Where is Chief Manneh?

Its many years now since Chief Manneh was abducted. Chief is the bread winner of his family and his old man is crying himself to sleep everyday. His family is waiting every day and night for him to come home but his abductors are still holding him to satisfy their desires.
Why? Why? Why for Christ sake?

Chief is an innocent bloke. So gentle that he cannot hurt a fly. Let him go please.

Can anyone break the silence and tell his old father whether his son is alive or death.

Gov't responsible for Kanyiba's disappearance

Gambia’s largest opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), has insisted that the Gambian government is responsible for the missing UDP leader Kanyiba Kanyi.

Reacting to claims by President Yahya Jammeh that his government is not responsible for the missing UDP official, the party's leader, Ousainou Darboe, told PANA here Wednesday that plain cloth security personnel, who identified themselves as National Intelligence Agency operatives, were responsible for the arrest and subsequent detention of Kanyi from his Bonto village on 18 September 2006.

He said the UDP had refrained from making a public statement on the issue because it was before the court.

“It will be irresponsible to do so because the matter is before the court and it is a matter of (regret) that the President, who should be the pacesetter in observing basic rules, has used the occasion of the celebration of a military ov erthrow of a democratically-elected government to make unsavory remarks on Kanyiba and his tribe,” Darboe said.

He explained that Kanyi was arrested along with his brother, Wandifa Kanyi, by the NIA, and the two brothers were taken to the premises of the NIA.

Darboe said that Wandifa was released from the custody of the NIA on 19 September 2006, while Kanyiba was not.

He said the UDP official was arrested and detained to keep him out of circulation during the 2006 presidential election campaign, because he (Kanyi) was a formidable youth mobilizer.

The UDP leader also said former Interior Minister Babucarr Jatta had accepted responsibility for ordering the arrest of Kanyiba and Ousman Jatta.

PANA

Gambia press freedom worst in W.Africa -watchdog

Attacks on press freedoms in Gambia are the worst in West Africa, a press watchdog said on Wednesday amid mounting criticism of the country's case against six journalists charged with sedition and defamation.

Seven journalists were held last month following a statement by the Gambia Press Union which was critical of the government's treatment of journalists, particularly after the unexplained killing of veteran reporter Deyda Hydara in 2004.

Charges against one journalist were dropped last week and the remaining six are being tried having been granted bail.

"Repressive legislation, arbitrary arrests and generalised fear - nothing is spared the country's few independent journalists," Jean-Francois Julliard, secretary-general of watchdog Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement. "The press freedom situation in Gambia is the most serious by far in all of West Africa ... Daring to express an opinion or criticise the authorities is immediately regarded by the government as an attempt to besmirch the country's image."

The journalists, who are facing a total of six charges linked to sedition and criminal defamation, appeared in Banjul's high court on Wednesday.

Those arrested include three members of the Gambian Press Union, two reporters from The Point Newspaper and two journalists working for Foroyaa Newspaper. One of the journalists for The Point, Pap Saine, also reports for Reuters.

A previous charge of false publication against Saine, which had been dropped in April, was re-opened and then dropped again this week.

The Vienna-based watchdog International Press Institute (IPI) also reiterated its call for the journalists' release.

Rights groups frequently accuse Gambia of clamping down on the press and media freedom watchdogs say the death of Hydara has never been properly investigated by Gambian authorities.

They accuse authorities of using threats, arbitrary arrests and torture against journalists in the tiny west African country best known as a tourist destination for Europeans.
REUTERS

Dalasi & Butut:strong>Dalasi Strengthens Against Dollar on Forex

The Gambia’s local currency was stable against the greenback on the interbank market but gained against the US currency on the parallel market this week. On the interbank market, the local currency was quoted at D26.63 against the dollar but was up by 73 bututs against the UK Pound to close at D43.00 and appreciated by 12 bututs against the Euro to D37.38. Against the CAF Francs, the local currency lost D1 and was quoted at D275.

On the parallel market, the Dalasi appreciated by 12 bututs against the US Dollar to D26.63 but depreciated by 15 bututs against the UK Pound and was quoted at D43.35. the local currency also lost 60 bututs to the Euro to close at D37.30 but posted a 4 bututs appreciation against the CFA Francs to close the week at D274.

Trading on the international currency market the US Dollar was upbeat against the Euro, the Pound and the Yen. The greenback was up by 1.25 per cent against the Pound to $1.60 and appreciated by 2.21 per cent against the Euro. The dollar also exchanged hands against the Japanese Yen at Y92.50 following a gain of 0.22 per cent.




