Lawyer Darboe chides Jammeh's criticism of Guinea coup

APA Banjul (The Gambia) The Gambian leader, President Yahya Jammeh, who recently chastised those African leaders that endorsed the coup d'etat in Guinea, on Monday came under sharp criticisms from the leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party, Ousainou Darboe, who accused him of paying lip service to democratic ideals.

Darboe made the statement in response to a press release issued by President Jammeh informing people of the opening of a competition for the composition of a song suitable for adoption as the anthem of the July 22 military takeover that brought him to power.

The release states that the winning entry will receive one million dalasis (US$40,000).

Darboe remarked, "it is ironical that a government that calls itself a constitutional government could extol a military takeover to the extent of asking people to write an anthem to extol it. This press release shows that Yahya Jammeh was hypocritical in condemning the military takeover in Guinea. He has no moral standing to condemn the coup d'etat in Guinea, because what he is doing is condoning and encouraging a coup d'etat."

OBAMA THE GREAT

My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.
At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
Serious challenges
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.


These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Nation of 'risk-takers'
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
'Remaking America'
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.


This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Restoring trust
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.


What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
'Ready to lead'
As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.


Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
'Era of peace'
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
'Duties'
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
'Gift of freedom'
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Keeps gettin' worst

by PK Jarju
It is common believe that a new year brings new habits and better things. However, with regard to the Gambia, the more the years come and go, the darker and dangerous the atmosphere in which the media operate becomes.

Since the coming to power of the AFPRC/APRC government, the Gambian media has never enjoyed the rights and freedoms that are enshrined in the laws of the country. Their rights and freedoms are trampled upon by a government that funnily swore to protect and defend them.

While the rest of the African continent is well on the road to democracy and good governance, the Gambia is moving hundred steps the opposite direction, as the government continues to do everything possible to kill and bury the press.

The government is using the repressive criminal code it enacted in 2004 to clamp down on its critics and opponents. The criminal code makes criticism of the Jammeh regime a criminal offense liable to heavy fine, imprisonment or both.

Local media houses are today afraid to embark on investigative journalism, writing editorials or publish articles that are critical to regime.

The government is yet to repeal Decree 70/71, which increased the bond to be executed by a newspaper from D1, 000 to Dl00, 000 before it commences operation. The Newspaper Amendment Act enacted in 2004 is also yet to be repealed. The Act which further increased the bond to be executed before a media house commences operation from D100, 000 to D500, 000, is making it very difficult for Gambians to establish private and independent media houses.

Decree 45, which abrogates constitutional safeguards against arbitrary search and permits search and seizure of property without due process, is still not repealed by the government despite criticisms from international human rights organisation.

These allows the NIA, which centres its operation on journalists and critics of the regime to arrest and detain people arbitrarily as well as tap phone lines without a court warrant. These harassments, arbitrary arrests, torture and disappearances have forced many journalists and critics into exile.

There has never been a year since 1994 in which a journalist has never been arrested and detained in the Gambia for writing or publishing articles that are deemed critical of the Jammeh regime.

2008 was the same as the previous years. The Gambian media witnessed arrest and detention, harassment, intimidation.

On June 14, 2008, Dida Halake, managing editor of the pro-government Daily Observer, was arrested and detained for many days by the police before being charged with sedition. Mr Halake's arrest came in the wake of fallout he had with the paper's board. He was later acquitted and discharged but not without losing his job.

On July 17, 2008, Abdulhamid Adiamoh, editor of TODAY newspaper was arrested and detained for several hours by the police before been charged with sedition. He was arrested in connection with an article on his July 15 publication captioned: Children dodge school to pick scrap metal.

While the matter is still ongoing, Mr Adiamoh, a Nigerian, was convicted on a separate charge and ordered to pay a fine of D10, 000 in default to serve six months imprisonment for failure to renew his business certificate with the registrar of companies at the AG Chambers contrary to Section 3 (1) and punishable under Section 2 (a) (1) of the Business Registration Act 2005.

On 18 August 2008, Fatou Jaw Manneh, a US based journalist received a heavy fine after been found guilty of sedition by Magistrate Buba Jawo of the Kanifing court. Ms Manneh was arrested on March 28, 2007 by NIA officers upon arrival at Banjul International Airport for granting an interview to this paper [AllGambia]. In the interview, she criticised the manner in which the country is being rule by the president, whom she accused of betraying and tearing the country into shreds.

On December 30, 2008, two Scottish Christian missionaries, David and Fiona Fulton, were fined D250, 000 and sentenced to one year in prison with hard labour by Magistrate Idrissa Mbai of the Banjul court for sedition.

The couple were arrested in November after sending e-mails to groups and individuals outside the country which criticised the government of Yahya Jammeh.

Until now, the government is yet to comply with the June 5, 2008 ruling of the Abuja based Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States for the immediate release of Chief Ebrima Manneh.

Mr Manneh a journalist with the Daily Observer was arrested at the newspaper premises on July 11, 2006 by plain clothes security officers and detained incommunicado. He has since been sighted several times in the custody of state security personnel.

The Jammeh regime has consistently denied any knowledge of the whereabouts of the journalist, and has demonstrated gross disrespect for the Ecowas court by refusing to appear throughout the proceedings.

By the end of the year, there is no development with the government investigation into the gruesome murder of Deyda Hydara, managing editor of The Point Newspaper, who was gunned down by unknown assailants on December 16, 2004 while driving home.

For comments, write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk or info@allgambian.net. U can also read my blog www.pkjarju.blogspot.com

Ghana to be tough on Banjul

New Ghanaian vice president John Mahama has reiterated his desire to seek justice for some 44 Ghanaians brutally murdered in Gambia in 2003.

He told Journalists in Accra he has called for a briefing from the ECOWAS committee mandated to investigate the matter, and a decision will be taken thereafter.
He assured government will seek adequate compensation from the Gambian authorities to appease the relatives of the victims, adding, bodies of the victims would be retrieved for the appropriate burial ceremony to take place in Ghana.

Vice President Mahama was an ardent critic of the Kufuor administration and advocated for a tougher stance to be taken on Gambia.

He suggested government must sever diplomatic relations with Gambia until they cooperate with investigations.

The killings were suspected to have been perpetrated by operatives of the Gambian government and have since frustrated efforts to investigate the matter.

Not even the United Nations emissary tasked with the responsibility to investigate the killings have made any headway, at least for now, but have shown no signs of giving up, until they get to the bottom of the killing.

Vice president Mahama said a lot more pressure will be mounted on the Gambia to extract more information on the details of the killing.

