After the arrest, torture and death of peaceful protesters against Yaya Jammeh’s tyranny, Gambians went to the street to protest for their release and end to dictatorship in The Gambia.
Gambians peacefully protesting DAY 18/04/02016 Part3
Gambians peacefully protesting DAY 18/04/02016 Part2
After the arrest, torture and death of peaceful protesters against Yaya Jammeh’s tyranny, Gambians went to the street to protest for their release and end to dictatorship in The Gambia.
Gambians peacefully protesting DAY 15/04/02016
After the arrest, torture and death of peaceful protesters against Yaya Jammeh’s tyranny, Gambians went to the street to protest for their release and end to dictatorship in The Gambia.
Violent Response to the Protest: How Jammeh’s Final Survival Strategies Can Backfire
By Ousman Jobe
Since the arrest and the subsequent detention of the executive members of United Democratic Party and its youth on April 14 and 16 respectively, there has been imperative sequence of developments in the political landscape of the Gambia. For the first in his 22 years of his ruling, Yahya Jammeh’s legitimacy as the president of the Republic of the Gambia has been severely tested by the protestors who defiantly call upon him to resign and to spare the life of innocent Gambians. The protestors, who also insolently commit themselves to secure the release of the opposition members, including the Secretary General of the UDP Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, unprecedentedly demystified the omni-feared Gambian leader in the Highway of Kairaba Avenue in a broad daylight. While this sudden eclipse of fear among the Gambians about the proclaimed Babili mansa (bridge builder) has been above the comprehension of many, the regime’s response to such protests and the verbal attacks against the once dreadful president has been quite indecisive and characterized by mutation over the scale of the protest.
Nevertheless, the peaceful match of the people on May 8, 2016 was marked with violent confrontation between the protestor and the members of Para military as considerable number of people, including elderly people and nursing mothers, were brutally beaten and injured and subsequently arrested. Although this incidence mirrored the fatigue of Yahya’s Jammeh and his intolerance with the unparalleled weekly protests in Banjul and its outskirts, it could also mark the beginning of his departure from the state house. This is because the violent response to the peaceful match or protest only triggered parallel mass demonstration, and the detention of many Gambians would also lead to the increase protest in scale and scope.
On the one hand, the systematic and excessive use of force and violent response to a peaceful match in the Gambia could backfire against Yahya Jammeh’s regime. This is ascribed to the fact that protests in general tend to escalate and turn into violence when police officers use aggressive tactics, such as approaching demonstrators in riot gear or lining up in military-like formations. Under this, circumstance, such protests continue until the demands of the people are partially or completely met by the government.
In 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian revolution, small scale of capital based protests against Bin Ali of Tunis and Mubarak of Egypt turned into a fiery national spectacle when the police and army aggressively reacted to these protests; such protests in Egypt and Tunis did only subdued when both Bin Ali and Mubarak vacated the presidency. This positive relation between the use of force against protestors and escalation of protest is understood in the context that once governments use force indiscriminately against its people, such irresponsible action tends to catch the attention of international community, and it wins a eclectic media coverage while the sympathizers with governments and passive participants in the protests become active in the protest.
Thus, the legitimacy of such government deteriorated in the eyes of its people and the international community, as the eclipse of the protest become tied to the departure of this governments. The case of Egypt, Tunis and Burkina Faso are the typical examples of this. Accordingly, as the Yahya Jammeh regime has embarked on the indiscriminate use of violence, the protest could crumble gradually to reach provinces; and the passive participants in the protests and sympathizers with Yahya Jammeh could turn against him amid mounting pressures from international community and extensive international media coverage. This would lead ultimately to the demise of his 22 years of ruling as the protest will remain vivid on the streets until the raised demands are met.
On the other hand, As the regime in the Gambia has resorted to the mass arrest and unlawful detention of the protestors, this could reflective positively on the forthcoming protests. This is even acute when we put into the account social structure in the Gambia, nature of the families ties that characterized relations between people, and communal responsibility of showing solidarity with neighbors and friends. Gambia is a traditional society in which social norms which- are internalized through socialization- continue to structure social relations and to dictate and shape the responsibility of the members a community towards the community and its people. The fact many of the protestors who so occupy streets leading to Banjul high court are drawn for the family, relatives and friends of the opposition members, who are being detained and tries illustrates how the internalized social norms are dictating these people to show their solidarity and sympathy with the detainees.
Therefore, as Yahya Jammeh devises violent means to arrest and detain large number of people, this will positively contribute in turn out of any subsequent protest as the relatives, families and friends of the newly detainees will turn out to fulfill their social responsibility of showing sympathy and solidarity with the detainees. This is more acute, if we bear in mind value attached to family networking through intermarriage and sense of neighborhoodness in the Gambia, which bring people from diverse tribes together as one family.