Instruments Post Declines

Treasury instruments traded on the floor of the Central Bank of the Gambia moved southwards this week. The 91-Day Bill dropped 41 basis points from 12.18 per cent and is currently quoted at 11.77 per cent while the 182-Day Bill was also re-rated downwards by 38 basis points from 12.62 per cent and is trading at 12.24 per cent.

Towards the longer-dated arm of the market, the 1-Year Note shaved off 50 basis points. The Note, which was quoted at 14.85 per cent closed this week at 14.35 per cent.

Company News
Skye Gets CBG Nod
Skye Bank Gambia Limited, a subsidiary of Skye Bank (Nigeria) Plc, has been issued a license to conduct business in the Gambia by the Central Bank of the Gambia, according to a press release issued by the Banking Regulator. The license brings to thirteen (13) the number of commercial banks operating in the Gambia.

72 ministers in 15 years

As the years goes by, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remember the names of Gambians who have served the AFPRC/APRC regime of Yahya Jammeh in various ministerial positions since he came power in a bloodless coup.

by PK Jarju

A year hardly goes by without a secretary of state losing his/her job. Since July 22, 1994 a total number of 72 ministers/secretaries of state have served President Jammeh in various portfolios.

Out of the 72, 66 ministers/secretaries of state were sacked from their respective positions by President Jammeh. Four secretaries of state, Momodou Lamin Jobe, Joseph Henry Joof, Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta and Edward Singhatey resigned their posts.
Satang Jaw retired from her position as secretary of state for Education on health grounds.

Sanna Sabally, vice President of the AFPRC and Sadibu Haidara, minister for the Interior were arrested in January 1995 and jailed for allegedly trying to overthrow Jammeh. Sabally was released after completing his prison term while Haidara never made it out. He died in prison from 'high blood pressure' according to the state media.

Finance minister, Bakary Bunja Darbo fled the country after being implicated in the November 11,1994 alleged coup plot. His successor, Ousman Koro Ceesay died in 1995 a few days before the budget speech in a freak car accident. Many have accused the regime of having a hand in his murder.

Find below the full list.

1. Badjie, Ousman
2. Badjie, Fatim
3. Bah, Samba
4. Bajo, Lamin Kaba
5. Bensouda, Amie
6. Bensouda, Fatou
7. Bitaye, Musa
8. Bojang, John P.
9. Bojang, Momodou
10. Ceesay, Ebrima
11.Ceesay, Momodou Nai
12.Ceesay, Ousman Koro (killed)
13.Ceesay, Sulayman Massaneh
14.Cesay-Marenah, Kumba
15.Cham, Mamat
16.Colley, Angela
17.Dabo, BB
18.Dumbuya, Fasainey
19.Faal, Samba
20.Faal-Sonko, Amina
21.Faye, Sheikh Omar
22.Gai, Mass Axi
23.Garba-Jahumpa, Balla (Re-instated, sacked, re-instated)
24. Musa Bala Gaye
25.Grey-Johnson, Crispin (Re-instated, sacked)
26.Haidara, Sadibou
27.Hydara, Sheikh Tijan (Re-instated, sacked)
28.Jagne, Baboucarr Blaise
29.Jallow, Momodou Sarjo
30.Janneh, Amadou Scattred
31.Jarju, Manlafi
32.Jatta, Baboucarr
33.Jatta, Famara
34.Jobe, Maba
35.Jobe, M. L. Sedat (resigned)
36.Joof, Joseph Henry (resigned
37.Jow, Satang (retired on health grounds)
38.Kassama, Yankuba
39.Keita, Margaret
40.Macdouall-Gaye, Neneh
41.Marong, Mustapha
42.Mbai, Fafa
43.Mbenga, Musa
44.Mboob, Sulayman Sait
45.Mbowe, Tamsir
46.Mendy, Dominic
47.Ndong-Jatta, Anne Therese (resigned)
48.Omar Ndow (sacked less than a week)
49.Ngum, Alieu
50.Njie, Bakary
51.Njie, Malick
52.Njie, Omar
53.Sabally, Sana
54.Sallah, Abdoulaye (Re-instated, sacked)
55.Sallah, Hassan
56.Sallah, Momodou (Silabai)
57.Sanneh, Kanja
58.Sanneh, Sidy Morro
59.Sanneh-Bojang, Nyimasata
60.Sanyang, Kebba
61.Sarr, Samsudeen
62.Secka, Pap Cheyassin
63.Sillah, Musa
64.Singhatey, Edward (resigned)
65.Sisay-Sabally, Hawa
66.Sock, Raymond
67.Sonko, Bolong
68.Taal, Bai Mass
69.Tambajang, Fatoumatta
70.Tambedou, Bemba
71.Touray, Yankuba (Re-instated, sacked again)
72.Waffa-Ogoo, Susan

