPJ reviewed.

Bojang and Mustapha K. Darboe, vice president of the Gambia Press Union, a local trade group, both told CPJ that authorities had not specified when Home Digital FM and King FM would be permitted to resume broadcasting. Jallow told CPJ that security officials had barricaded the area around his office and he could not get inside.

Jallow told CPJ he believed King FM’s coverage of the issue was fair because they also broadcast interviews with people who advocated that Barrow remain in office until the conclusion of his five-year term. On the day of the raid, King FM had only played music and had not broadcast any political coverage, Jallow said.

“Police and paramilitary officers stormed the station and said they had orders from above to shut down the station,” Bojang said. During the raid, police did not explain what they meant by “orders from above,” nor did they give further details on the alleged offence, Bojang and Fofana said.

During the protests against Barrow staying in office, demonstrators just outside Banjul, the capital, slapped and shoved Sankuleh Janko, a reporter with the Dakar-based regional broadcaster West African Democracy Radio, the journalist told CPJ. He said he was not seriously injured.

On January 25, Gambian authorities denied accreditation to Nicolas Haque, a correspondent with Al-Jazeera, who had applied in order to cover the protests that began on January 26, according to a tweet by Haque and news reports.

CPJ called and sent text messages to Gambian Information Minister Ebrima Sillah, police spokesperson Lamin Njie, and government spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh, but did not receive any responses.

offence, Bojang and Fofana said.

During the protests against Barrow staying in office, demonstrators just outside Banjul, the capital, slapped and shoved Sankuleh Janko, a reporter with the Dakar-based regional broadcaster West African Democracy Radio, the journalist told CPJ. He said he was not seriously injured.

On January 25, Gambian authorities denied accreditation to Nicolas Haque, a correspondent with Al-Jazeera, who had applied in order to cover the protests that began on January 26, according to a tweet by Haque and news reports.

CPJ called and sent text messages to Gambian Information Minister Ebrima Sillah, police spokesperson Lamin Njie, and government spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh, but did not receive any responses.