Therefore, as Gambians at home and abroad show their intolerance with Jammeh’s 22 years of ruling characterized by mysterious killings and disappearance of people, corruption and tribalism, his recent device to silence people will backfire. The systematic use of force by the Gambian para military and soldiers would not only lead to the escalation of the protest in scope and scale, it would also lead to the ultimate demise of Yahya Jammeh regime sooner or later.
Americans Accused of Trying to Overthrow Gambia’s President Sentenced in Minnesota Court
By Kayla Ruble
May 12, 2016 | 5:25 pm
Four American citizens accused of helping to plan a failed coup in the Gambia against President Yahya Jammeh more than a year ago have been sentenced by a Minnesota judge, who has carried out the first prosecution using the country’s Neutrality Act in 35 years.
The individuals include Texas businessman Cherno Njie, who allegedly funded the operation; Minnesota resident Papa Faal; and 41-year-old Alagie Barrow. All three individuals were charged last January with conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act, a law enacted in 1974 that prevents US citizens from taking action against a friendly nation. They were also charged with conspiring to possess firearms to pursue a violent crime.
Njie was sentenced to one year and one day, three years probation and a $10,000 fine. Faal was sentenced to time served over the last year. Barrow received six months in prison and three years probation. All had faced maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
The fourth defendant, US-based Gambian activist Banka Manneh, was indicted after a separate investigation accused him of assisting with the coup plot. He was accused of having “participated in conference calls and exchanged planning documents with the other members of the conspiracy,” and having “purchased two pistols and one rifle to equip co-conspirators participating in the coup.” He was also charged with violating the Neutrality Act. The last time a case was prosecuted under the Neutrality Act was in 1981 against two individuals accused of a coup attempt in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.
The coup saga in the Gambia unfolded during the early hours of December 30, 2014 when a small group of armed men snuck through the borders of the small West African nation and made their way to the capital city Banjul while Jammeh was out of the country. As they attempted to storm the state house they were met with heavy gunfire from security forces, squashing the coup, and killing at least four assailants.
Many of the men were Gambians who had fled abroad living in countries like the US, UK, and Germany. The assailants, referred to by the Gambian diaspora and dissident factions as “freedom fighters,” included former Gambian military officials and even a US soldier. Njaga Jagne, killed in the firefight, was a Kentucky national Guard member, while Lamin Sanneh, was trained at the UK’s Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and previously served as commander of Gambia’s presidential guard.
Faal and Barrow managed to survive and flee across the border into Senegal — which surrounds the coastal country to the north, south, and east. After his escape, Faal went directly to the US embassy in Dakar where he gave an interview before making his way back to the US, officials said. He was later interviewed again by the FBI at the airport in Washington DC. He was charged in January.
Barrow has been accused of hiding out with Njie at an unidentified location in the Gambia while the operation against the statehouse took place. The investigation said they planned to enter the statehouse once the mission was complete and place Njie in power. The pair also managed to escape and make it back to the US before being charged and indicted.
After news of the coup broke, the US State Department condemned what they called an attempt to overthrow the government through “extra-constitutional means,” and called on all sides to “refrain from further violence.”
Manneh, a long-time activist in the Gambian diaspora, was the last to be charged after the FBI investigation alleged he had participated and assisted in planning the coup, although he did not travel to the Gambia to participate. The investigation detailed accusations that Manneh purchased weapons and participated in outlining a future leadership structure.
Much of his work focused on reaching out to average Gambians and helping them get their stories out of the country. Njie and Faal, on the other hand, were less vocal in their feelings about Jammeh and his regime, with many diaspora members initially surprised by their involvement as the news emerged. In video recordings on YouTube, Manneh spoke about issues facing the Gambia. Speaking just months before the coup attempt, he discussed why he had gotten involved in the “struggle to liberate” the Gambia from what he referred to as Yaya Jammeh’s dictatorship.
“The reason I am in this struggle is one simple fact, I happen to have my own dreams… the dreams that I have are actually inspired by things I have seen and witnessed in my life, my own experiences.”
Manneh expresses the excitement he had initially when Jammeh rose to power through a coup in 1994, ousting President Dawda Jawara who had been in power for 24 years. As killings and human rights violations escalated under Jammeh’s regime, Manneh fled to the US. The activist has said this has shaped his dream to fight for a free Gambia.
“What I see in the US, what I felt in the US, the opportunities I have seen here, the human rights and the democracy and the rule of law is what I want in the Gambia, and even better,” he said. “The Gambia can be like that, we can be a developed nation…. People who have their dignity intact.”
More than a year after the attempted coup, an opposition movement has developed in the Gambia, starting with protests in April calling for electoral reforms ahead of the December polls that will see Jammeh seek to extend his 22-year rule.
The 49-year-old dictator is known for silencing dissenters and shoving them in prisons with deplorable conditions. The leader previously also claimed he could cure both AIDS and Ebola, while maintaining that he would rule the Gambia for one billion years — if God allowed it. Recently, Gambia helped prevent a proposal from moving forward during a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States that would have set term limits in the region.