War on the Press

The recent arrest and prosecution of Pap Saine, Ebrima Sawaneh, Sarata Jabbie, Abba Gibba, Pa Modou Faal, Emil Touray, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr by the dictatorial regime of Yahya Jammeh is indeed very worrying.

by PK Jarju

The prosecution of these journalists can best be described as a war against the press and freedom of thought in the country. It exposes the harsh and atrocious climate in which Gamban journalists are operating and we must all therefore join hands with the Gambia Press Union (GPU) in putting pressure on Dictator Jammeh to drop all bogus charges against these journalists.

Since coming to power, the Jammeh regime has been launching a sustained assault on the journalism community. Even though Freedom of Expression is guaranteed by Section 25 of the 1997 Constitution and further protected by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right (ACHPR) and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the regime of Yahya Jammeh does not recognise Freedom of Expression as a fundamental human right.

It sees journalists as opponents and enemies of Gambia's progress. And as a result, Gambian journalists are being persecuted left right and centre which include arrest and long detention, torture and murder. Journalism is today the riskiest profession in the country.

In its determination to to keep the Gambian people in a perpetual state of darkness and passive subjugation, the Jammeh regime have repeatedly used its rubber stamp National Assembly to enact repressive legislation. The amendments to the Criminal Code, which broadened the definition of libel and imposed mandatory prison sentences of six months to three years for offenders without the option of a fine is an example.

These legislation are seriously inhibiting work of the private media and journalists. Today in the Gambia, it is almost impossible for a newspaper to publish an article that is critical Yahya Jammeh and his administration. All private media houses and journalists in the country are practicing self-censorship due to fear of persecution.

The Gambian media has suffered for far too long and we have to say enough is enough. We have to let Yahya Jammeh know that he does not love the Gambia more than anyone of us. We all love our country and we all have a right to speak our minds on the state of our country.

Jammeh needs to realise that Gambian journalists are not his enemy. We don't hate him in person and we don't criticise him because of his tribe. We criticise him because of the disgraceful way and manner in which he is governing the country. Also, our criticisms of his regime are not in anyway geared towards causing instability, but to save the Gambia from sliding into a conflict situation.

The Gambian media is one big family and we see the prosecution of Pap Saine, Ebrima Sawaneh, Sarata Jabbie, Abba Gibba, Pa Mdou Faal, Emil Touray, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr as an attack on all of us.

We are aware of our responsibilities as the eyes and mouth pieces of the Gambian people and the persecution we are going through will not in anyway make us abdicate those noble duties to the people. The Jammeh regime may be able to inflict its conditions on us, but it cannot prevent us from exposing its ills to the public.

As I have always stated, our desire, our instinct to oppose brutality and repress freedom of thought in the Gambian will never be quenched. Of course it can be forced to keep quiet at times, when the repression gets worse. But instinct remains, and will always remain and when the circumstances becomes a little bit favourable, it will raise its head again. The desire to be free is one of the fundamental human desires.

Long live the Gambian media, long live the Gambia Press Union.
For comments, write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk or info@allgambian.net.

Not worth celebrating

On July 22, the Gambia will be commemorating the 15th anniversary of the military coup which brought President Yahya Jammeh and his AFPRC/APRC regime to power.
by PK Jarju

The ceremony which will be held at Arch 22 in Banjul will cost the poor Gambian tax payers millions of Dalasis which could be better spent in improving their poor living conditions and services.

The anniversary is not worth celebrating because Jammeh and his cronies committed treason by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. The revolution we were told, was conducted by the soldiers to eradicate rampant corruption, nepotism, favouritism and retrogression. We were also told that the coup was justifiable because the 30 year old regime of Sir Dawda was rotten and not fit for purpose.

However, 15 years on, there are no meaningful changes in the Gambian society. Corruption, bribery, nepotism and favouritism are still very alive if not more well rooted in the Gambian civil service. Jammeh and his associates are unaccountable and are living a flamboyant lifestyle at the detriment of the people. Whatever was bad during the Jawara era is at its worst state.

The revolution we were again told, was conducted to give power back to the people as well as to restore public confidence in government. Instead, the Gambian people are governed by a dictatorial regime that does not give a monkey to the rights of the people and the rule of law. The regime have eroded the civil liberties of the citizenry including the right to freedom of speech and assemble.

Its does not believe in democracy which is a government by the people through elected representatives, political, social or legal equality. Power in the Gambia is vested in the hands of the head of state who sees himself as a master of the people.