Story by Nathan Gadugah, myjoyonline - JoyFM Online

The dark, strange truth behind David and Fiona Fulton in Gambia

By Richard Pendlebury
Mail online
At the State House in the Gambian capital of Banjul one evening last week, President Yahya Jammeh addressed a gathering of his nation's Christian leaders.
His Excellency told them that not a single member of their religious faith had been convicted of a crime by a Gambian court during the whole of 2008.
What a marvellously trouble-free example the Christians were to his country's Muslims, who make up 97 per cent of the population.
This was a puzzling statement by the head of state, given that in Banjul only a few hours earlier, two Pentecostal missionaries, David and Fiona Fulton, originally from Devon, had been sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for allegedly spreading sedition against his rule.
The case had already made international headlines and did so again the next morning.
But if any of the senior churchmen present raised a cynical eyebrow at the President's blandishments, it went unreported by the state media.
After all, Gambians have learned it's best not to contradict a leader who claims to have personally invented a 'cure' for Aids using green paste and bananas and has kept power for 14 years through what Amnesty International lists as 'unlawful detention, torture, unfair trials, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial executions'.
Two hundred years after the British established it as a base from which to attack the West African slave trade, fear and political oppression are the twin realities of life in Africa's smallest mainland nation.
In those early days, the only way to communicate along the steamy banks of the great Gambia River was by small boat and word of mouth.
Today the internet has reached the larger towns, allowing instant access to the rest of the world for a few of its inhabitants.
It is thanks to the internet that the Fultons came to be lodged last night in the notorious Mile Two maximum security prison on Banjul's outskirts.
Emails which they had sent to friends in the UK had found their way back to Gambia and into the hands of Jammeh's security apparatus.
One of the messages had apparently contained the observation that the country was 'sinking fast into a morass of Islam'.
But what undoubtedly sealed their fate was the description of the president as a 'madman'.
In many respects, the Fultons' story is one of sin and redemption, struggle and disenchantment, set against a tropical background of seething violence and widespread corruption.
But there are areas which remain unclear, not least among them David Fulton's colourful life before he found God and relocated to the African jungle.
He was born 60 years ago and was brought up in the Scottish seaside town of Troon, where his elderly mother still lives.
According to a cousin, Mr Fulton left the town in his late teens and would appear to have joined the British Army.
But members of his wife's family seem vague about his military career and immediate aftermath. (His own are not commenting on the affair, in the hope of securing a presidential pardon.)
But two biographical details have been repeated as fact in all press reports on Mr Fulton since his arrest.
The first is that he had been an Army officer and risen to the rank of Major. The second - made all the more remarkable by the first - is that after leaving the military he embarked on an armed robbery spree which led to his imprisonment.
But contemporary newspaper accounts of this remarkable and unexplained rise and fall are conspicuous by their absence.
Nobody of Fulton's name and seniority appears on the Army Lists - the annual directories of serving officers - during the relevant period.
But friends recall that he said he was a major in the Territorial Army while in Devon.

Family album: David Fulton and his wife Fiona holding their adopted daughter Elizabeth, alongside son Luke and daughter Iona
On the website of the Christian charity Prison Fellowship International (PFI), with which Mr Fulton has been working for many years, there is a brief account of his earlier life.
It states: 'As a young man David had served in the British Army, where he had risen to the rank of major.
'Despite his military career, David also had a background in prison. When he was in his 30s he became involved in armed robberies. "I robbed security cars all over England," Mr Fulton says.
'When the law eventually caught up with him, he faced the possibility of serving a lengthy prison sentence.'

The family emigrated to Gambia in 1999 (file picture)
While in prison, David visited the prison chapel and converted to Christianity.
During the early to mid Eighties, he served time at Dartmoor Prison in Devon and then Channings Wood, a category-C training prison near Newton Abbot, also in Devon.
It was at the latter establishment that he met and fell in love with Fiona McMinn, a prison visitor from nearby Torquay, 14 years his junior.
She came from what one family member described as a 'conventional Christian background', but had a strong faith which Mr Fulton now shared.
They married in 1986 and had two children, Iona, now 20, and Luke, 18. After his release, Mr Fulton went into the car repair business in Torbay, where the family lived in the Nineties.
A source close to Mrs Fulton's family said: 'We never knew exactly what David had done in the Army, not even what his regiment was or where he might have seen service.
'But I had no doubt because of references he made to his service, in particular an operation which involved helicopters, that he was a regular Army soldier.
'Whether he didn't speak about it because of the sensitivity of what he had done or whether he was just private about it, I don't know. It was the same with his time in prison.
'The reason he came to settle in Devon was because he had first been moved there, to a jail at Newton Abbot.
'He never spoke to me about what he had done, where he had done it or when it had all happened.
'Obviously we knew he had met Fiona in prison, so we knew he had been convicted and was doing time.'
Maureen Stone, a local family friend, had a similar story. She says: 'I didn't know much about his background - certainly not that he had ever been in prison.
'I think his involvement with the Army continued after he left, because I recall that he was in the TA.
'In the years before they went to Gambia for good, we used to help them collect old tools and sewing machines, which he would then take out there and give to young offenders in prison.
'That was so typical of him. He was always trying to help others.
'I couldn't believe it when I heard what had happened on the news. But David had a strong sense of what was right and wrong.
'He would speak up when he felt something wasn't fair.'
The PFI website says Mr Fulton had a 'calling' to go and minister in Gambia after going there on holiday.
A source close to Mrs Fulton's family said the couple announced their decision to become missionaries at a family dinner. He described it as a surprise, 'but they felt very strongly about it'.
The family emigrated to Gambia in 1999.
'David was planning on doing vehicle maintenance to pay his way, but I think soon after they got there the government introduced a licence system whereby non-Gambians had to pay to work,' says the source.
'The cost of the licence was so prohibitively high you would have had to work for years before you could recoup the outlay.
'That was the reason they went across into doing full-time missionary work.'
Given what has since happened, it is ironic that Mr Fulton found work as a chaplain to Jammeh's armed forces and prison network.
Mrs Fulton was appointed chaplain to Bunjal's international airport while spending most of her time visiting the terminally ill.
The family source explained: 'Their funding came from a network of supporters, particularly Canada, but not particular churches other than one near Manchester - the Westhoughton Pentecostal Church.
'It paid for all sorts of things but particularly medicine, some of which might be sent out from the UK.
'Sometimes Fiona would cross into neighbouring Senegal to buy basic supplies such as antibiotics.
'Money could be erratic and for a long time they only had half a house and half a roof until more money arrived and they could add bits on.
'Everything is so haphazard out there. People don't think long-term, but when your goal is to get through the day alive and fed, you have very different priorities - especially when there is so much disease and danger.'
It was a great comfort for the Fultons to be able to talk of their work and troubles with the outside world.
'In the early days, they would send regular letters back and more recently emails,' says the source.
'When they first got online they used an internet cafe. But then they got their own connection.
'The emails which came back were almost like installments in a book in that each one could be a chapter in their daily life. I can imagine how they came to be misconstrued.
'If you know David and the sort of person he is and the sort of humour he had, then you wouldn't read too much into his words.
'But if you were Gambian and in authority, and read them literally without any wit or irony, then you might take offence.'
The emails contained grumbles about a number of aspects of life in Jammeh's Gambia, including the chronic shortages of fuel and water, according to a member of the Fulton family.
On one occasion, they were stopped by the authorities from giving water from their new borehole to local people because the authorities were asking for contributions towards the fuel for the generator that pumped it.
Life had become increasingly hard for everyone in the past two years. In March 2006 Jammeh claimed to have uncovered yet another coup attempt - the sixth since he came to power.
It led to a fresh round of arrests, imprisonments and disappearances. Against this background, the Fultons decided to send their two teenage children back to Devon to finish their education.
They had just adopted a baby Gambian girl whom they called Elizabeth when Mr Fulton was sacked from his prison chaplaincy for allegedly trying to convert inmates.
There had also been a number of religiously motivated attacks on him in the street and he had begun to carry a gun for protection.
On one occasion, he is said to have fired it at an assailant.
Latterly, the couple were based in Kerr Sering, an hour from the capital. Mr Fulton was ministering to communities deep in the bush.
A family friend spoke of 'domestic difficulties' which put Mr Fulton 'under a tremendous amount of pressure' and might have clouded his judgment.
One message from Mr Fulton, sent in September, was apparently headed: 'Hell in The Gambia.'
Another read: 'I believe it is quite clear there is a growing extremist element in the army and indeed in the country.
'I suggest that we arm the Muslims with sticks and the Christians with machine guns and let them fight.'
It seems that these and other offending emails were seen by a Gambian national living in the UK with whom the Fultons had fallen out. The couple were arrested on November 24.
On Christmas Eve they changed their pleas to being guilty of attempting to 'bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the President of the Republic, President Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh and the government of Gambia'.
While on remand, Mr Fulton was held at the squalid Mile Two, where beriberi, malaria and food poisoning kill a number of prisoners each year. Having refused to eat the food he is given, his health is failing.
His wife was kept at Banjul's main police station, while Elizabeth is being cared for by friends.
They both face a year's imprisonment in Mile Two, plus hard labour - possibly in one of the peanut plantations which, along with tourism, are a cornerstone of the economy.
Meanwhile, their daughter Iona is reportedly due to give birth in the UK. Little wonder the Fultons both broke down and cried when sentence was passed this week.
'It's so hard for all of us back here,' says a family member. 'We are desperate for information about what is happening to them yet so little is filtering back.
'The Deputy High Commissioner is one of the few allowed to visit them.'
Last night, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: 'We will continue to provide consular assistance to them both. There have been no significant developments.'
On Sunday, a letter from the Fultons to Jammeh was read out on Gambian state television.
They wrote: 'We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to apologise publicly to His Excellency and humbly ask for what will graciously and compassionately show us clemency.
'We humbly ask that the present proceeding be withdrawn and our passports be returned to us so we may return to the United Kingdom with our little daughter Elizabeth on the first flight available to us.'
Reports yesterday suggested that the two-year-old has, in fact, now been sent to Britain.
Friends say that before his arrest Mr Fulton was putting the finishing touches to his autobiography.
From 'Army officer' to armed robber, to missionary to prisoner once again, it promises to be gripping.