Jammeh has also become known for anti-LGBT rhetoric, saying in a speech last year that he would slit gay men’s throats. The Gambia is one of 38 countries across Africa where homosexuality is illegal, with Jammeh signing off on a law last year that qualified gay acts as crimes of “aggravated homosexuality” and punishable by life in prison.
Concerns about free and fair elections, and the recent increase in the cost of running for office, have sparked calls for electoral reforms and the latest protest movement. Tensions escalated in Banjul at the end of April when security forces arrested dozens of people during a march, including several officials from the United Democratic Party. Days later news emerged that youth leader Solo Sandeng died in custody. Critics have continued to gather and protest outside the courthouse as a group of 20 opposition members, including UDP leader Ousainou Darboe.
The international community has condemned the Gambian government’s response to the protests. Most recently, the European Parliament issued a condemnation of recent events and ordered an investigation, while also saying the EU and member states should consider implementing travel bans and targeted sanctions against actors in the regime who have carried out abuses.
Follow Kayla Ruble on Twitter: @RubleKB
4 US Citizens Sentenced for Attempted Gambian Coup
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS — Four U.S. citizens were sentenced in federal court for their roles in a failed attempt to overthrow the government in the West African nation of Gambia, the U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday.
The men were sentenced for conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act, which makes it illegal to take military action against a country with which the United States is “at peace.” The charges stemmed from a Dec. 30, 2014, coup attempt in the former British colony, which came as longtime President Yahya Jammeh was away.
“These defendants conspired to overthrow a foreign government,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said in a statement. “Regardless of the legitimacy of their personal and emotional connections to The Gambia, these men placed countless innocents in harm’s way when they engaged in a brazen and fatally flawed attempt at regime change.”
Cherno Njie, 58, of Lakeway, Texas, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Prosecutors say Njie was a financier and would have served as the interim leader of Gambia had the coup succeeded.
Face to face with death: Female detainee catalogs systematic torture in The Gambia while in detention
The Gambia’s horrific human rights records is once again on the spotlight as Nogoi Njie who was arrested with a group of youth activists in April explains how she was brutally tortured while in detention. The degrading physical treatment came in the form of stripping her naked and hanging her from a ceiling wall head down while a group of men in hoods and gloves continuously beat her for over ten hours.
Below is her affidavit which was filed in court:
Gambian diplomat Samsudeen Sarr allegedly threatens to shoot protesters in leaked tape
By Ludovica Iaccino
An audio clip containing controversial remarks reportedly made by Gambia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations has emerged. It is believed that Samsudeen Sarr was recorded while saying he would open fire on people, presumably referring to protesters rocking Gambia’s capital, Banjul.
“If I were there, and I was in charge, I would open fire on anybody,” the diplomat, who lives in New York, was alleged to have said. The clip surfaced on 9 May, hours after activists and the opposition claimed security forces attacked people who had gathered outside the High Court in Banjul, as opposition leader Ousainou Darboe appeared for a court ruling.
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Sarr has not made any comments regarding the remarks attributed to him, while the Gambian embassy in London has not replied to a request for their reaction to the audio clip. IBTimes UK understands the identity of the person believed to have recorded Sarr has not been disclosed for security reasons.
“The United Nations should immediately discipline and if possible revoke Mr Sarr’s status as Gambian diplomat to the UN because of his irresponsible statement against peaceful and unarmed protesters. Such remarks can only fuel further tensions and thereby jeopardise the safety and security of protesters,” Gambian journalist and activist Sainey MK Marenah told IBTimes UK. “Such comments have no place in our political discourse and Sarr’s actions again demonstrate his lack of respect for his office.”
Jeffrey Smith, an international human rights consultant who has worked with Gambian activists, believes Sarr’s alleged remarks were not surprising. He told IBTimes UK: “These odious, though not entirely surprising remarks, now give the international community valuable insight into the mindset of Gambia’s top government officials. That one of Gambia’s top diplomats has openly endorsed the killing of peaceful protesters should, once and for all, dispel of any remaining notion that the Jammeh regime is capable of governing in a responsible or humane manner.”
April protests
Darboe, head of the United Democratic Party (UDP), is standing trial, together with 19 other activists, in connection with a protest held earlier in April 2016. The defendants were denied bail after being charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and had previously been charged with assembling unlawfully, as well as rioting, inciting violence and interfering with vehicles. They all pleaded not guilty.
It is believed more than 50 youths and members of the opposition were arrested after taking to the streets, calling for electoral reforms and the resignation of Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, who has been in power since 1994. Authorities deemed the protests illegal as demonstrators had failed to obtain permission from the police.
In the aftermath of the arrests, Sarr claimed the protests had been planned by dissidents based in the US and Western Europe, some of whom are allegedly linked to a failed coup d’etat in 2014, aimed at overthrowing Jammeh.
