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| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Dec 2014 : 09:18:02
There is confirmation something is going on in Banjul. Any update?
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Momodou |
Posted - 13 May 2016 : 15:20:36
4 Americans sentenced for trying to overthrow Gambia’s president
The Point: Friday, May 13, 2016
 Four American citizens accused of helping to plan a failed coup in The Gambia against President Yahya Jammeh more than a year ago have been sentenced by a Minnesota judge, who has carried out the first prosecution using the country’s Neutrality Act in 35 years.
The individuals include Texas businessman Cherno Njie, who allegedly funded the operation; Minnesota resident Papa Faal; and 41-year-old Alagie Barrow.
All three individuals were charged last January with conspiring to violate the Neutrality Act, a law enacted in 1974 that prevents US citizens from taking action against a friendly nation.
They were also charged with conspiring to possess firearms to pursue a violent crime.
Njie was sentenced to one year and one day, three years probation and a $10,000 fine.
Faal was sentenced to time served over the last year. Barrow received six months in prison and three years probation. All had faced maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
The fourth defendant, US-based Gambian activist Banka Manneh, was indicted after a separate investigation accused him of assisting with the coup plot. He was accused of having “participated in conference calls and exchanged planning documents with the other members of the conspiracy,” and having “purchased two pistols and one rifle to equip co-conspirators participating in the coup.” He was also charged with violating the Neutrality Act.
The last time a case was prosecuted under the Neutrality Act was in 1981 against two individuals accused of a coup attempt in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.
The coup saga in The Gambia unfolded during the early hours of December 30, 2014 when a small group of armed men snuck through the borders of the small West African nation and made their way to the capital city Banjul, while Jammeh was out of the country.
As they attempted to storm the state house they were met with heavy gunfire from security forces, squashing the coup, and killing at least four assailants.
Many of the men were Gambians who had fled abroad living in countries like the US, UK, and Germany.
The assailants, referred to by the Gambian diaspora and dissident factions as “freedom fighters,” included former Gambian military officials and even a US soldier. Njaga Jagne, killed in the firefight, was a Kentucky national Guard member, while Lamin Sanneh, was trained at the UK’s Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and previously served as commander of Gambia’s presidential guard.
Faal and Barrow managed to survive and flee across the border into Senegal — which surrounds the coastal country to the north, south, and east. After his escape, Faal went directly to the US embassy in Dakar where he gave an interview before making his way back to the US, officials said.
He was later interviewed again by the FBI at the airport in Washington DC. He was charged in January.
Barrow has been accused of hiding out with Njie at an unidentified location in the Gambia while the operation against the statehouse took place.
The investigation said they planned to enter the statehouse once the mission was complete and place Njie in power. The pair also managed to escape and make it back to the US before being charged and indicted.
After news of the coup broke, the US State Department condemned what they called an attempt to overthrow the government through “extra-constitutional means,” and called on all sides to “refrain from further violence.”
Manneh, a long-time activist in the Gambian diaspora, was the last to be charged after the FBI investigation alleged he had participated and assisted in planning the coup, although he did not travel to The Gambia to participate.
The investigation detailed accusations that Manneh purchased weapons and participated in outlining a future leadership structure.
Source: Vice News /The Point
Picture: Cherno Njie & Papa Faal |
| Momodou |
Posted - 01 Jun 2015 : 08:46:43
How a reviled African ruler survived a coup hatched in the United States
By Craig Whitlock and Adam Goldman
Washington Post: May 31 at 8:46 PM
MINNEAPOLIS — Every other Saturday evening, the coup-plotters excused themselves from their wives and kids to join a conference call. The half-
dozen dissidents — all middle-aged men, most with military experience — dialed in from their suburban homes scattered across the South and Midwest.
There were operational details to discuss, logistical hurdles to overcome. How would they smuggle rifles and night-vision goggles to Gambia, the tiny West African country from which they were exiled? Was their $221,000 budget enough to topple the brutal strongman who had ruled Gambia for two decades?
In the predawn hours of
Dec. 30, according to court documents and interviews with people involved in the operation, the U.S.-based conspirators teamed with other dissidents to assault the Gambian presidential palace. They expected to find it lightly guarded. Instead, they ran into an ambush. Four people were killed. Those who survived fled the country.
