|
Momodou
Denmark
11645 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Jul 2007 : 23:04:53
|
FOCUS ON POLITICS
1981 POLITICAL CRISIS
STATE OF EMERGENCY RENEWED AGAIN
With Suwaibou Touray
We have finished the narration of events in 1983 and have also dealt with the second Anniversary of the Senegambia Confederation.
In the last issue, we have stopped at where we reported that President Sir Dawda Jawara advised importers to restrict their importation to only necessary and scarce items because of the grave economic situation confronting the country. Let us pick up from where we left in the last issue. Continued from: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4002
With the economic difficulties biting the ordinary Gambian in 1983/84, the state of Emergency and curfew also became a matter of serious concern to the ordinary person.
The incident came at a time when the people were completely tired of the curfew and the state of Emergency, but the incident also increased the security alert within the society at large.
On the 5th February, the Vice President Hon. B.B Darboe introduced a motion seeking the approval of the house to extend the State of Emergency for a further period of twelve months.
The Vice President requested from the Deputies to give exceptional powers to the State to enable it deal with what he described as ‘an exceptional situation’. He said the consequences of July 30 1981 event were still with them and argued vehemently that it was in the public interest that the request was being made.
Honourable Sainey Singhateh, Member for Wuli, seconded the motion to extend the Emergency powers. He said that the powers were still needed since the consequences of the 1981 events were still lingering; that they still needed to screen themselves to make sure that there was no repetition of the event.
Hon. Foday Makalo, an NCP (opposition) member of Parliament, however expressed his doubt regarding the neccessity of the extension because, as he said, he thought the trials were almost completed.
Hon. Dr. Lamin Nafa Saho opined that if it were in other countries, the events of July 30 would have been dealt with within a period three days, but that because their Government adhered to the principles of democracy; the emergency situation was still not over. He then gave his full supporte to the extension.
For Honourable Dembo Bojang of Bakau, an NCP M.P, it was the same old reasons they advance anytime they wanted an extension. He argued that the people were very unhappy with this kind of situation.
Hon. M.C Jallow expressed surprise at the long debate. He said, “I thought what we had agreed was for only three people to speak after which the adoption would take place.” He added that even the holy Koran said, if someone tries to kill you and he failed, if you get him, kill him.
Hon M.C Cham said he concurred with him and had given his full support to the Extension of the state of Emergency.
On 18th February 1984, The Gambia celebrated 19 years of independence. The president in his speech said he lifted the death sentence and replaced it with life imprisonment for all the twenty seven people convicted and sentenced to death for complicity in the July 30th abortive coup. He also said he has commuted the death sentence on eleven of the men to life imprisonment and those of the 16 men to 23 years imprisonment. Records show that Mr. Pap Cheyassin Secka, the former leader of the defunct N.L.P Party,who was also sentenced to death was among those whose sentence to death were commtted to life imprisonment.
The other issues that exercised the minds of the elites were the two commissions which were created in 1983 i.e, The Law Reform Commission and the Gambia Law Foundation.
The Commission was created to remove dead wood legislation. The Gambia inherited several volumes of laws from the colonial masters, most of which were irrelevant and out of date. The objective stipulated then was to regularize this situation that was there over the years and the said laws of which the parliament had always been amending.
Furthermore, it had shown that our laws such as Rogue and Vagabond, Sedition, etc., were all not in conformity with international standards as they are colonial legacies that are not in line with democratic norms and standards of best practice.
The reforms, however, ended up as a big disappointment. According to the Senegambia Sun Newspaper, the changes basically remained the same after the work of the two commissions as it was only the wordings that were different but not the essence.
The event that always interested the people in the 1980s, especially during the recession and drought period, was the annual “Meet the Farmers’ Tour “ . In 1983/84, even though the president visited many places, one project that attracted his attention and that of the whole Government was the project built by the people’s Republic of China (mainland) at Kaur in the Macarthy Island Division. The President expressed how impressed he was of the modesty and sense of devotion to duty portrayed by the Chinese. He said unlike The Gambia Government officials, the Chinese would not complain about the heat nor of the mosquitoes.
The other good thing the Chinese did in this country was to build a brand new Independence Stadium at Bakau which was officially opened by the president on Monday the 20th of February 1984 as part of the 19th Anniversary of Independence.
NB: In the last issue it was reported that the budget of the Senegambia Confederation was equivalent to 4 billion dalasi. This was the figure that we got from the Senegambia Sun Newspaper. Apparently, this was a mistake on the part of the paper.
See next edition of focus as we advance into the 1980s.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 81/2007, 13 – 15 July 2007
|
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
Topic Locked