Jammeh Frowns at Israel

by PK Jarju

As the international community continue to keep a tight lip over the Israeli invasion of Gaza which has killed hundreds and injured thousands more, Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, has called on "civilised members of the human race to rise up against what he described as a holocaust" that is being unleashed on helpless Palestinians.

In his televised New Year's message, Mr Jammeh said Palestinian lands, human dignity and right to peaceful and dignified existence in their own country, are being blatantly violated with impunity by a country that the whole world went to war for between 1939-1945 to free their citizens from Nazi Germany and other parts of the West.

"Today, they are the principal perpetrators of the same genocide/holocaust against the people of Palestine on Palestinian soil; and all that we hear from the West and other Quarters is that Israel has a right to defend itself against attack! That Hamas is to be blamed for all the Israeli murderous campaign against the people of Palestine. Why didn't the principle of the right to self defence apply to the Russian-Georgian Conflict? Why was the West quick to intervene in that conflict and the UN Security Council was sitting almost daily to find an urgent solution to end that conflict? May be, because the people that were dying are White and Christian and so the conflict must be stopped.

"Today, nobody is making any serious effort to stop Israel from mass slaughter of Palestinians because they are Muslims and not European or White. Where there are so-called western civil societies and the so-called human rights activists/campaigners?," Mr Jammeh asked.

Mr Jammeh who is an outspoken critic of Israel, said Palestinians have the same human value and lives as the Georgians that the entire West stood up to save and that the world will be a very dangerous and violent place if such blatant barbaric and genocidal behaviour is condoned by the world community.

While calling on Gambians to pray for their brothers and sisters in Palestine who are "victims of a brutal and inhuman occupying power that is bent on wiping them out, whilst the whole world is watching with indifference", Mr Jammeh expressed his wish and prayers that the Almighty Allah will intervene and save humanity from the "scourge of murderous racist powers" that pride themselves by atrocious invasions of other countries in the name of democracy, pillaging, looting and destroying lives and plundering their properties with impunity.

He also prayed to Allah the Almighty to "destroy all these evil forces" and let decent and civilised humanity live in peace and love, free from such satanic beings.

In Gambian, Arbitrary, Indefinite Detention without Family Access

Detention without trial has added dimension where access to family members is flatly denied. After suffering arbitrary arrest, detainees in Gambia are now being subject to tougher sanctions including and not limited to refusal to access family and friends.

State detainees in the Gambia have access to their families curtailed by authorities at various secret detention centres across the country. Many of them are simply perceived opponents of President Yahya Jammeh’s coarse ideas.

They are held incommunicado without bail, access to medical care and that of their families. Some of them are reportedly held at the notorious maximum security wing of the State Central Prison on the outskirts of Banjul, for years without charge or being informed of the reason(s) for their arrest, as required by the constitution of the Gambia.

Chief Ebrima Manneh, journalist with the Daily Observer Newspaper was arrested at the premises of his work place on 7th July, 2006. He was arrested by plain clothes men. Chief Manneh was last spotted in September, 2007 at Fatoto police station, in Eastern part of the Gambia.

The Media Foundation for West Africa has filed a suit against Gambia Government at the Community Court of Justice of West African States in Abuja, Nigeria. Government and state security agents have failed to appear during the entire course of the case. The court at the end of the case delivered judgment in favour of Chief Manneh. Government was ordered to pay US$100,000 as damages to Manneh’s family. The government is yet to comply with the order to compensate Manneh’s family. Security forces who work under directives of President Jammeh are still keeping tight lips over where Chief Manneh is and what happened to him since that fateful July 7 arrest in 2006.

Repeated appeals by Chief Manneh’s aging father, Sarjo Manneh has failed to yield success.

Momodou Lamin Nyassi, former chief of Foni Kansala, Western Gambia, Buba Sanyang and Ndongo Mboob were all arrested in April, 2006 in Bwiam. Their whereabouts has become a mystery and cause unending psychological strains to families and friends. Their families reportedly searched and visited all accessible detention centers but cannot trace the trio.

Ebou Jarju, a presidential steward at State House is reportedly detained at the police headquarters in Banjul. He was arrested in March, 2008 at Kombo Darsilami, located by the border with the Senegalese province of Cassamance. He was reportedly arrested on suspicion of wanting to poison President Jammeh after a powder was found in his possession. Sources noted that the circumstances surrounding his arrest were investigated but results do not found him guilty. Mr. Jarju is yet to be charged or informed of the reason(s) for his continued detention.

Jasaja Kujabi of Dobong, (a supposed uncle to President Jammeh), Macie Jammeh, and Haruna Jammeh, all relatives, were picked up by security agents in September, 2005. Whereabouts and wellbeing of the trio still unknown to their families.

Kebba Secka, Officer Commanding - OC of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) at Madina-Ba Division, was arrested since 14th May, 2007. He is reportedly languishing at the maximum wing of the notorious Mile 2 prisons.