Afterward, the Justice Department charged four U.S. residents with taking part in or supporting the failed coup, saying they had violated the Neutrality Act of 1794, an obscure law that prohibits Americans from taking up arms against countries that enjoy peaceful relations with the United States.
What the U.S. government did not disclose, however, was that it had been monitoring the plotters and had secretly tipped off West African authorities to the travel of at least one of them. In doing so, U.S. officials may have at least indirectly helped to protect the president of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, who has drawn international condemnation for his dismal human rights record, his violent rhetoric against gay people and bizarre beliefs such as his claim to have concocted an herbal cure for AIDS.....................
Read More |
| Momodou |
Posted - 05 May 2015 : 13:18:20
In U.S. Trial: Banka Manneh, Alagie Barrow to Plead Guilty
By Modou Nyang, New York
Foroyaa: Published on May 4, 2015
Banka Manneh and Alagie Barrow, co-accused in the U.S. for plotting to overthrow the government of the Gambia, have decided to change their pleas from not guilty to guilty, authorities associated with the case confirm. Manneh, will tomorrow appear in court for his change of plea hearing, whilst Barrow’s is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 11.“A guilty plea will be offered to the judge,” said Mark D. Larsen attorney for Banka Manneh in a telephone interview. Larsen said it is left to the prosecution (U.S. government) to accept the plea bargain or not. Responding to the question as to whether a change to a guilty plea is what is in the best interest of his client, Larsen said that it is for Manneh to say. He however said Manneh needs to agree to the change.
Barrow’s attorney Robert D. Richman will not comment on the case arguing about the lack of control on how authorities in the Gambia uses the information. “We are not interested in the publicity of the case in the Gambia,” Richman said, after verifying the purpose of the call. “The government uses the information in a way that we cannot control.”
Ben Petok, Director of Communications at the Minnesota U.S. District Attorney’s office, said the prosecution will accept the change of plea offer. “It is the right of defendants to decide they want to change their plea.”
Manneh and Barrow, third and second accused persons, are facing two count conspiracy charges of violating the U.S. Neutrality Act and “use [of] a firearm during a crime of violence,” in an attempt to overthrow the government of the Gambia. If the court confirms their change of pleas, they will join Papa Faal in pleading guilty to the charges against them. Faal, who is currently awaiting sentencing after changing an earlier not guilty plea to guilty, was together with Cherno Njie, the first to be arraigned in relation to this case.
Njie, the first accused in this case, still maintains a not guilty plea. His trial is due in June.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 23 Mar 2015 : 18:13:22
Banka Manneh Charged In the US In Relation To State House Attack
By Modou Nyang
Foroyaa: Published on March 23, 2015
Banka Manneh is the latest target in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) continuing probe into the events of the December 30th State House attack. Manneh, was, on Wednesday, 18th March, in a Federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota, charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, court papers reveal. He is being jointly charged with Cherno Njie and Alagie Barrow for “Conspiracy to Make an Expedition against a friendly nation,” and “Conspiracy to Use a firearm during and in relation to crime of violence.”
Manneh, who lives in Jonesboro, a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, is alleged to have conspired with Njie and Barrow all residents of the U.S., and others, to overthrow the Government of the Gambia. In a new indictment that ties Manneh to the charges against Njie, Barrow, and Papa Faal, a U.S. grand Jury alleges that he purchased two pistols and a rifle “to equip coconspirators participating in the coup.”
The charge against Manneh said he participated in conference calls and exchange of documents with his co-conspirators. “In these communications”, the charge said, “Njie, Barrow, and Manneh and others discussed operational and logistical planning for the attempted overthrow of the Gambian government.” Manneh is also said to have sent Njie a list of would be leadership positions that were to be filled should the operation have succeeded.
“On or about May 29, 2014,” the charge outlined, “defendant Manneh provided defendant Njie with a document identifying leadership positions in the government of The Gambia that would be filled after the coup”.
All three are standing trial for violating the U.S. neutrality Act that forbids U.S. citizens and residents from seeking to overthrow or use violence against countries with whom the U.S. is not at war with.