The official also alleged that dissidents were using “Western-based” radio stations to incite tribal fighting in the country, pitting people from the Mandingo (Darboe’stribe) against the Jolas, the ethnic group to which Jammeh belongs.
It is feared that UDP secretary, Solo Sandeng, died alongside two others while being held in detention. Human rights groups have so far confirmed only Sandeng’s death, which triggered further demonstrations culminating in Darboe’s arrest.
UTG, Young Magistrates and The State: Who is doing wrong?
Few days ago, I woke up to the news that Omar Jabang, a First Class Magistrate at the Banjul Magistrate Court, was arrested and held at the Banjul Police Station. I could not believe it at first. Nonetheless, I had to confirm with sources close to him. That did not work out.
A day later, Foroyaa carried out the story and reported that the brilliant young magistrate who topped his graduating class in 2014 was indeed arrested and fired from the Judiciary. Was I surprised? Not really. Only that it came sooner than I expected.
Jabang is not the first young Gambian Magistrate to be fired by the judiciary. Of recent, Samsudeen Conteh who presided over my case against the state was also reportedly fired the day after he acquitted and discharged me of all trumped up charges. Before Samsudeen, it was Jacklin Nixon Hakim. I was in the same class with Jacklin at Gambia Methodist Academy. I was in the same batch with her and Samusudeen at the UTG in different programs. The sad thing is that these three are not the only locally trained magistrates that have been fired from their jobs or forced to resign. A handful of other young Magistrates some of whom have left the Gambia have been victims too. But what is the real issue here? Why is it that only young magistrates believed to be very level headed are the ones attracting the wrath of the State? Is it due to their training from the University or that they are failing the expectation of the state, which is to always rule in favor of them in high profile criminal cases?
I personally knew Omar Jabang as a student at University of The Gambia. We never had any one-to-one discussion, neither were we close. However, as an active member of the University community, I got to hear stories about individuals and what they were doing within the University community. I know for certain that Jabang was an active participant in student politics and that he was very brilliant and level-headed. Unfortunately, we did not connect at some point, but I have heard and seen some of his work.
For Samsudeen, we came to the University at the same time. If I had continued with my Law program, we would have been in the same class and would have gotten to know each other better perhaps. I had most of my high school friends in his class. We have also played football together on opposing teams. Yes, my department Social Sciences wins every time we played the “lawyers”.
Like Omar Jabang, Samsudeen was also an A student. Indeed very brilliant. I remember at one point we had a very heated debate on the Law Faculty Facebook page. I was always on that page engaging the law students. The reason being, the students from other departments had this sort of stereotype against them. We felt that they thought highly of themselves and behaved as if they knew everything about the law, but couldn’t debate outside the law. So, my job was to challenge them normatively. Many times you ask some of them simple questions and all they could do was to quote a section of The Gambian constitution as if that was the only thing they were good at. I got irritated most of the time. Of course there were extremely brilliant individuals that did not need the constitution to make a normative argument. These were the people I connected with mostly. My very Boss Satang Nabaneh and Musu Bakoto Sawo were part of that group. Baboucarr Drammeh and Patrick Gomez as well as many other young intellectuals were too. Interestingly, when I was arraigned before the Magistrate court, I was prosecuted by Drammeh and Samsudeen was the Magistrate. It was an all UTG affair.
At first, I disliked Samsudeen. I thought he had some personal vendetta against me especially when he denied me and my colleagues bail on our first day of appearing before him. Although I was popular at UTG, I knew some people that didn’t like me. They thought I was very close to the Vice Chancellor Prof. Kah and that I was his “personal spy”, especially when I decided to resign as Secretary General of the Student Union to pick up a job with UTG in pursuit of my intellectual dream. In student politics people make up stuff. It was all part of the game. I knew I was adored by many, but few that I didn’t share the same political beliefs with didn’t like me. So, they decided to take the personal route.
Even today, some of them think I am a “hypocrite” because I am expressing my disagreement with the government. I have all the right to hate the government for what they have subjected me to. But no, I do not hate them. I just disagree with some of their policies and programs. The reason why I also express myself is because Norway provided me with that space – this is what lacking in Gambia: space to engage openly and constructively. The absence of such a space never limited me in anyway. You may ask my colleagues and students. My opponents could not understand and they will never understand, because they only see me as Sait Matty and do not know me on a personal level. They have never been in any of my classes and they just don’t have any idea whatsoever of who I am. These people should expect no explanation from me.