Kanyiba Kanyi a staff of the Christian Children Fund (CCF) and a staunch supporter of the United Democratic Party was also arrested on 18th September, 2006. His counsel Ousainou Darboe, leader of the opposition United Democratic Party filed a suit at the Banjul High Court for the State to produce him. The then Judge of Gambia’s High Court, Justice Monageng ordered the State to produce him. Authorities in Gambia so far failed heeding to court orders.

Detention without trial of opponents has become an integral part of state operations in Gambia, defying all policy provisions of the current government.

Gambia’s justice system is fast decaying in the hands of the people entrusted to keep custody of the country’s instruments for protecting all and sundry. Before the world comes to Gambia’s rescue, many silent sufferers would face the brunt.

In its latest report on Gambia, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute said the rule of law is at risk in the country and that the judicial system "suffers from neglect," creating "a climate where the protection of human rights is undermined and the rule of law subverted."

It added that legal practitioners in the Gambia are currently operating under challenging conditions due to the existence of ongoing incidents of harassment and intimidation, which have created a climate of fear in the profession.

The report further said the Jammeh regime exhibits hostility and suspicion in its dealings with the legal profession which it perceives as an oppositional force, and there is currently an atmosphere of fear amongst lawyers, emanating from the attempted murder of a lawyer and several other incidents of harassment and intimidation of lawyers, that they may face serious adverse consequences as a result of their acceptance of certain causes on behalf of their clients

2008 a difficult year for Gambians

The New York Chapter of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) have described 2008 as a difficult year for Gambians who believe in democracy and the rule of law.

In their New Year message, the party said over the past year, President Yahya Jammeh undermined the Gambian constitution by ordering the arrest ordering the arrest and disappearance of opponents of his dictatorial regime like Kanyiba Kanyi a supporter of the UDP, who was arrested on September 18th, 2006 to date without trial or release and Journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh of the Daily Observer.

They added that the year also 'witnessed a serious hostility on the Gambia judiciary system by the summary dismissal of high Court Judges Mr. B.Y. Camara and Haddy Roche for intimidation purpose.

Below we reproduce the full text of the press release.

The UDP wishes to take this opportunity to wish all Gambians and friends of The Gambia a happy 2009 year.

Year 2008 has been a difficult year for Gambians who believe in democracy and the rule of law.The year 2008 President Jammeh went on undermining the constitution by ordering the arrest and disappearance of opponents of his dictatorial regime like Kanyiba Kanyi a supporter of the UDP and employee of CCF who was arrested on September 18th, 2006 to date without trial or release and a Journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh of the Daily Observer.

On June 5th, 2007, Hon. Justice Ms Sanji M. Monageng of the High Court of The Gambia ordered;

1. The Director General of the National intelligence Agency, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General to produce the body of Mr. Kanyiba Kanyi to Court on June 7th, 2007 but it is a well known fact that the law is only respected when it's favor the APRC regime.

The year 2008, witnessed a serious hostility on the Gambia judiciary system by the summary dismissal of high Court Judges Mr. B.Y. Camara and Haddy Roche for intimidation purpose.

The year 2008, witnessed the revelation of a rampant corruption scandal at the Gambian Embassy in Washington DC and to date neither the Auditor General nor the Accountant General has issued a word concerning the allegation and no action has been taken. Gambians want the Washington DC Embassy to be audited and the report be made public, in the absence of that one would be left to believe that the allegation is positive and the APRC regime has a case to answer to the Gambian people.

In the history of The Gambia, year 2008 has been the year when the United Nations launched an investigation on the Gambian Government for alleged massacre of 50 West African Nationals and the investigation is still on. Gambians deserve to know about this serious matter.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, once said "The abandonment-even the postponement-of the process of justice is an affront to those who obey the law and a betrayal of those who rely on the law for their protection; it is a call for the use of force in revenge and, therefore, a bankruptcy of peace."
We wish all a happy new year.
Signed:
UDP Secretariat.

Gov't urged to stop human rights abuses

The minority leader of the National Assembly has called on the Jammeh regime to put an end to the gross human right abuses and adhere to the provisions of human rights in the country.

Momodou Lamin Sanneh, member for Kiang West, said the poor human rights record of the Jammeh regime is a cause for concern as it has stained the Gambia's image in the ouside world.

Speaking at the official end of the 2008 legislative year last Tuesday, the minority leader said a number of Gambians have over the years been arrested and detained by security officers without being charged or told the reasons for their arrest.

He read out a list of names published in a recent article of Foroyaa Newspaper of people who are languishing in detention for years without being charged with any criminal offense.

The minority leader added that the continuous arrest and detention of people without charge is tarnishing Gambia's image and unless the government start respecting the rights of people, the coutry's image will continue to drag in the mud.

He called on the government to act within the constitution by charging and arraigning people suspected to have committed a crime in competent court of law.

Also decrying the poor human rights record of the Jammeh regime, Babanding KK Daffeh, member for Kiang Central, said the government should adhere to the rules in arresting and detaining suspects.

He said in many instances, suspects are held by law security officers beyond the legal 72 hours.

Bekai Camara, member for Wuli East called on the department of state for the Interior to set up a police station in his constituency to help reduce the high rate of banditry in the area.

Saikou Suso, member for Kantora, appealed to the department of state for the Interior to renovate the state of Fatoto Police Station as well as provide a vehicle for the station. He lamented that the lack of vehicle at the station has seriously hampered the work of the police in his area.

Gambia jail British couple

A Scottish missionary and his wife, who pleaded guilty to sedition charges in Gambia, have been sentenced to one year in prison with hard labour.

David and Fiona Fulton were arrested last month after sending a letter to groups and individuals which criticised the country's government.

The couple changed their original not guilty plea last week.

Mr Fulton, 60, is from Troon in Ayrshire. His 46-year-old wife is from Torquay in Devon.

Last week the couple pleaded guilty to charges of sedition against the government of President Yahya Jammeh.

Hard labour

They issued a public apology but their remorse did not mollify the judge.

The Fultons admitted publishing e-mails with seditious comments with intent to bring hatred or contempt against the president or the government.

Presiding magistrate Idrissa Mbai said: "I found the offences of the accused party to be very shocking and they have shown no respect for the country, the government and the president of the republic. I will send a clear message to the offenders.

"I therefore sentence you to a fine of 250,000 Dalasis (about £6,250) and mandatory jail time of one year with hard labour."

If the couple do not pay the fine they face an additional six months in prison.

'Seeking clarity'

They can lodge an appeal within 20 days, but it was not clear if they would do so.

The tiny west African country inside Senegal, has been criticised in recent years for its human rights record.

Jammeh, an outspoken military officer and former wrestler, has ruled the former British colony since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said consular staff had been providing assistance to the Fultons.

He said the Foreign Office was "seeking clarity" over what hard labour meant "in this context".

He added that it was a decision for the Fultons with their legal representative as to whether they appealed against the judgement.

The spokesman said that the couple's two-year-old daughter was being cared for by a family friend in the family home.

Courtesy of BBC

Deyda's killing was an act of terror

by PK Jarju

Baba Galleh

Baba Galleh Jallow,  former Daily Observer editor-in-chief and CEO of the now closed Independent Newspaper, has described the killing of Deyda Hydara as an act of terrorism.

Deyda Hydara, founder and managing editor of The Point Newspaper was murdered by unknown gun men on December 16, 2004, while on his way home.