The charges carry 4 to 5 years of imprisonment or fines of up to $100,000.
Manneh’s arraignment has led to a dramatic shift in the FBI’s probe of U.S. based Gambians involvement in the armed attacked. Shortly following Faal and Njie’s arrest, Manneh was questioned by federal agents but was not arrested. He later had to resign his position in a Diaspora pro-democracy advocacy group for undisclosed reasons.
Following the attack on the State House on December 30th 2014, that resulted to deaths, Faal an airman and retired sergeant in the U.S. air force, and Njie a businessman and real estate developer who were in the country at the time, fled back to the U.S. where they were arrested and put on trial. Faal has since pleaded guilty to the same charges and is awaiting sentencing. Barrow, who was the last to return to the U.S. was also arrested and put on trial. Both Njie and Barrow are currently on bail, they are expected back in court in May.
Manneh is the latest target of FBI’s raid, search, confiscation of computers, arrest and preferring of charges. |
| kobo |
Posted - 25 Feb 2015 : 03:19:05
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| Momodou |
Posted - 13 Feb 2015 : 08:42:02
Sidi Sanneh: Cherno Njie granted bail
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Mr. Cherno Njie, the Gambian-American Texas businessman accused of being the financier and mastermind of the 30th December 2014 events that was designed to remove the dictatorial regime of Yaya Jammeh has been granted bail by a Minneapolis court judge.
The bail conditions granted to Mr. Njie are similar to those accorded to earlier defendants in the same case. The difference in his case is, unlike Papa Faal and Alhagie Barrow, he will be able to run his business using his cell phone, the same facility denied to the others.
Regarding the use of the internet too, the court has decided that while Mr. Njie cannot use the internet directly, he can use a third party. He can, therefore, hire someone who can use the internet as directed by Mr. Njie.........
Read Full Story |
| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Feb 2015 : 09:03:33
WHO WILL SAVE THE CHILDREN FROM DETENTION IN CONNECTION WITH 30TH DECEMBER? THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE THEIR PROTECTOR ACCORDING TO THE CHILDREN’S ACT
Foroyaa Editorial: Published on February 5, 2015
Foroyaa has been reporting on the long detention of children because of their relation to alleged insurgents. They are missing school and have not been seen by the relatives who expressed concern. Foroyaa strongly recommends that the relatives should go to the Department of Social Welfare to lodge a Complaint.
The reason for this is simple. Section 66 of the Children’s Act states that “It is the duty of the Government to
1.a) Safeguard, protect and promote the welfare of children”
It adds that “the Department of Social Welfare ……………is responsible for the Welfare of children.”
Children are human beings with rights. Section 5 of the Children’s Act states that “in addition to the rights guaranteed under Chapter 4 of the Constitution Of The Republic of The Gambia, every child” has additional rights. According to section 10 “…../no child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family life, home correspondence or attacks on his or her honour or reputation.”
Clearly, to detain a child for more than 72 hours without charge or court appearance constitutes an arbitrary and unlawful interference with his family life.
Such a child has the right to protection of law. Lawyers who are human rights defenders should voluntarily take up such cases before the high in order to enable it to enforce such rights.
Source: Foroyaa |
| Momodou |
Posted - 05 Feb 2015 : 09:55:58
Gainako News: Alleged Coup Plotters Released Conditionally!
By Yero Jallow
February 5, 2015
Alleged Coup Plotters in the Gambia on December 30th 2014, Alhagie Saidy Barrow and Papa Faal were released conditionally today in St. Paul and Minneapolis Federal Court houses respectively. Barrow and Faal are charged for allegedly violating the U.S Neutrality ACT, after an attempted coup to dislodge the tyrannical regime of Yaya AJJ Jammeh. This reporter was in court and files this report for readers.
Both defendants were represented by their lawyers. The court hearing was accompanied by tumulus solidarity from cross-section of Gambians in Minnesota and out of State.......
Read Full Story |
| Momodou |
Posted - 03 Feb 2015 : 14:23:56
Barrow charged with conspiracy to violate US Neutrality Act, planning to overthrow Gambia Gov’t
The Point: Published on Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota announced 30 January 2015 a criminal complaint charging Alagie Barrow, 41, for his role in a recent attempted coup in The Gambia.
