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Momodou
Denmark
11806 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Dec 2005 : 02:09:30
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PRESS RELEASE ON THE ARREST AND DETENTION OF THREE EXECUTIVE MEMBERS OF NADD
The people of our dear nation are shocked by the press release emanating from the Department of State for the Interior informing the world at large that Hamat Bah, Omar Jallow (OJ) “have been arrested and are helping the Police in their investigations into subversive activities and posing threat to national security” and that “the third suspect Halifa Sallah of NADD” was at large. Gambians and all sane and decent minded persons are not only shocked by this announcement but they are disgusted by the misinformation and the arbitrary arrest and detention of these three members of the Executive Committee of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD). They have, since their arrest by the Security forces on Tuesday, 15th November, 2005, been held incommunicado.
Although the State’s misinformation machinery disclosed that these three senior members of the NADD Executive are helping the Police in their investigations of subversive activities and threats to national security yet information reaching NADD from official sources are that the State is studying what charges to prefer against them. This practice of arresting political targets and then scratching one’s head in the search for trumped up charges is to say the least arbitrary and an abuse of the State’s power of arrest. It is inimical to the rule of law and undermines the bona fide application of the due process concept that requires the arrest of a suspect upon reasonable suspicion that he has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence.
The release issued by The Department of State for the Interior is very typical of the false and fabricated assertions by dictators against political opponents and this particular release is no exception.
Gambians will recall that after the Supreme Court of the Gambia declared the seats of the four Opposition National Assembly members vacant, President Jammeh addressed a political rally at Sinchu at which he declared that he will support and take part in any effort that is aimed at destroying Hamat Bah and that he will do everything possible to ensure that both Hamat Bah and Halifa Sallah do not return to the National Assembly. The arrest of and detention of both Hamat Bah and Halifa Sallah is a fulfillment of that promise. With the type of fabricated allegations against the three arrested NADD Executive members, Halifa Sallah (the Minority Leader and a member of the Pan-African Parliament) will not only be kept away from participating in the proceedings of the National Assembly and the PanAfrican Parliament for an indefinite period but the wish and will of the people of Serrekunda Central in electing to the National Assembly will stand stultified.
It is the view of the NADD that the airing of the Press release by the State media which continued even a day after the arrest of Halifa Sallah is a calculated ploy by President Jammeh’s regime to mislead the nation that he was at large even though he had been arrested by 7.30pm on Tuesday 15th November, 2005. Such an act is very irresponsible and constitutes an abuse of office. The ploy will however not work.
The interest of NADD is to have a clean sweep at the 2006 polls. But the conduct of the President is yet to convince the Gambian public that he is interested in a peaceful, free and fair election. On the contrary, the indications are that he is interested in an election ridden by violence, intimidation, chaos and confusion. The unwillingness of the APRC to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between political parties in The Gambia initiated by General Abubakar former Head of State of Nigeria on behalf of the Commonwealth is a living testimony to this.
The arrest and detention of these three persons runs contrary to the letter and spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding. These arrests and detention are politically motivated and signs of what is in store for the Opposition in the run-up to the 2006 Presidential Elections.
We demand the immediate release of the three NAAD Executive Members whose continued detention is without justification. Their continued detention is unacceptable.
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Edited by - Momodou on 02 Dec 2005 02:09:52 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11806 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2005 : 15:20:22
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THE TRUTH IS LIKE A HOT KNIFE ON BUTTER
President Jammeh's allegations against the opposition in the Gambia during his address to the Muslim religious leaders at State House on Koriteh day, and broadcast live over GRTS, has surprised Gambians, especially his supporters. For some of his supporters, it is unconceivable how the opposition, in pursuit of power, could go to the level of pitching Senegal against their own motherland to create a war situation. Since the allegations were made before religious elders on such an important occasion and was broadcast over the national media, such minds could not but entertain doubts about their validity and whether they could be substantiated by the president. Those of his supporters and sympathizers with critical minds know that their man is just fighting a lost battle, by resorting to such indecent tactics, in order to give their own explanation of what he meant, just to cover up. For the opposition supporters and sympathizers, they were surprised that the President could resort to such tactics as a means to retain power. They have no doubt in their minds that all the allegations he made against the opposition were false; that there is no iota of truth in them and can never be substantiated by him. All were however eager to know what will be the response of the opposition to the allegations and the Presidents reactions to that. The expectation by all was that when the opposition responded, the President would come with material evidence which he claimed he had to substantiate his allegations, and expose them as power hungry unpatriotic traitors of the Nation.