The head of state is controlling every facet of the Gambian society and the fate of Gambians are no longer in their own hands. Gambians cannot start a business or find work without paying bribes. Opposition sympathisers cannot find work in any government department or public sector without joining the ruling party. Journalists and activists cannot criticise the regime without being killed, arrested, torture or prosecuted for sedition.

The regime have snooped into the lives of the Gambian people and violated their space. Our movements are restricted by numerous military check points. We cannot wear a yellow t-shirt without being accused of being UDP supporters. We can be arrested and tortured by the NIA for whatever reason without having a right to seek redress in court.

We are today living in a Big Brother state and everyone is living in a state of fear. We are all afraid of our ruler because he can do anything to us. The Gambia which was previously known as a land of no problem is now a land of big problems.
Despite being in power for 15 years, Jammeh still wants to remain president despite the deleterious effect his rule is having on the lives of the people. Part of his desire to remain in power is due to greed and fear. He is afraid of losing his wealth and power and being dragged before a court of law for the despicable human rights abuses he has committed.
You can see this when you take a deep look at him. Jammeh is very afraid of the future and it is driving him insane. The fear in him sometimes turns to hate, which often gives him a desire to harm anyone he sees as a threat by using his ever loyal security officers.

The July 22 revolution is not worth celebrating because it have not succeeded in alleviating poverty in the country. The gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever and many Gambians are continuing to be born in poverty, grow up in poverty and die in abject poverty.

Also, I don't believe that the July 22 revolution have registered significant success to be worth celebrating. Of course, many will disagree with me. The reason being, the Jammeh regime have built schools, airport, roads and health centres. To these people, the mere building of schools and roads is a sign of Gambia's development.

We should not measure development the number of infrastructures built by the regime but how well the average people Gambian is. It is misleading to call the Gambia developed while over 55 per cent of the country's population is living on less than one US Dollar a day.

Secondly we need to remember that the building of basic services is the responsible of government. That is what our taxes are meant for. Therefore, the Jammeh regime is not doing us any favour as it is our money.

Thirdly, we should not only focus our attention on quantity but on quality. Has the building of many junior and senior secondary schools increase the quality of education in the country? The answer is No. Has the building of health centres reduced the number of death from preventable diseases? The answer again is No. Have the Jahally Pacharr project minimised the importation of rice? You answer that question.

I therefore think that the only people who should be celebrating the July 22 anniversary should be Jammeh and his associates. The revolution have made them the most powerful and richest Gambians. Take for instance, Jammeh was a poor guy prior to the coup. Today, he is the richest Gambian owning millions of Dalasis, lands, aircraft, companies, nature reserve among others.

How he attained all this wealth is very questionable because he could never be able to acquire all these assets with his salary and allowances. Let him explain to us in the name of accountability and transparency how he acquired them.

To conclude, I think that it would far far better if the money being set aside to commemorate the revolution is use in creating job opportunity to the thousands of school leavers who are hanging at the beach sides and ghettos.

For comments, write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk.

Journalists Plead Not Guilty

Courtesy of The Point

The seven journalists: Ebrima Sawaneh, Pap Saine, Pa Modou Faal, Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, Ebrima Saidykhan, Sam Sarr and Bai Emil Touray who are on trial at the Banjul High Court today pleaded not guilty to all charges preferred against them.

The journalists who were charged with five-count charges ranging from seditious publications, conspiracy to publish seditious publication and criminal defamation now have their charges increased to six.

When the case was called for hearing, following their not guilty pleas, the prosecution applied for the case to be heard in camera for the fact that the witnesses to testify are all state security agents and their names and identities should not be made public. This, the defence did not object to, but Sam Sarr who is representing himself, but he was overruled and the application was hence granted by the presiding Judge, Justice Joseph Wowo.

Meanwhile the case was adjourned to the 20th July 2009.

God save our Gambia

by PK Jarju

Last evening, I got the opportunity to again watch Sorious Samura's internationally acclaimed documentary on the dirty Sierra Leonean war, Cry Freetown .

Disturbing images of mutilated dead bodies, missing hands and feet, burnt down buildings and vechiles, cries of rape victims, torture victims, tears of orphaned children, parents without children among others hunted me all night and after putting my children to bed, I tip-toed quietly down stairs and performed a silent prayer for the Gambia.



I prayed not for Almighty Allah to bless our little country with mountains of gold and silver, but to save it from sliding into a violent conflict situation like Sierra Leone .



I prayed for the Gambia because I am deeply worried about what the future holds for our dear motherland.