Barrow is charged with conspiracy to violate the Neutrality Act by making an expedition against a friendly nation from the United States and conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
On Dec. 30, 2014, there was an unsuccessful attempted coup against the government of The Gambia. The Gambia is a country in West Africa bordered by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the criminal complaint, in December 2014, Barrow travelled from the United States to The Gambia for the purpose of overthrowing the Gambian government. Barrow is a dual U.S./Gambian citizen and a resident of Tennessee. A separately charged co-conspirator, Cherno Njie, a U.S. citizen of Gambian descent and a resident of Texas, is a businessman who served as a financier and a leader of the conspiracy. Had the coup attempt succeeded, Njie and his co-conspirators expected that Njie would have served as the interim leader of The Gambia had the coup attempt succeeded.
According to the criminal complaint, before departing the United States for The Gambia, Barrow participated in conference calls to discuss the operational plan of the coup. Barrow and two others were the primary authors of the operational plan. Prior to departing for The Gambia, the members of the conspiracy purchased multiple firearms, including M4 semi-automatic rifles, and shipped them to The Gambia for use in the coup attempt. Members of the conspiracy also acquired night-vision goggles, body armor, ammunition, black military style uniform pants, boots, and other personal equipment......
Read Full Story |
| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Jan 2015 : 09:06:31
A DEAD PERSON HAS NO RELATIVE OR FRIEND A DEAD BODY CANNOT LOVE OR HATE
Foroyaa Editorial: Published on January 29, 2015
As reports persist of the arrest and detention of the family members of those who participated in the 30th December insurrection Foroyaa is compelled to remind those who manage the affairs of the country to handle the current situation with a high sense of decency and maturity.
It is important for all Gambians to realise that dead bodies do not have friends and relatives. They cannot love or hate. You may pluck out the eyes of a dead person, cut the ears, chop the limbs and mutilate every part of the body but to no avail since it cannot think or feel.
Hence how a dead body is treated is a manifestation of the character and values of the living. A dead body is entirely different from the person whose personality it represents. When dead bodies are completely burnt the naked eye cannot identify the personalities who lived through those bodies.
Now that the dead are gone the living should leave decency and justice to prevail. No one should be made to suffer just because one is related to one person or the other.
Source: Foroyaa |
| Momodou |
Posted - 28 Jan 2015 : 10:46:12
Family Members Cannot Trace Dawda Bojang’s Parents for 22 Days
By Mustapha Jallow
Foroyaa: Published on January 27, 2015
It’s now 22 days since the arrest and disappearance without trance of a mother (Fatou Sonko) and father (Essa Bojang), respectively, of ex-GAF military officer, Dawda Bojang who is reported to have been killed during the 30th December 2014, armed attack on state house, the President’s residence in Banjul.
According to a source, the two parents are still missing from the public view; adding that they have made desperate efforts in search of their whereabouts but all went in vain. He mentioned the various police stations they visited, the most recent being the police headquarters in Banjul but to no avail, as they were told that their relatives are not with them.
However, a source said the reason(s) for their arrest and long disappearance without trace is not known to them as they are worried and still continue to search for their loved once.
Family members are still calling on the said authorities to investigate the whereabouts of their relatives and facilitate their release as they are not charged with any crime.
Source: Foroyaa |
| Momodou |
Posted - 22 Jan 2015 : 22:47:01
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS THAT KEEP SURFACING WILL THE GOVERNMENT MAKE ITSELF ACCOUNTABLE?
Foroyaa Editorial: Published on January 22, 2015
The armed attack on the state house on Tuesday 30 December 2014 led to the death of four of the attackers and the capture of one of them. It took eight days before an official statement was issued. Since then many readers have been asking Foroyaa questions about the incident and these questions keep surfacing over and over again.
The following are some of the questions that readers keep asking:
1. Was there any casualty on the side of Government? The official statement said nothing about this.
2. How many persons have been arrested in relation to the incident?
Readers say that they have only heard rumours or read in the newspapers about arrests and detentions but do not know the extent of these arrests and detentions.
3. How many of the arrestees have been released?
4. How many of these arrestees are members of the army? Some readers say that President Jammeh has indicated that members of the armed forces of The Gambia are not involved in the armed attack and would therefore like to seek clarification on rumours of members of the armed forces being arrested.