Speaking to  PK Jarju on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Mr Hydara's death, Mr Jallow said: "I think Deyda was killed because he was critical of the Jammeh regime. I think he was killed because he constituted an unbearable voice of truth to people who cannot bear the sound of truth. I think he was killed as a warning to others that they would be risking their lives if they dared to be too critical of the government. I think it is absurd to imagine that the government is doing anything to catch Deyda’s killers. I think the government killed Deyda. How can the killer catch the killer?"

Mr Jallow added that it was simply unbelievable to think that Deyda Hydara could be so brutally murdered as he have always tempered his opinions with a noticeable degree of restraint and respect for whoever was the object of his critiques.

Below is the full text of Mr Jallow's interview.

PK Jarju: It’s been four years now since the brutal killing of Deyda Hydara. What do you make of the whole incident?

Baba Galleh: I think first of all, that Deyda’s killing was an act of terrorism. Those who killed Deyda were out to instill terror into the hearts of those who, like Deyda, dare to be critical of the powers that be. Secondly, the fact that no one has been arrested for the murder is indicative of a dismal lack of law and order in The Gambia.

 Are you saying that the Gambia is an anarchic state?

Baba Galleh: I wouldn’t call it a state of anarchy because that would imply saying there is no government in The Gambia. I am saying that there is dismal lack of respect for the rule of law and order in The Gambia. Deyda’s killing is just one of several cases that remain unsolved or for which no one has been arrested. There are the cases of Ousman Koro Ceesay, of Almamo Manneh, of the student victims of April 2000, of the Radio 1FM and The Independent arson attacks, of Daba Marena and his co-prisoners, and more recently, of the foreign nationals from Ghana and other countries. I find it ironic that a state that constantly brags about its determination to curb criminality and insecurity has not been able to arrest those who committed any of these criminal acts. The only answer –to my mind – is that the state itself committed the crimes.

 Why do you think Deyda was killed?

Baba Galleh: I think Deyda was killed because he was critical of the Jammeh regime. I think he was killed because he constituted an unbearable voice of truth to people who cannot bear the sound of truth. I think he was killed as a warning to others that they would be risking their lives if they dared to be too critical of the government.

 Do you think the government is doing enough to catch Deyda's killer?

Baba Galleh: I think it is absurd to imagine that the government is doing anything to catch Deyda’s killers. I think the government killed Deyda. How can the killer catch the killer?

Do you have any prove to back your claims that Deyda was murdered by the state?

Baba Galleh: I have reason to think – and that’s the word I use – that Deyda was murdered by the government. Has Jammeh not repeatedly threatened to send his critics six feet deep? Deyda himself had reported receiving death threats he had reason to believe came from the government. Then there are the previous unsolved murder cases mentioned above. Moreover, the fact that no one has been arrested for the murder is all the more reason to believe that he was killed by the state. Or is the state telling us that it is powerless to stop murders in the country?

So are you saying that Jammeh was lying to the Gambian people when he said on GRTS that he does not believe in killing people?

Baba Galleh: If Jammeh did not believe in killing people, why on earth did he join the military? I think one has to believe in the possibility of killing people before enlisting as a soldier, because that’s exactly what soldiers are trained to do – kill people when considered necessary. So that was just one of Jammeh’s many outbursts of pre-thinking talk. Or is he saying that people become soldiers in order to kill wild animals only? Or that people killed by soldiers are less than human beings?

 Do you think there is a cover up in the investigations?

 Baba Galleh I think there are no investigations to cover up in the first place. That is my strong conviction.

What is your response then to the dossier issued on June 5, 2005 by the department of state for the Interior on the death of Deyda?

Baba Galleh: I think that dossier was meant as a means of closing the case, of claiming that investigations had been conducted and the findings made public. I think it was a fake dossier, a decoy to deflect public attention and interest in the case. And it failed.

What type of person was Deyda?

Baba Galleh: I knew Deyda to be a very kind-hearted and very principled and courageous man. He never hesitated to speak his mind and was a good listener.

 What was your initial reaction when you heard the news that Deyda was murdered?

Baba Galleh: I was shocked, like all right-thinking Gambians. To think that Deyda could be so brutally murdered was simply unbelievable. After all, he always tempered his opinions with a noticeable degree of restraint and respect for whoever was the object of his critiques.

Deyda Hydara

Deyda’s killing was among a string of attacks against the private press including The Independent. In your mind, what do you think was the motive?

Baba Galleh: The motive for press censorship is always fear of the truth, fear of public enlightenment, fear of the people’s power that could grow out of being politically informed. It is always an act of cowardice by irresponsible and paranoid regimes that seek to keep the people in a perpetual state of darkness and passive subjugation.

 Government investigations into the arson attacks on The Independent has not yield any positive result. Do you think that will be the same with Deyda’s case?

Baba Galleh: As I said above, it is absurd to think that the government will carry out any serious investigations into any crimes of a political nature because the same government is responsible for committing those very crimes. How can the thief catch the thief? People should stop asking the government to investigate these crimes. It is just so absurd.

 So instead what should people do when they cannot trust their government?

Baba Galleh: It depends on what they can do or feel they can do. They can try to remove the government from power, they can criticize the government, they can accuse the government of being untrustworthy, they can withdraw their support. It all depends on just what is possible for them to do and what they see themselves as capable of doing in the circumstances. It also depends on whether they want to do anything than sit by and watch.

Do you think the failure to apprehend Deyda’s killers and arsonist of The Independent exposes the government’s weaknesses in providing a safe and secure environment for media practitioners in the country?

Baba Galleh: No. I think the government is responsible for these crimes and that is why no one has been apprehended. I don’t think that the government is interested in providing a safe and secure environment for media practitioners in the country, unless, of course, if they are of the boot-licking sort.

 President Jammeh has often accused Gambian journalists and online contributors abroad of writing false stories to tarnish his image and the Gambia’s. What’s your reaction to that?

Baba Galleh: President Jammeh has no moral right to accuse any journalist of anything. If he has the audacity to close media houses without observing the due process of law, of having people arrested and indefinitely locked up without any charges, what right does he have to blame anyone for tarnishing his image? He is tarnishing his own image. What journalists report is what’s taking place or what they believe is taking place. And if any journalist reports the untruth, it is for the law to deal with them, not the president. The president is neither the state nor the law. Jammeh thinks he loves The Gambia more than anyone else but that is simply a manifestation of his extreme delusion. All Gambians love The Gambia and being president does not make anyone love their country more than anyone else. So he should quit saying such nonsense.

What do you make of the closure of The Independent?

Baba Galleh: The closure of The Independent was an act of naked criminal injustice. We know that the state has the potential authority to close down a media outlet. But the process of closure has to proceed according to the due process of law. To simply wake up one fine day and use armed men to close a private media outlet and then turn around and brag about it as Jammeh did, is further evidence of his unsuitability for the position of head of state.

The burnt printing press of The Independent

 Do you have any plans to challenge its closure in the courts?

Baba Galleh: No. I will not give the regime any modicum of credibility by challenging its own crimes in its own courts. I believe that the courts are powerless to do anything in cases like The Independent’s in today’s Gambia. The Independent was closed to stop the truth from being told. But the truth is still being told. So I would challenge the state to eat The Independent if they can. Let them erase the memory of the paper if they can. Let them go back to June 1999 when the paper started and confiscate and burn all the issues ever published. If they do that, I’ll grant them victory. Otherwise, I will maintain that they are mere cowards and bullies who can deny hundreds of people their daily bread just to make one man feel comfortable in his bed of lies...