I thought Samsudeen was one of them. But I also remember that Samsudeen was not very active in student politics so he might have no idea what was going on. I thought to myself that it might have been our heated debate. However, our second appearance in court a week before our scheduled appearance made it clear. He slapped me with a bail bond of Five million Dalasis over a misdemeanor case. I was told that usually an ID card would suffice. Not in my case. I was even asked to tender my passport. I missed so many important meetings including the 8th Pan African Congress in Ghana. I was so angry, yet I laughed in spite of myself when Mrs. Ida Drammeh asked whether we have murdered someone or something else. It was that moment that I realized the case was beyond him and that there was someone above him forcing him to make those decisions. My case was political like many other cases. Still now, I do not really understand why I was arraigned. But one thing that I learned at St Therese’s was that the “TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE”. The biblical inscription on those yellow books kept me going. Of course with the trust and support from family and friends and some people that did not even know me, I eventually got acquitted and discharged by Samsudeen.
All the time while in court, I noticed a different Samusdeen. I saw a merciful magistrate. One that shows pity and was very lenient with the accused brought before him. I witnessed three judgments, which made me really proud of him. He freed an individual that was arrested in April 2014 and was supposed to serve a one year jail term. He drew back the sentence and ordered the young man to be released at the end of April, which was just a week away. Another case was of one of my cellmates. A very funny Fula man from Senegal who was arrested for marijuana trafficking. Most of my cellmates, mostly young people, were arrested on marijuana-related charges. I heard stories of young people that were sentenced to prison for five years because of less than a kilogram of marijuana. This guy was caught with a whole bag and Samsudeen fined him instead of sentencing him. Another young man, who showed regret of what he did by sobbing in court was freed and warned never to do whatever he did again. I felt so happy and admired Samsudeen for taking those decisions. I spent two weeks at mile two. I know what is in there.
Like Samsudeen, Omar Jabang is been known for upholding the law and also showing mercy to those brought before him. I have seen some of his rulings as reported on the local papers. I am always happy when a judge uses other methods instead of prison for a crime that is not capital. So many youth are rotting in jail for lesser crimes and the bigger criminals are walking on the streets. This breaks my heart. People like Jabang must be encourage and not arrested.
So, all I am trying to say is this:
The University of The Gambia with all its shortcomings has produced brilliant students that are engaged in every sector in our country -private and public. Students are challenged to put Gambia before anything else, those that see the need to work for the motherland despite all the challenges. Yes, the university has also produced some that do not have any idea why they went to UTG in the first place. Some of them see only themselves and their personal growth. My dean Prof. Gomez will call them “students at the University and not Students of the University”.
The caliber of these young magistrates, determined to uphold justice; doing the right thing; aware of their tense environment, shows to a large extent, that the University has done its part. To a greater extent it shows that these magistrates are not part of the latter group I mentioned above but the former. They have decided to put their lives on the line to serve justice, the ordinary Gambian and humanity. Who could have thought that I would be acquitted and discharged by a magistrate that gave me a Five Million Dalasis bail bond? Or who would have thought that Yusupha Saidy, Sainey Marennah and Musa Sherriff were going to be acquitted and discharged from the trumped up charges levied against them by the state? Whoever thought that the state will lose any high profile case in the court? The fact of the matter is, these young Gambian magistrates know the law and they are bound to uphold the law without fear or favour; affection or ill. They are hellbent on upholding the constitution of the supreme law of the land. With all the efforts and fairness they put before their work, they are threatened, fired, arrested and detained. Violating the same constitution that these young intellectuals are trained to defend. The only one doing the Gambia wrong is the State. It is Jammeh’s APRC government.
If the real reason why Jammeh’s government established the University was to train homegrown problem solvers for the advancement of the country, then the daily attack on these lawyers and many other young intellectuals most cease. Academic freedom within the university is highly undermined. Since my arrest, lecturers are afraid to conduct any kind of research even though they are paid to teach and research. We all know that for any country to prosper, building and maintaining a strong knowledge economy is vital. The sad part of our story is that instead of the state supporting the work of the university with more funds and a conducive environment, they are busy arresting staff and products of the same institution they hope will change things. It is sad. It is sickening.
The future of Gambia is clear. It is the UTG. Not all but most people that are in position and will take position in the future will be UTG trained. What is our responsibility then? What is it that we owe to the Gambia? These are questions we must continue to ask ourselves daily. While asking the questions, we must also remember our environment. We as graduates are everywhere. In the military, police, state house, banks, as civil servants, teachers, international organization, farms, hospitals etc. We are everywhere and everything that this country needs. We must realize our numbers and continue to do well. Things are hard right now, environment is decaying, but we are the hope of our people. We must continue to change ourselves and only through that can we effectively change our society. Let us not be part of the competition and the personal infightings within government. Let us consciously and subconsciously always defend what is right in public when we can, but most importantly in private. We have read many books, heard many stories, seen a lot of injustices and dreamt of better things. Let us remember that greatness can only be achieved through collective actions when we all play our individual parts.