5. Have relatives been having access to their loved ones in the army since the December 30 incident? Is it true that some relatives have received gifts from their loved ones without being able to see them since the December 30 incident? Some relatives have not heard from their loved ones since the incident? Readers want clarification.
6. Why are relatives of suspects arrested?
The constitution calls for an accountable government. It says in the preamble, “This Constitution provides for us a fundamental Law, which affirms our commitment to freedom, justice, probity and accountability.”
Furthermore, the constitution wants the government to derive its strength from the people and not to oppress them. It stipulates in section 1 subsection (2): “The Sovereignty of The Gambia resides in the people of The Gambia from whom all organs of government derive their authority and in whose name and for whose welfare and prosperity
the powers of government are to be exercised in accordance with this Constitution.”
Hence to persist in arresting people without due process of law does not make a government strong, it can only undermine its credibility.
Any semblance of strength of such government can only be short-lived.
Source:Foroyaa
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| Momodou |
Posted - 12 Jan 2015 : 17:19:33
President Jammeh apologises to Britain
The Point: Published on Monday, January 12, 2015
 The Gambian leader has apologised to Britain, through the British High Commissioner, for mentioning the country, earlier on, as among the countries backing the ring leaders of the December 30th ‘terrorist attack’ at the State House in Banjul.
President Yahya Jammeh said:“When we mentioned those countries that supported these people (the attackers) and where they came from, we mentioned Britain. The British High Commissioner is here; I invited him to come. I apologise to Britain because as far as the investigations are concerned, up to this stage, there is no evidence of British government’s involvement, for which I apologise to the British High Commissioner.”
The Gambian leader made this apology on Friday while addressing officers of different security apparatus who marched, for the second time, from the new National Assembly complex to July 22nd Square in Banjul to show their loyalty to President Jammeh.
He further added that although there are some Gambian dissidents in Britain, “none (of the attackers) came from Britain.”
“I will repeat, so far there has been no evidence of British support or involvement in this (attack),” he said.“There is not a single Gambian or dissidents from Britain who came to join them; so I am very sorry. As a Muslim if you have wronged somebody you should apologise.”
President Jammeh, who also spoke against so many evils of homosexuality and how great nations and empires had fallen as a result of evil, said he always picked on the British whenever he talk about the West because they colonised The Gambia.“Don’t feel offended,” he told British Ambassador Colin Crorkin.
He said many retired British citizens feel at home in The Gambia.“So even if we have a problem with the British government, we have no problem with the British people,” the Gambian leader added.
Not an enemy to America
Despite his heavy criticism of the West as regards homosexuality, President Jammeh said he is not an enemy “even to the United States of America”.
“I am not an enemy of the people of the United States of America; I am not an enemy of the government of the United States of America, we are not enemies of the people of the United States of America, but we will not be dictated to.
“We may have problems with their (American) government and their system; that has nothing to do with the common American people, they are good people,” Jammeh said.
On 30 December 2014, the State House in Banjul was attacked by some Gambian dissidents with the intention to overthrow the government. Initially, President Jammeh said the attackers were based in the United States, Germany and the UK and were using weapons which are US-made.
In his first interview after the event, Jammeh said: “This is an attack backed by some terrorists that I will not name now but of course we know where the dissidents are based. These are the countries where today if you say ‘I am anti-government’ and you defect tomorrow you have a visa, when decent Gambians would not be given any visa to go.”
Source: The Point |
| Momodou |
Posted - 12 Jan 2015 : 08:44:40
Culled from Gambia-L
Reflections on the events of 30th December 2014 in the Gambia
By Ebrima Ceesay
Following the attempted coup of 30th December 2014 in The Gambia by Gambian dissidents based abroad, now that things have calmed down and a sense of normalcy has returned, it is important to take time for sober reflection and to learn some fundamental lessons. Over time, what actually took place has become more evident. As far as I am concerned, this was entrapment – a plot devised in the diaspora but manipulated by President Jammeh in The Gambia. It is as clear as noon day that any plot involving civilians or military personnel based in The Gambia would be bound to fail, since it would almost certainly have been leaked in advance to President Yahya Jammeh.