 Are you saying Jammeh does not have the interests of the Gambian people at heart?

Baba Galleh: I am saying that he places his own personal interests above the interests of the Gambian people.

Jammeh once told GRTS that you begged him to drop libel charges against you for publishing a story in December 1999 captioned New wife for Jammeh. Is that true?

Baba Galleh: If he said I did, it was totally untrue. I have never begged Jammeh to drop any charges against me and I have never asked anyone to do so on my behalf. And as a point of correction for you, our caption for that story had a question mark after it. It read “New Wife for Jammeh?” rather than “New Wife for Jammeh.” That’s a significant difference. Jammeh has this bad habit of talking without thinking. He seems to imagine that because he is the president, he can say anything that crosses his mind and so often says things that are totally untrue or nonsensical.

How do you see the current atmosphere in which Gambian journalists are operating?

Baba Galleh: I think on the home front, the atmosphere is clearly difficult. Journalists working for privately owned media houses now have to watch their words or else… On the other hand, there are the online media, which are doing a great job of keeping the flame of free speech burning without any immediate threats to their persons or properties.

They have to watch their words or else what?

Baba Galleh: Or else face the consequences.

As far as freedom of expression is concerned, would you classify Jammeh as an enemy of free speech?

Baba Galleh: Jammeh is not only an enemy of free speech; he is an enemy of free thought, and therefore an enemy of viable progress for our country.

The killing of Deyda and other attacks on the media is triggering a mass exodus of journalists from the Gambia. Don’t you think that is what the government wants?

Baba Galleh: I can say for certain that what they want is “no criticism.”

 Jammeh has often claimed that he is hard on the press in order to save the Gambia from being in flames like Sierra Leone. How will you react to that?

Baba Galleh: Well the press says exactly the same thing, that it is hard on the government to save The Gambia from sliding into a violent conflict situation. Sit-tight despotism and irresponsible governance, violations of people’s rights, disregard for the rule of law – these are some of the key reasons for the outbreak of conflict in Sierra Leone and elsewhere in Africa. So the press tries to warn the government of the dangers of getting engaged in these things. In any case, Jammeh has no authority to be hard on the press. That should be the role of the law enforcement agencies following the due process of law.

Why are you a critic of the Jammeh regime?

Baba Galleh: I am a critic of the Jammeh regime for many numbers of reasons. First among these is the fact that he betrayed the Gambian people; he lied to us; he had promised to spend only two years in power and return to barracks. He broke that promise with blatant impunity. He also broke his promise to put term limits in the constitution. He now claims ownership of our country and has become a sit-tight despot. He is intolerant of any form of dissent and denies Gambians the right to know and the right to peaceful change of leadership. He has no respect for constitutional provisions or for the rule of law. I guess if PK Jarju was president and behaved this way I would be his critic too.

So you mean the Gambia is colonised by Jammeh?

Baba Galleh: I mean Jammeh is holding The Gambian people hostage. We have records of him saying after the coup that no president will ever be allowed to spend more than ten years in power. That “in fact, ten years is too much.” Those are his exact words. We have records of him saying that he will return to barracks after a transition period of two years. He set up the National Consultative Committee to find out just how long people wanted the AFPRC to stay in power. The national consensus was two years. A constitutional review committee he set up recommended, and he publicly accepted, the idea of putting two five-year term limits for the president. Why did he fail to do all these things? Can he not legitimately be accused of being selfish and greedy for power and self-aggrandizement at the expense of the Gambian people? Is he waiting for another group of soldiers to come by and kick him out of power? Would such a thing not hurt the Gambian people?

Don’t you think that the existence of a national assembly and judiciary means that we are a democratic country?

Baba Galleh: Absolutely not. When the national assembly and judiciary are emasculated and turned into the personal properties and political instruments of the president, as ours clearly are, we cannot call that country a- democracy. The level of separation of powers, checks and balances between the three arms of government needed for a functional democracy are clearly not present in The Gambia. Does Jammeh not hire and fire judges and magistrates at will? Have we not had at least thirteen justice ministers in fourteen years of Jammeh’s government? Does he not expel national assembly members at will? Has there been a single instance of a government-sponsored piece of legislation being opposed by a majority in the national assembly? Democracy requires much more than the existence of these institutions.

As a critic of the Jammeh regime, you were subjected to so many arrests and detentions. Did it ever come to a point where you wanted to quit the profession?

Baba Galleh: No. I was arrested and locked up several times. But I refused to be intimidated because I knew that those arresting me were the criminals, not me. For my safety I had to leave The Gambia to pursue higher education in the United States. But I continue to write and to speak my mind and to call for an end to Jammeh’s politics of impunity.

 You are now separated from your family and friends as a result of your work. Do you have any regrets for being a journalist?

Baba Galleh: I have no regrets whatsoever. I would do it all over again, and even more, if I could.

 Supporters of the Jammeh regime say your postings are always critical of the regime no matter what it does. How do you see such criticisms?

Baba Galleh: Well, I respect people’s right to criticize me and to disagree with my views and opinions. And they are welcome to do so anywhere, anytime. I think such criticisms are healthy. No one should claim infallibility or consider himself or herself to be above criticism. After all, we are trying to build a democratic political culture in The Gambia whose cardinal principle would be tolerance and respect for contrary opinions. So I welcome those criticisms and even encourage them. That’s the type of society we want – a society in which people can openly disagree and criticize. So, no hard feelings at all for my critics.

 If you are to say anything positive about Jammeh what will it be?

Baba Galleh: Well, he is now a self-declared professor. I would say that’s so very positive.

 If called on by Jammeh to serve The Gambia in any capacity, will you accept the call?

Baba Galleh: Absolutely not. If I did, I would be accepting to serve him, and not The Gambia. I will never be part of a dictatorial regime that has no respect for human dignity, constitutional provisions, and the rule of law.

Politically, where do you think the Gambia is heading to?

Baba Galleh: What the future holds is anybody’s guess. I know that what we have today is a dictatorship and dictatorships historically spell trouble for their countries.

 Do you think Jammeh is responsible for Gambia’s problems?

Baba Galleh: He certainly is responsible for many of Gambia’s problems. I wouldn’t say he is responsible for all of Gambia’s problems because there are forces bigger than him at work within the international context.

Despite Gambia’s problems, Jammeh is still loved by the electorates. Why is that so?

Baba Galleh: Well, the answer to that question is far more complicated than can be satisfactorily answered in an interview of this nature. However, I would say that most people are not making the connection between their personal problems and the current government. Related to that is the nature of our political culture, our political habits of mind, how people see the government, what they understand to be the nature of government as an institution and the president as a leader of a twenty-first century society. I think what we can call the “mansa mentality” needs to be neutralized in the Gambian body politic before the majority of Gambians can start seeing the state for what it is and start making informed electoral choices.

 As a former schoolmate of Jammeh, what advise do you have for him?

