As the Gambia continues to regress in all aspects of Human rights and rule of Law, the government is especially disregarding all stipulated constitutional safeguards regarding arrests, arrests illegal detentions and torture. Many are now asking questions about the suitability of Gambian service personnel serving in peacekeeping missions around the world, when they continue to disregard the laws of their own nation by carrying out the illegal orders from dictator Jammeh.
They refuse to protect the innocent citizens against Jammeh’s brutality and repression. Despite the recent prisoners pardoned and released in July by dictator Jammeh, prison conditions remain dire. Torture of those arrested continues unabated with no one being held accountable and foreign nationals are routinely denied consular access while in detention.
The British and many foreign missions have issued travel warnings for their nationals underscoring the lack of consular access to those detained in The Gambia. This makes travelling to the Gambia a very risky adventure, since the determination of one’s guilt or innocent is entirely left to the discretion of the secret police. National Intelligence Agency (NIA), as they are called, is known to have make individuals disappear. And if you are lucky, they will force you to confess to a crime that will equally make your life a miserable one.
It is disappointing that The United States continues to provide military assistance to the Gambian army, while the families of two US citizens Mr Alhagie Mammut Ceesay and Mr Ebou Jobe cannot account for them since they last
entered the country in August 2013. There is credible information that they were last seen when they came into contact with the notorious NIA.
Their unexplained disappearance has sparked an international outcry, and US government through its UN representative, has asked for the release of these two gentlemen.
The same Military assistance was what the likes of late Lt Colonel Lamin Sanneh (Alleged Dec 2014 coup leader) was a beneficiary of. He was trained in the USA as a professional soldier, only to return to continue to live in dictatorship. It was hard for him to reconcile the two values, and he eventually fell out of favor with the dictatorship. It was then that he allegedly, organized a group of Gambian dissidents with military background to return home and take over and end the repression.
Though the circumstances surrounding this event are still murky, it led to the deaths of Mr Sanneh, US Army captain Mr Njaga Jagne and Mr Alhagie Jaja Nyass. Therefore many people cannot help but wonder why the US would continue to provide military assistance to such a rogue regime.
The world has witnessed many instanced of peacekeepers breaking laws and committing atrocities themselves that they were supposed to be protecting the civilian populations from. This has led many to guesting if the United Nations and the African Union should accept a level of culpability for these abuses. Morally, ethically and professionally, many are asking why following various reports from UN special rapporteurs, International right groups like Amnesty International.
The Red Cross, Article 19, RADDO etc as well as international condemnation of rights abuses, both the UN and AU continue to include Gambian peacekeepers in missions when they are complicit in helping dictator Jammeh continue his reign of terror against Gambians. Many remain resolute in their belief that Jammeh is not the only one who should be held accountable for rights abuses and lack of respect for the rule of law in Gambia, as he gives orders, but it is Gambian law enforcers who implement those illegal orders in full cognizance of the law and constitution of the land and thus deserve to be sanctioned just like Jammeh.
“The UN, AU and the world cannot forge ignorance of the dire situation in Gambia, nor can they keep appeasing dictator Jammeh and Gambian law enforcers, the world has to send a strong signal and message to them that it will not be business as usual!, they cannot keep breaking local and international laws in their own country and not be held accountable”, said our ex-military source. He continued to say that “morally and professionally, how can the UN, US and AU watch while Jammeh and his law enforcers arrest and jail for more than 6months the family members including mothers, fathers, brothers, the 14yr old minor son of one of the alleged insurgents among others, whose only crime is being related to those the Gambia government accused of staging the December 2014 coup against Jammeh and not immediately demand their release, leaving rights groups like Amnesty stepping in to campaign and demand their release, yet those same law enforcers are cleared to participate in international peacekeeping missions! it is an affront and a grave travesty of justice and the US, UN and AU need to step up and take full responsibility to avoid another bloodbath like the one witnessed in Dec 2014. As Long as Jammeh and his law enforcers continue to break not just local but international laws with impunity, Gambians especially ex-military in the diaspora will continue to try stepping in to alleviate the suffering of the innocent, defenseless Gambians left to live under Jammeh’s brutality and repression”, he concluded.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia negotiated with the Senegalese government to send Senegalese forces into Yemen as part of a peacekeeping mission to protect the population against Islamic extremists. The King of Morocco also visited Senegal among other African countries, sponsoring a lot of projects in Senegal. What these events have in common is that neither Saudi nor Morocco consulted Gambia or visited Gambia despite Jammeh’s Islamic rhetoric, dealing Jammeh a huge diplomatic snub. If Saudi Arabia can request Senegalese troops and snub Gambia, what is stopping the US, UN and AU from also exercising not just their professional but moral duty to isolate and refuse to work with the Jammeh government in Gambia as long as it continues to deny basic human rights and disrespect the rule of law both locally and internationally.
The arresting of family members for their relative’s alleged crime is a grave incident that highlights how dangerously low the Gambia law enforcers have sunk in obeying dictator Jammeh’s deranged orders and the world should have reacted swiftly and strongly. How can any of these peacekeepers who should know both local and international laws, break them at home at a dictator’s orders and continue to be sent by the AU and UN on peacekeeping missions?
Dictator Jammeh’s trend of expelling diplomats who criticize his rights records or question his actions is another act that requires not just statements but swift and immediate response from the International community to send a clear message to the dictatorship in Banjul that he cannot silent International dissent as well by expelling diplomats, otherwise we risk not just a silent local populace due to fear but a silent International community as well due to fear of expulsion. The latest expulsion by dictator Jammeh was the EU Charge d’affaire to the Gambia, the EU was provided no explanation by Jammeh for expelling their diplomat, yet the response to these irresponsible acts by Jammeh has been slow.
The European Union’s 17 point demands are still pending and Jammeh continues to act with impunity. The latest being the arrest and torture of Gambian journalist Alhagie Ceesay, who has now been charged with sedition and transferred at the Mile two prisons.
Dictator Jammeh’s recent prisoner release falls short in terms of what is required to implement reforms and present a road map for the peaceful transfer of power after 21years of dictatorship. Major improvements need to be made to demonstrate the regime’s willingness to respect its international obligations and hold accountable those security officers responsible for torture and other rights abuses.
Thus with the UN General Assembly meeting in US around the corner, it is imperative upon the International community to send a clear message to Yahya Jammeh and his brutal security personnel that they cannot break local and international laws, and expect to be welcome at International forums or missions.