The Gambian Military
The Gambian military has the reputation, deservedly so, of being unreliable and indecisive. The Gambian President orchestrates his subordinates by betrayal, ensnarement, factionalism, implacability and by fostering jealousy and discord. Jammeh has created the climate that protects his interests and maintains him in power. Some members of the Gambian military have been giving verbal assistance to the dissidents who sought to overthrow President Jammeh by force on 30th December, while in reality remaining in Jammeh’s camp. It is highly unlikely that the Gambian military will ever be able successfully to overthrow the current President of the Gambia. An organized military coup, in the context of The Gambia, is highly unlikely. Perhaps a small group of renegade soldiers could achieve Jammeh’s downfall but the chances are that this will never happen in The Gambia. It is well known that Jammeh has, for many years, enlisted Casamance rebels into the Gambian army and now he has also arranged for Tuareg rebels/fighters to join the Presidential Guard, having recently negotiated this with President Idriss Deby of Chad. This is in fact one of his survival tactics – one of the reasons that can explain his prolong stay in power. In short, Jammeh has created a ring of steel around himself for protection and to ensure his prolonged stay in power.
Lessons for dissident Gambian groups abroad
The events of December 30th were not so much of an attempted military coup than a failed insurrection by dissident Gambians abroad who were infiltrated and outsmarted by Jammeh and his henchmen. It is clear to many Gambia watchers that the bulk of the army, especially the Presidential Guard, is loyal to President Jammeh. Those members of the military who are deemed to be disloyal are dismissed, arrested or moved to parts of the army where they pose no threat. The insurrectionists of December 30th made some serious mistakes: they believed that considerable numbers of the military would give them support and join them on the ground. Former Lieutenant Colonel Lamin Sanneh and his group involved Gambia National Army members in their schemes and it was this that contributed to their failure to overthrow the regime. Details of the plot were leaked in advance – indeed, a friend in London got to know of it - about a week in advance. The leak was due both to the unreliability of the Gambian military personnel involved and to the large numbers of civilians who had been involved in the planning.
I am not a proponent of military intervention in politics, but let this be a warning for any future coup plotters or insurrectionists – keep it small, keep it tight, keep it quiet and trust as few people as possible.
There is clear evidence that there was a trap to lure the dissidents into Banjul. State House had been fortified with many additional soldiers, and the first forays by the insurrectionists were met with heavy gunfire from the guard towers. It is as if the attack was expected. And sadly, Jammeh has now effectively used the events of 30th December to divert the attention of the Gambian population from the mounting economic pressures and challenges that his government is facing and to drum up support and sympathy for himself.
As we mourn the loss of these gallant men, and honour the ultimate sacrifices they made for their beloved country, we must, at the same time, caution all Gambians, particularly former soldiers of both the Gambian and Western Armies to draw lessons from the unfortunate events of December 30th in the Gambia. Henceforth, be very careful of these so-called co-conspirators and collaborators based in the Gambia – be they military personnel or civilians. It would be foolhardy, reckless and thoughtless to go into any plot with Gambian soldiers in Banjul, who are known for their brutality, indecisiveness and unreliability.
There is no doubt that those brave Gambians whose lives were cut short on the State House battlefields, were courageous and valiant men, and we pray for the souls of those who died and for their families, as well as for those who were injured in the attack. However, the planned takeover had something of the amateur about it and the plotters’ trust in apparently supportive members of the Gambia National Army and the Presidential Guard was misplaced to say the least. Let us be in no doubt that the Gambia Armed Forces, and especially the elite Presidential Guards, are not as disaffected or disunited as we may like them to be. Jammeh’s regime is strongly embedded and unlikely to be easily ousted by any perilously under armed and ill-prepared group of men. Those who are struggling to see a return to democracy in The Gambia would do well to remember this. In all fairness, I have to say here though that I am speaking with the benefit of hindsight.