Baba Galleh: Since Jammeh purports to be such a good and God-fearing Muslim, I would advise him to fulfil his promises to the Gambian people. The Koran makes it categorically clear that people who break their promises are hypocrites and I would guess Jammeh knows the verse I’m referring to. I would also advise him to quit acts of injustice if he is indeed as pious as he would like us to believe. The Koran and Sunnah are very clear on the need for Muslims to act with justice and for the leader to dispense justice equitably among his people. So in short, I would say to him: Mr. Jammeh be a good Muslim.

 Do you think the Gambian media is playing its role seriously?

Baba Galleh: Yes, I think some Gambian media outlets are playing their roles seriously. The online media community in Europe and the United States are doing great for our country. I think some Gambian media outlets are mere extensions of our good professor’s mouth, and are therefore not doing a good job at all.

Deyda's murder is one of Gambia's biggest tragedies

A former president of the Gambia Press Union (GPU) has described the assassination of Deyda Hydara on December 16, 2004 as the biggest tragedies that had ever befallen the Gambia.

In an interview with AllGambian, Mr Jawo who was a close friend of the late Deyda Hydara and is currently based in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, said it is extremely hard for any rational being to make sense as to why anyone would pull a trigger against a harmless person like Deyda.

"His assassination was no doubt one of the biggest tragedies that had ever befallen The Gambia. However, the apparent lack of interest by the Gambian authorities to thoroughly investigate this gruesome murder makes it even harder to comprehend. It is indeed hard to imagine such a thing happening in The Gambia, let alone to a harmless person like Deyda. He was not only a friend to everyone, but Deyda was also a kind-hearted person who was ever ready to assist anyone in need, regardless of ethnic, religious, political or social background. Therefore, it is hard to guess who might have killed him and why," Mr Jawo said.

Below is the full text of Mr Jawo’s interview with AllGambian's PK Jarju.

AllGambian: It has been four years now since the gruesome murder of Deyda Hydara. What do you make of the whole incident?

DAJ: It is extremely hard for any rational being to make sense as to why anyone would pull a trigger against a harmless person like Deyda. His assassination was no doubt one of the biggest tragedies that had ever befallen The Gambia. However, the apparent lack of interest by the Gambian authorities to thoroughly investigate this gruesome murder makes it even harder to comprehend.

AllGambian: How was it like as a friend of Deyda when you first got the call in the early hours of December 16, 2004 that he was killed?

DAJ: I had actually returned from a trip to Zambia on the very night that Deyda was killed, and it was early in the morning that a western diplomat called me on the telephone asking what I knew about what had happened to Deyda. I told her that I was not aware of anything happening to him. I then called Pap Saine who told me that they shot him dead the previous night. The news came to me like a dream and it only became a reality when several people started calling me about it.

AllGambian: Why do you think Deyda was killed?

DAJ: It was indeed hard to imagine such a thing happening in The Gambia, let alone to a harmless person like Deyda. He was not only a friend to everyone, but Deyda was also a kind-hearted person who was ever ready to assist anyone in need, regardless of ethnic, religious, political or social background. Therefore, it is hard to guess who might have killed him and why.

AllGambian: Are you surprised that no one has yet been arrested or charged with Deyda’s murder?

DAJ: Of course anyone concerned about equity and justice would be surprised that not only has no one yet been apprehended about his murder, but that the Gambian authorities do not even seem to be interested in investigating the case. They instead seem to treat his assassination like a non-event. It is hard to imagine such a heinous crime being committed in a close-knit society like ours and four years later, no one has been apprehended for it.

AllGambian: Some people are accusing the government of not doing enough to catch the killers of Deyda. Do you agree with that?

DAJ: It is definitely hard to understand why there is no visible sign that the Gambian authorities are actually investigation the case. Therefore, there is a lot of credibility in any allegations that the government is not doing enough to apprehend his killers.

AllGambian: Do you think there is a cover up in the investigations?

DAJ: While I am not in a position to categorically accuse the government or anyone of a cover-up in the investigations, but the very fact that it is four years and there are hardly any serious investigations going on gives a lot of credibility to such assumptions. Apart from anything else, Deyda was a Gambian citizen who, like all Gambians, deserved the protection of the Gambia government. Therefore, if such a gruesome crime has been committed against him, it is definitely the duty of the government to investigate it with the utmost seriousness, in order to bring the perpetrators to book. It is therefore quite disappointing that the government does not seem to give much regard to the investigations.

AllGambian: What was your response to the report issued on June 5, 2005 by the Department of State for the Interior on the investigations into Deyda’s death?

DAJ: Like everyone else concerned about justice and fair play, I was quite flabbergasted by the so-called “Confidential Report” issued by the Department of State for the Interior in June 2005, which has been the first and so far the only report they have issued on the investigations. Instead of coming up with some possible leads as to who may killed Deyda and why, the report was instead full of aspersions and innuendos about his reputation and way of life, virtually sifting the blame for his murder on his “wayward” character, portraying him as a womanizer and an irresponsible person who made many enemies for himself, all of which were far from the truth.

AllGambian: the Gambia Press Union was angry with the government for not pursuing their investigations in a scientific and professional manner, especially the use of modern means to trace the origin of the bullets extracted from Mr Hydara’s body. What would you say to that?

DAJ: Of course the GPU, and no doubt several other groups and individuals concerned with equity and justice have questioned the government’s commitment to carry out a thorough investigation of the case. As such, they called for the involvement of other more credible and experienced investigators to help the police apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime. However, the authorities have flatly refused to accept that proposition, claiming that they had the capacity to investigate the case, even though they seem to have completely abandoned the investigations.

AllGambian: The GPU urged the government in June 2005 to seek help from the UN, the Commonwealth or other friendly governments to investigate Mr Hydara’s murder as it was beyond their capacity. Do you think international assistance would have made any difference?

DAJ: There is absolutely no doubt that assistance from more experienced investigators from the very beginning when whatever evidence existed was fresh, could have made a lot of difference. I even understand that some western embassies were quite willing to seek the services of agencies in their countries to assist, but the authorities rejected it outright.

AllGambian: Considering the situation, it looks as if the authorities are done with Deyda’s case. Do you think the murderers will ever be apprehended?

DAJ: With the way things are going, it is hard to see how Deyda’s killers could ever be brought to book, especially when no investigation seems to be going on. We can therefore only hope and pray that the authorities will change their minds and give it the seriousness it deserves, otherwise, there is no chance of the killers being ever apprehended.

AllGambian: Mr Hydara was a personal friend of yours. Can you tell me what type of person he was?

DAJ: Of course Deyda was not only a long term colleague and a friend of mine, but he was also a friend to everyone. He was quite a selfless gentleman of the highest category, who was eager and always willing to help those in need. He had great respect for humanity and he had the best of intentions for this country. In a nutshell, Deyda was courageous, steadfast and committed to the ideals of journalism and to everything else he was engaged in.

AllGambian: Why did you and Ahmed Alota decide to write the Book, ‘A Living Mirror: The Life of Deyda Hydara’?

DAJ: Ahmed Alota and I decided to write the book on Deyda’s life because we thought someone needed to document Deyda’s fulfilled life for the benefit of future generations. Deyda was not only a journalist but a defender of human rights and a social activist who constantly fought against injustice and therefore his life had a lot of lessons for everyone, particularly the younger generation.

AllGambian: It was said that in the course of your research for the book, some people had warned you to desist from writing it because you could get killed. Why did you refuse to back down?

