By Madi Jobarteh
The announcement by the National Guard that it is deploying its forces into our communities in what it calls ‘Operation Restore Sanity’ is indeed concerning. Yes, there is definitely genuine concern and fears in the general public about security. Indeed, The Gambia Government bears primary duty to protect citizens! But to deploy soldiers in civilian communities must not be considered and taken lightly. As citizens, much as we have our fears, we must also not allow the Government to take actions without insisting on due protocols in the interest of human rights.
In the first place, we must recognize that the National Guards is a military outfit that cannot on its own, announce its own deployment and presence in civilian areas. If the military should be deployed in civilian areas, it must be announced by the civilian authorities in charge of the military. This would be the President as the Commander-In-Chief, or the Minister of Defence. They are the right authorities to address the nation to lay out the policy and operational objectives, the parameters and the overall terms of this military engagement!
Going further, in the Armed Forces announcement, there is no toll-free telephone number for public to use in reporting crime or seek help. The only two numbers they provided are mobile phone numbers, hence personal and not official. What is standard is to give landline numbers which should be hotlines and therefore free to call. To call a mobile line requires one to have credit or units. This means if a citizen has no credit, one cannot reach that number to report a crime, which could happen at any time. Therefore, one may ask is the National Guards truly prepared for this task or not?
Thirdly, the National Guards’ press release did not announce the names of the commanders and the base of this operation. Citizens have a right to know from which office is the command taking place and which officer is in charge of this entire operation. Further to that, the National Guards should tell us the duration of this exercise (will it last indefinitely or over a period of time), and how much will this operation cost the country. In that regard, they must also tell us the coverage of their deployment – is it only within the Greater Banjul Area or will it cover the entire country. The National Guards must realise that they must account for every action – whether successful or a failure – they take in this operation.
Fourthly, the Armed Forces did not announce the number of soldiers that are deployed in this operation and the kind of weapons they will use. The picture displayed by the National Guards shows soldiers armed with automatic machine guns. Is that the only weapons they will carry? All of these pieces of information are necessary for the general public to know in order to ensure transparency and accountability. Let us not allow our fears to make us ignore fundamental rule of law and democratic principles in governance lest we harm ourselves even more!
In this regard, the Armed Forces should tell citizens what are the rules of engagement. Deploying armed soldiers in civilian areas means the presence of lot of arms and force. Will the military mount checkpoints? Are they going to fire their guns? Will they arrest? Will they raid places? If they are confronted with gunfire, will they respond? Are they operating on a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy or not? What happens if stray bullets kill innocent people in their homes? What happens if a soldier commits torture of a suspect? Who takes responsibility if their intervention led to destruction of property? How and where can citizens lodge complain against the conduct of soldiers? These are all questions that citizens must be concerned about so as to ensure that this operation is placed under close scrutiny and accountability.
Citizens must realise that this operation is not a charity. Rather citizens have a right to have protection for their rights, lives and property by the State. This is why there is the Gambia Police Force for that purpose. Thus, if the Government decides to use the military, it must have a genuine reason to do so which should not cause any damage to citizen rights. Therefore ‘Operation Restore Sanity’ and the National Guards and the whole of the Gambia Armed Forces must be monitored to ensure that they conduct this operation in keeping with the values and standards of human rights and democracy.
Finally, has the Government communicated this deployment to the National Assembly Select Committee on Defence and Security for the purposes of oversight and accountability. If not, I hereby call on the Select Committee to demand the Government to provide them the plan and necessary details of this operation in the interest of good governance, accountability and the protection of human rights above all.
Furthermore, while the Constitution grants power to the President to deploy the military ‘for purposes of maintaining and securing public safety and public order’ in Section 188(2), it is necessary that an act of the National Assembly is created to give details of this provision. In other words, the act should determine the circumstances, procedures, terms of deployment, rules of engagement among other details that should guide the use of the military for civilian purposes. Without such a law, the tendency for arbitrariness and abuse to prevail is high. Section 188(2) is too broad and indeterminate hence the need for an act.
Meantime, I hereby call on the President and the Minister of Defence to address the nation and provide the justification, objectives, duration, cost and terms of the deployment of the military in our streets!
For The Gambia Our Homeland