The country under Yahya Jammeh is following the footpath of countries like Sierra Leone , Guinea and Liberia . Despotism, irresponsible governance, violations of people’s rights and freedoms, lack of respect for the rule of law among others were some of the key reasons for the outbreak of the brutal civil wars we all witnessed in these countries and elsewhere in Africa and our country's leadership is doing exactly the same things.



For over a decade now, the Gambian people are being held hostage by a brutal dictator who is governing the country like his personal estate to deal with as he pleases. In his desire to remain president for life, Jammeh have given himself unlimited powers, which he don't know how to use and is pushing the Gambian people to the wall.



Blinded and absolutely corrupted by his powers, Jammeh thinks he as president, has the right without any basis in Gambian law to label anyone a criminal, saboteur or detractor and then lock him up in Mile Two Prisons and throw the keys into the River Gambia.



Like many African dictators, Jammeh is using his security officers to do his dirty work. He believes so much in the might of his officers and is giving them the blessing to commit serious human rights abuses against the citizenry to ensure his continuous stay in power.



Believing in the military strength of his armed forces, Jammeh thinks that he can do anything under the sun to the Gambian people and gets away with it.



Like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, Jammeh thinks anything he does is in the best interest of the country and whoever stands on his way must be sacrifice for the greater good. He does not care whose feet he steps on.



Jammeh himself once admitted this on television when he said: "I will not hesitate to kill 99.9 per cent Gambians and go to sleep if it is in the interest of the country."



Almost every Gambian now have a close or distant relative who is either killed, exiled, arrested, tortured or sacked from his job for one unexplained reason or the other. Our name as the Smiling Coast of Africa has disappeared. We are no longer a beacon of hope. We are not being governed according to the motto - peace, progress and prosperity that are on our national coat of arms.



Jammeh does not have any sense of reasoning. He thinks the best way to respond to anyone who opposes his brutalities is to kill, arrest and torture or exiled if they are lucky.



As a former soldier who was thought to obey every order, Jammeh often forgets that he is president of a 'democratic' country, where people have a right to say no. And as a result he has transformed our country to a sorry state.



The situation in our country is getting worst by the day and the Gambian people are getting fed up. They complain every day in their homes, bantabas, street corners and market stalls about the evil deeds of the Jammeh regime.



It our responsibility as Gambians to do anything we can in order to save our country from becoming another Sierra Leone . We have to remind Jammeh of his responsibilities as president of 21st century Gambia and the need to govern the people according to the dictates of the 1997 constitution, which he swore in the name of Almighty Allah to respect.



The Gambia is our only home and we should not let Jammeh to continue destroying the future of our young generation.

Press Statement: ECOWAS Court dismisses Gambian government objection

The ECOWAS Community Court hearing the case of torture brought by Musa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist against the operatives of the Gambia’s notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA), on June 30, 2009 dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the Gambian government, the defendant in the case.

According to the Community court, Saidykhan is a citizen of West Africa and that the court is mandated by the ECOWAS protocol to hear human rights violation cases brought before it.

On the legal remedies, the three- member panel overruled a claim by the Gambian government that the plaintiff (Saidykhan) failed to exhaust the local remedies by making reference to its protocol authorizing it to hear cases by citizens of member states without having to exhaust remedies in local national courts.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in November 2007 brought the suit on behalf of Saidykhan in order to seek justice for him and also bring relief to many other Gambian journalists who had suffered similar fate and have escaped into exile for fear of repression

Commenting on the ruling Shola Egbeyinka, a member of the legal team of Saidykhan hailed the court’s ruling saying it is a boost for media freedom and would go a along way to protect journalists in the west African-sub region.

Marie Saine-Firdaus, the country’s Attorney General, represented the Gambian government, who had previously boycotted the proceedings of the Court on two occasions.

Saidykhan, editor-in-chief of The Independent, a banned bi-weekly Banjul-based newspaper was arrested on the night of March 27, 2006, by a combined force of armed soldiers and policemen in his home and taken to the notoriously feared NIA headquarters. He was held incommunicado for 22 days without any charge. During this period he was tortured until he became unconscious. The continuous torture left scars on his back, legs, arms, and his right hand, which was broken in three places.

The court fixed October 28, 2009 for the commencement of the trial.

Issued by the MFWA, Accra on June 30, 2009.

The MFWA is a regional independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Accra. It was founded in 1997 to defend and promote the rights and freedom of the media and all forms of expression.

For further information, please Contact:
Prof. Kwame Karikari
Executive Director
MFWA
P.O. Box LG 730,
Legon
Accra, Ghana
Tel 233-21 242470
Fax 233 -21 221084
Email: mfwa@africaonline.com.
Website: www.mediafound.org