DAJ: Of course some people thought that we were deliberately looking for trouble by writing a book on the life of Deyda, and some even advised us to drop the idea. However, we were quite determined to do what we thought was the right thing to do, and that was to document Deyda’s impressive achievements. We knew we were not committing any crime by writing the book and as such, we never contemplated abandoning the idea because of the possibility of someone somewhere being intimidated by it.

AllGambian: In the book, you narrated a scene where Mr Hydara, after a good meal of benachin at his house, removed his shirt, pointed to his ribs and his left temple, and told his wife, “This is where they will shoot me.” Do you think he had foreseen his assassination?

DAJ: Yes we were told that bizarre story by Mrs. Maria Hydara (his wife), and in fact another friend of his also told us a similar story of how they went to a restaurant one day and he refused for them to sit at a particular table because he said someone may shoot at him there. However, whether he foresaw his assassination or those were just coincidental jokes, it is hard to tell.

AllGambian: Why did you risk your life to work for The Point weeks after the murder of Deyda?

DAJ: I was never an employee of The Point, even though I was involved with the editorial work for sometime after Deyda’s murder. It was a fulfillment of a promise I gave to Pap Saine on the day of the funeral when he suggested that he was going to give up as it was not worth the risk. I told him that we could not afford to let The Point die with Deyda because it was his legacy. I therefore gave him an undertaking that I was going to help, and that was my connection with the paper.

AllGambian: Many Gambian journalists have fled the country or quit the profession since Deyda’s murder. Don’t you think that was one of the objectives of whoever must have killed Deyda?

DAJ: While it is not easy to guess what the motives of Deyda’s killers were, but it makes a lot of sense to assume that the authorities would not be sad to see many journalists leave the country as it left fewer people in the country to criticize what they are doing.

AllGambian: How do you see the atmosphere in which the Gambian media is operating?

DAJ: The atmosphere under which the Gambian media operates is certainly far from ideal. There is no doubt that Deyda’s murder and the prevailing atmosphere of impunity, especially for those who commit crime against journalists and their media houses, has been one of the factors responsible for the decision by many journalists to leave the country. We have all witnessed the various crimes perpetrated against some media houses and some individual journalists which have never been investigated. We have also seen the arbitrary closure of media houses such as Citizen FM, Sud FM and The Independent without any court order.

Indeed, without the courage and resilience of Gambian journalists, there would never have been any independent media left in the country today as we know it. Most probably, all the surviving newspapers and other media houses would have been singing the same tunes as the Daily Observer.

AllGambian: Despite the return of the country to civilian rule, Decree 70/71 is still not repealed. Do you think the government has any plans of repealing it?

DAJ: There are of course no visible plans to repeal Decree 70/71 or any of the numerous other repressive media laws. What we have instead seen is the promulgation of even more draconian laws such as the Newspaper Amendment Act and the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2004, both of which make life harder for the independent media.

AllGambian: Finally, what do you think needs to be done in order to bring Deyda’s killers to justice?

DAJ: What everyone expects the authorities to do in order to show the whole world that they are indeed interested in apprehending Deyda’s killers is to show commitment to investigate his murder, otherwise, it is hard to see how Deyda’s murderers will ever be brought to book.

GPU STATEMENT ON THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MURDER OF DEYDA HYDARA

Today, December 16th 2008 marks four long years since the murder of the late Deyda Hydara, journalist and co-proprietor of The Point Newspaper.

Today, as everyday, our thoughts and our hearts are filled with memories of Deyda Hydara – his steadfastness in his belief in journalism as an agent of change, his doggedness to inform reliably, truthfully and impartially, his staunch and unwavering defence of the cardinal principles of this noble profession, his unrelenting desire to advocate for and champion the rights of the under privileged and most notably, his continued condemnation of all things unjust.

Therefore, every year, especially on December 16, 2004, we find ourselves saddened, our hearts filled with grief at the unnecessary loss of a rare species, an illustrious son of The Gambia, one who believed in freedom enough to die for it. But, more importantly, we find the silence and impunity following his brutal murder most foul deafening and intolerable.

Today, we reassure the family of Deyda Hydara that once again, as always, we stand heads and shoulders with you on this difficult journey. Deyda Hydara was a colleague, a mentor and a friend who shall never be forgotten. Deyda’s life was a life of courage. It is the basis of any true act of courage that for one who received death threats, for one who visualized that for him, the end would mean being gunned down, he stood firm in his beliefs, firm in his convictions and firm in his determination to fight against social injustices. We shall continue to advocate for the solution of this crime until it is solved.

Once again, the Gambia Press Union, on the anniversary of the killing of Deyda Hydara, is making an appeal to the Government of The Gambia in particular and the public at large, that four long years have passed and no significant information has been made available so far as to the extent and depth of investigations on the murder of Deyda Hydara. We are yet to see any form of bold commitments from the State Security Apparatus’ to resolving this crime.

The Gambia Press Union therefore, unequivocally condemns the slow pace of investigations into the murder of the late Deyda Hydara; Condemns the unwillingness of the State Security Apparatus’ to comment on and or divulge information into the extent of investigations into the murder of Deyda Hydara; Calls for a commitment from the State Authorities that it will do everything possible within its powers and mandate to see to it that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to book; Calls for a renewed commitment to the solving of this senseless murder for as time passes by so the trail goes colder and the crime more difficult to solve; Denounces the impunity enjoyed by attackers of media practitioners in The Gambia and laissez faire attitude of the Gambian Security authorities towards investigating and solving crimes against journalists and media institutions in The Gambia; Condemns the continued intolerable intimidation of the media, in particular the private press in The Gambia

We also call on the state authorities through the office of the Inspector General of Police, the Secretary of State for the Interior and the National Security Council whose responsibilities amongst others are the maintenance of law and order and the prevention and detection of crime to:

Issue a progress report into the investigations into the brutal murder of Deyda Hydara; Leave no stone unturned to trace the perpetrators of this heinous crime;
To, in future, react swiftly to threats against journalists linked to their work and develop specific strategies and mechanisms for the protection of journalists who have been the targets of serious threats;

Where these cannot be met, we regrettably call on the National Assembly, to acknowledge the persistent threats to the lives and freedoms of journalists and media practitioners, notably in exercising their rights to freedom of speech, expression and assembly, key elements to the work of media workers, and in demonstrating the commitments of the Legislature to serve in the public interest as outlined in Section 109 Sub Sections 1 and 2 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, to set up an independent Committee of Inquiry to investigate the delays into the investigations of the murder of Deyda Hydara.

In light of renewed and improved press government relations and the fact that a free and vibrant press is the very foundation of a healthy democracy and a key indicator of good governance, we once again appeal to the Government of The Gambia to do everything within its power to ensure that justice and the truth prevails.

We also remind the Government of The Gambia that there can be no meaningful development without the popular participation of the general citizenry, who are most effectively mobilised through the channels of the media, which provides them the opportunity to express their views concerning the way in which they are governed. Hence, the media’s contribution to the development of The Gambia must be seen as paramount.

It is worthy to note that commitments to solving crimes particularly crimes against the media and media practitioners will go a long way to paving the way for an end to impunity and to the restoration of public confidence. Serious negations by the relevant authorities charged with the responsibility for the prevention and detection of crime are simply unacceptable.

Signed:

The Executive Board

Gambia Press Union