I remember in 2009, when we started the Nationwide Study Tours led by my mentor and friend Dr. Saja Taal. His idea for the next generation of Gambians was for us to know our country and put it before anything else. How do we know our country, the poverty, the diversity and all the challenges if we constantly explain it from the perspective of the people in the urban areas? How can we also fight poverty and bridge the inequality that exists between the urban and the rural? The experience was indeed life changing. We decided to form UTG Students Service Learning with the motto “Basse before Babylon”. After that first year we continued to take students up country, organize summer camps and work for and with the community. Dr. Taal always said to us “I can take you to the door but I can’t force you to knock.” myself and most of the other students close to him adopted this philosophy. We started doing things for ourselves seeing Gambia as our door to knock at. As students of UTG let us remember Dr. Taal and his teachings and continue to serve our nation with pride. Let us see the suffering of one of ours as our own pain. Wherever one is, let Gambia always come first.
Like many others I know Omar Jabang was arrested for upholding Justice. He is detained against his own consent. I cannot come down to free him, but I can say that the State is threatening the future of our country. We must continue to condemn these abhorrent behaviors individually and collectively. As a Gambian I demand from my government the unconditional release of Omar Jabang and all other prisoners of conscience including Lawyer Darboe and all his party members.
Aluta Continua
P.S. Before publication we received news that Jabang was unconditionally released and reinstated. We hope this will be the end of arbitrary arrest and detention.
Sait Matty Jaw
Preserving the Peace
On April 14, 2016, a small group of Gambians led by Solo Sandeng of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) decided to stage a protest march to demand electoral reforms before the country’s upcoming elections. They were quickly rounded up, beaten and arrested by the security forces, primarily members of the Police Intervention Unit. On April 16, after getting reports that those arrested had been severely tortured and at least one killed in detention, the executive of the UDP, led by party leader Ousainou Darbo, led another peaceful march to demand to see their detained colleagues. Again, they were quickly arrested and sent to jail.
The aftermath of the events has been very “interesting” to say the least. The uproar online has been tremendous but that’s nothing new. More surprising and significant is the public display of defiance by Gambians on the ground, living in The Gambia, both online and in the streets. Many Gambians seem to have finally had enough and have been emboldened to speak out publicly to express their frustrations. Of course it’s not everyone…yet. Most of the “elites” and are still “cautious” but it’s undeniable that a corner has been turned for the dawn of a new era. That’s not the subject of this piece. This one is a discussion with the keepers of the peace that Gambians hold so dear – the members of our security forces, entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining peace and protecting us all.
Gambians, myself included, have always been extremely proud of the peace and stability we’ve enjoyed. It’s one of the first things we will tell any foreign persons, next to the fact that we are “The Smiling Coast”, with the friendliest people on earth. We therefore jealously guard this “peace” and will sacrifice a lot to preserve it. We greet each other in the Arabic/Islamic salutation of “Asalaamu Alaikum” or “Peace Be Unto You”, and our most frequent and cherished prayers have peace as their centerpieces. Day and night, in our churches or mosques, we pray for peace. While this is an admirable quality, I’m not so sure we always truly examine the nature of this peace or who/what the real threats to it are. I feel that this failure to closely examine may have left us somewhat lacking in true peace, left us vulnerable to be victimized and left us at risk of being used to endanger the same perceived peace we so desperately wish to preserve.
With this understanding of our psyche, Gambian President Jammeh has been a master at exploiting this sentiment to his advantage in suppressing Gambians to tighten his grip on the country he has ruled for the past two decades. “Belai Wolai Talai, i will not compromise the peace and security of this country”, you often hear him say in his not-so-veiled threats to dissenting voices. Not only is it a ploy to instill fear, a huge part of it is to win the support/sympathy of many a Gambian who just want to preserve the peace.
What kind of peace are we living in?
When we claim we enjoy all this peace, what exactly is it that we speak of? Are we truly enjoying peace? Is it real or just perceived? Is it a myth? An illusion maybe? By what yardstick are we measuring this peace? How peaceful is it when Ebrima Chief Manneh and many others can just disappear into thin air and nobody in the country dares ask questions? How peaceful is it when Deyda Hydara can be gunned down and murdered in broad daylight and no questions asked? How peaceful is it when Gambians have properties they spent years working hard to build are forced to stand by and watch them bulldozed simply because one man wants the property it’s erected on? How peaceful is it when a Solo Bojang is arrested and detained after the courts acquitted and discharged him? How peaceful is it if our young men and women are fleeing in droves to risk their lives crossing deserts and oceans in the deadly illegal migration to Europe. How much peace are we enjoying when nobody in the country dares utter a certain name even in private conversations unless it’s to sing his praises? Do you think Solo Sandeng’s children are enjoying “peace”? Do we truly believe there is peace or is it just peace for me until my immediate family takes a turn at the gallows?
Now, i realize some people may argue that this (very relative) “peace” is all they know and would rather keep (or endure) it at all costs. Who am i to tell them they can and should hope for better? Maybe i should show some respect and focus on preserving this “peace” because it’s what the people want?