Lessons for President Jammeh
For twenty years, President Jammeh has ruled as a despot, mindless of due legal process and against any notions of democracy. His regime is based on fear, threat, intimidation and ballot rigging and yet despite this, large segments of the Gambian population (especially women) and the armed forces appear to adulate him. To a large extent Jammeh has bought their support with blandishments and Dalasis. He has compounded this with vote buying, imprisonment and harassment of the opposition, manipulation of the electoral process and with murder. When news of the December 30th attempted coup started to emerge, many people in and out of the country were delighted that they would at last see an end to Jammeh’s regime. The euphoria was not to last long.
However, the attempted overthrow of the regime by an external force has had a destabilizing effect on Jammeh’s regime and his power base no longer seems as stable and strong as it did prior to December 30th. The weakness of much of Jammeh’s security and military infrastructure has been exposed. There are still many groups of dissident Gambians across the world who are determined to topple the regime and who will have learned valuable lessons from the thwarted coup plotters. They will continue the struggle to overthrow Jammeh. Therefore, another external (or internal) attack on the regime will almost certainly result in unprecedented violence, bloodshed and mayhem throughout The Gambia with all the risks of ethnic overtones.
We therefore, urge President Jammeh to resign; to open negotiations for his resignation with local and external opposition groups under the aegis of ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN, as first suggested by Sidi Sanneh in his blog. Reports of Jammeh’s ill-health abound and these give further impetus to demands that he quit his post.
We know, through unimpeachable diplomatic sources in France and the UK, that President Jammeh has been very sick for some time now, but because of his contempt and hatred for the West, he is still refusing to take prescribed western medication against the wishes of his Egyptian doctors. The Egyptian doctors have repeatedly asked him to stop altogether or at least to reduce his intake of traditional herbal medicines. Years of untreated diabetes, high blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol have led to him developing a serious cardio-vascular disease. President Jammeh has had a health “scare” during a visit to New York a few years ago, when he suddenly collapsed (suffered a blackout). Luckily Pa Harry Jammeh, former Solicitor General, and others were with him at the time, and paramedics had to help load Jammeh onto an ambulance following his fainting episode. Subsequent MRI head scans, carried out in France and Morocco, have ruled out a brain tumour and blamed Jammeh’s prone to fainting on cardiovascular problems.
There is little hope of regime change through the ballot box: Gambians have allowed Jammeh to hold onto power for twenty long years and they are suffering the effects of this. In many ways, the dire situation in the country right now can be laid at the feet of both Jammeh and the populace. Without the voluntary resignation of the President, it will be the Gambian people themselves who will have to end their predicament and bid farewell to Yahya Jammeh – and at what cost? Jammeh’s resignation and a planned return to democratic rule would result in a peaceful, national change for the better and a more certain future for Gambians at home and in the diaspora.
In conclusion, the gravest danger to President Jammeh will remain the threat of externally led or driven rebellion from dissident Gambian groups in the Diaspora. The events of 30th December 2014 have shown that Jammeh’s military and security establishments are not properly set up to deter, prevent and defeat any well planned external threat against the Gambia. Essentially, his Armed Forces are well organised to tackle conventional internal security threats, including civil unrest and military coups from within his Armed Forces, and this is why he has thus far been able to crush all attempts to remove him from power by force. His military has been strengthened significantly over the years to deal with internal or domestic security threats. But the events of 30th December have shown that his forces will not be able to deal easily with a very well-planned, properly coordinated and covert attack, carried out by seasoned, heavily armed and highly trained fighters from the diaspora. The threat he faces is an external one. In short, Jammeh’s grip on power may not be as strong as first thought.
Source: Gambia-L |
| Momodou |
Posted - 11 Jan 2015 : 23:34:34
Gambia leader says Britain played no role in coup attempt
Source: AP
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Gambia's president says former colonial power Britain played no role in a botched coup attempt last month, backing away from an earlier allegation.
The Dec. 30 power grab was put down by forces loyal to President Yahya Jammeh, who himself came to power in a coup in 1994.
Jammeh initially accused Britain, the United States and Germany of involvement, which those countries denied.
In remarks aired on state media over the weekend, however, Jammeh said there was "no evidence of British involvement" and that no dissidents came from Britain to participate.
American officials have charged two U.S. citizens of Gambian descent in connection with the plot.
Meanwhile, opposition and rights groups have warned of a heavy-handed response in Gambia involving the arrests of coup plotters' relatives. |
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