Who or what really threatens our peace?
In explaining to a 10-year old what government is, i was recently reminded that the whole point of having an organized society is to ensure peace and stability. Because everyone can’t be making and following their own rules, we create governments and build systems and institutions to enforce agreed-upon guidelines to prevent, minimize and resolve conflicts and disagreements. Along with all their branches and departments, we create a legislative to make the laws, a judiciary to evaluate and interpret the laws and an executive to enforce the laws. Without them, we are no better than animals in the jungle living by the “laws of nature” – survival of the fittest at it’s basest.
We don’t hear of coup d’etats in developed nations because they have strong institutions and laws to prevent them. When nations have term limits for the presidency, even those who are angriest at the government do not see a need to resort to violence. Instead of uncertainty and staring into a never-ending abyss of a doom and gloomy future, they see a light at the end of the tunnel – encouraging enough for them to hang on. Instead of taking a machete to attack someone who steals from us, we sue them and have the matter settled in court because we have confidence in the system and believe justice will be done.
Therefore, the biggest threat to our peace is anyone, or anything, that removes, weakens or undermines these systems and institutions. Such individuals or groups are a much bigger threat to our peace because they undermine the foundations upon which peace is built. In context, a “common criminal”, like someone breaking the law by holding a protest without a permit, is like a kid stabbing at a building with a knife. Yes, he may eventually succeed in causing damage if left unchecked, but it’s nothing compared to the termites eating away at the wooden foundations and pillars upon which the building rests. After arresting and assaulting Solo Sandeng and group on April 14, and Lawyer Darboe and group on April 16, both for simply gathering in groups, there were much bigger groups gathered on their court dates, yet there was no violence because the security forces acted professionally and allowed the people to express themselves. The protesters had no guns, knives or stones. They did not throw a punch or a kick. Their most dangerous weapons were whistles, their voices and their banners. The maturity they displayed proved they were not out to harm anyone or to destroy any property. Their behavior has been consistent throughout. They marched, chanted and went home in peace. What more evidence do we need to show that they are not the threats to the peace we so cherish?
How about our security forces? The ones trained and paid to maintain peace? On day 1 of these events, they attacked, assaulted and arrested Solo Sandeng and group. On day 2, they attacked, assaulted and arrested Lawyer Darboe and group. There was trouble on both days. On 3 separate court days after that, they came, assaulted and arrested nobody. There was no trouble. On May 9, they reverted back to the brutality by attacking the protesters and many ended up at the hospital and some in prison. As in any scientific experiment, we hold all other variables constant, change just one, and observe what happens. Is it then still a mystery who and what is the real threat to the peace and stability?
The system that fails to provide structures and opportunities for the people to rise out of poverty through honest hard work is a threat to peace. “Baye su jaahley maateh” (A goat will bite if cornered) – Olof Njie
The system that has no term limits, leaves one individual or group to be in power for over 20 years is a threat to peace. Again, Olof Njie – “Poosanteh si maraaj laa em” (You can only shove a person as far as the wall)
The system that rules with brutality and force to suppress dissenting voices is a threat to peace. The ones who gave the order to shoot unarmed students in April 2000 are a threat to peace.The ones who ordered, executed, supported or failed to investigate the murder of Solo Sandeng, alleged rape of unarmed female protesters and arrest, torture and illegal detention of unarmed peaceful protesters are a threat to our peace. Martin Luther King said “riots are the language of the unheard”.
To those who continue to claim the protesters, or their supporters living abroad, are the threats to our peace, i refer you to the words of Judge Judy – “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining”
Sana Sarr
5/10/2016
SAM SARR WILL COMMIT SUICIDE BEFORE HE FIRES AT PROTESTERS FOR JAMMEH
For the country’s deputy ambassador at the United Nations to want to ‘FIRE AT THE PROTESTERS IF I WERE IN CHARGE’ shows how hateful Sam Sarr is, and the type of a lowlife Jammeh recruits to work for him. The people he so wanted to slaughter are our parents, brothers and sisters. But I’m sad that Sam is type that lowers the remaining tattered reputation of a body like the UN. They have to up their standards cos Sam wouldn’t have gotten access pass to that building even as a visitor had they vetted him. He deserves no respect, and will be addressed as such today.
In the very short years that I’ve lived, I’ve heard and read about many maniacs and satanic humans but very few sit lower in the peat of filth than Yaya Jammeh. That was what I thought until I came across the cronies who do not only endorse him but help market his merchandise of hate and evil. Of those people Sam Sarr is the decayed faeces of them all.
I mean from the onset, one could watch and see through the manipulative and shameless frame of this coward who has zero conscience and character devoid of any respect and better upbringing. This man should commit suicide at a family dinner to wash, cleanse himself of the filth and shame he muddied his family with.
Spare me the cliché that we sell of a person hailing from a great respectable family in the country when they fucked up. Sometimes, the apple does fall far from the tree. When I read Sam’s tales of what he’d endured in the hands of Jammeh and the military junta, and how Jammeh never had the interest of the Gambia at heart, with his unloved and unpleasant upbringing made him a heartless murderer when he was EBOU COLLEY, I sensed a lot of hurt and bitterness in his cries though I was sure that most of what he’d said about Jammeh were true. I was still cautious. Then came the reconciliation bullshit when he came on the radio to recant all what was said in his book and more, turned his rusty dagger on the folks trying to rid our country of the animal and wasted sperm holding us hostage. Sarr was not hiding the plot to run back to the master like a dog despite all the horrible torment he’d gone through. Even after Yaya referred to him on TV as a liar and failure. But what do you expect of a man who has no integrity or shame, who’d been a scam and mental fucktard, breastfed by the demon’s concubine?
Sam was in Mile II when the AFPRC arrested him, faked mental illness, shitting on himself in the cell and rubbing his own waste on his body just so when Edward Singhateh and co. came for their nightly tour of the prisons to torture them he’d be spared. He’s a coward, a fraud and disturbed amphibian who can never live a decent life on his own. He thrives on grounds of hate and deception. So for him to want to kill for Yaya Jammeh isn’t a surprise, except that this idiot who shot himself to avoid been deployed for peacekeeping, one who survived abortion and should have been strangulated by his mother at birth or drown in his birth water.
How could you blame the guy who taped the conversation when you did not deny saying what was recorded? How could you have wished people be killed for protesting the murderous president and his ways but want to turn around to lecture us about what you’d learned or not? You must have realized that your old and useless ass is about to catch the wrath of the world, and having your unprincipled, disloyal master dump you to have you back into an unproductive life until you die a pauper! What else must Sam had said to others if he could be comfortable enough to speak in such a manner to someone walking into his office to register displeasure with the regime and its heavy-handedness? Gambians are not stupid. If you have no respect for the parents who gave birth to you filth, we do respect ours and cannot watch you or Jammeh have them humiliated and disrespected for wanting the best for our country. These are our fathers, mothers, wives, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. They’re Gambians! Our people that are paying you to fucking serve and not fucking murder!
To want to call these protesters ‘sponsored thugs’ is to want to appease the maniac that you share the same cloth with. And to distract from your hateful thought and wish of mass murder. You and your ilk disgust me. I hate your type. Not for your political association but the disingenuous, selfishness and unconscionable extent to which you’d defend Jammeh in the face of the killings and oppression. And these victims and their families are your friends, neighbors and sometimes your relatives. What has become of us? I hope, pray that Yaya invites Sam to Banjul to have him subjected to the same painful fate as those extrajudicially missing like Daba Marena, Ebou Lowe, Almamo Manneh, Tabara Samb, Chief Manneh and Mr Sandeng. This man is not worth much. SO KILL YOURSELF, SAM!
Pata PJ
UDP Press Statement: Gambian Security Forces Using Firearms On Defenseless Citizens
The United Democratic Party is deeply concerned about the overzealous response of Gambia’s security forces to court goers who have peacefully converged at the High Court in Banjul to demand the unconditional release of UDP leader and his co accused.
The crowds were then assaulted by members of the security forces including the discharge of firearms causing numerous injuries. The UDP is assessing the situation to determine whether there are any fatalities.
The Gambian people will remain steadfast in their fight for freedom, justice and democracy using all the lawful means available to them. The shedding of innocent blood will not deter our March to freedom and we serve notice that it is the inherent right of every citizen to defend themselves from the excesses of a tyranny that poses an existential threat to our nation and its people.
For the first time since the court case started, we have seen a combined group of police and the army deployed in the streets blocking all roads leading to the court.
The army that has no training in crowd control, has been principally overzealous splitting court goers into smaller groups while barricading others making it difficult for the crowd to move around. This situation has led to angry scenes causing some fracas.
The Gambia government is deliberately embarking on a course of orchestrated violence against unarmed protesters exercising their right to movement and assembly and would bear full responsibility for the consequences of their illegal actions.
Some arrests have already been made and some women were also assaulted. The UDP has documented a series of serious injuries from assault by the security forces. This provocative actions of the security forces is unacceptable.
The UDP wishes to alert the international community particularly member countries of ECOWAS of this escalating situation. The UDP will hold the Gambia government responsible for any causality.
We absolutely condemn the unprovoked violence directed at unarmed civilians who gathered to show solidarity at the court hearing of lawyer Ousainou Darboe and his colleagues in Banjul today May 9th 2016. The government deployed army, police, paramilitary, NIA and Immigration personnel to obstruct the movement of people to and from the venue of the hearings.
Let all Gambians of conscience stand together and fight for a country that is not predatory, oppressive and violent toward the citizenry that constitute it.