It was not long when the opposition responded and dismissed all the allegations of the President as unintelligent fabrications which did not contain an iota of truth, geared towards creating a bad impression about them and further went on to challenge him to provide evidence to back his allegations or apologise, failing which they would call a press conference and denounce him; that they would also call for his resignation or impeachment.
Instead of President Jammeh coming out with evidence to prove that he has spoken the truth when he made the allegations that the opposition have been sending e-mail messages, faxes, reports and copies of Government documents to the Senegalese authorities in order to generate conflict between the Senegalese Government and his regime, or call on Abdoulie Wade to speak out to prove him right, the whole nation in particular and the world, in general, was taken aback when they heard a press release from the Department of State for Interior on GRTS that Hamat .N.K Bah and Omar Jallow Alias O.J, all members of the Executive Committee of NADD, were arrested and are helping the Police in their investigations on subversive activities against the State, and that the third suspect, Honourable Halifa Sallah was at large. This announcement was made at a time when Halifa was working in his office at the People's Centre, the location of which is not unknown to the officers who were sent to arrest him. The irony was that even after Halifa himself called the GRTS from his office to inform them of the falsity of the information that they were broadcasting, GRTS continued to broadcast the same statement about him even the next day. One wonders whether those people will also do that if they owned their minds.
Again the day they were brought to Court, the whole world was expecting that they were to be charged with subversion as was indicated in the press release, but to the dismay of every one, they were charged with sedition which is uttering seditious statements and for being in possession of an official document. These charges are not related at all to the allegations President Jammeh made on Koriteh day, which the opposition dismissed as unfounded. Now that the President has failed to provide evidence to back his allegations, and, since no such charges as subversion was made against the people arrested, who should we believe as truthful, the opposition or President Jammeh?
The President has refused to realize that NADD was and is established on truth, which cannot be crushed with evil designs. The truth is a sword, which cuts like hot knife on butter. Whoever wishes to combat NADD must do it on the basis of truth, otherwise all his or her attempts will be in vain and in the end, he will be put to shame. What was planned is not a new thing but an old tool used by tyrants whose ends are near, to eliminate their opponents. But the members and supporters of NADD are not ignorant of that. The womb of history is abounding with such happenings or ploys, the essence of which is to draw lessons from them. A brave and courageous person is not one who is easily carried away by one's emotions but one who stays calm and carefully utilizes his mind, instead of his heart, to contain the event that arouses his emotions. A coward does the contrary. There is never regret in a decision made following a proper utilization of the mind. But a decision made after the utilisation of the heart is always regrettable. That is why cowards always live to regret their actions.
The President must stop leaving in a dream world. He must realized that the country does not belong to him alone, where the rest are his tenants or slaves, but it belongs to all of us who happen to inhabit this land. So he must regard his country men and country women as equals. He is no better than anyone of us.
He is not God but a human being like us who gets hungry and eats, sleeps and does everything that a human being does. So he can have no greater rights over us for what belongs to us all. Those who established NADD are also citizens of this country. They are not his enemies. They have the same rights as he has over this land. If he could administer the affairs of this country for eleven years now, those people could also equally administer the affairs of this country if the people will it. What matters is that the people will it. After all, was it not Yahya Jammeh who was shouting the slogan "Power to the people" at the top of his voice when he came to power in 1994? Could he say he doesn't know what that means? When people are empowered, they decide what is in their best interest. No sincere person who is interested in the empowerment of the people interferes with their decision by inducement, intimidation, misinformation or provocation.
What the Gambian people want and deserve are peace, stability, and development.
The present position of the President and his Government on many issues, does not engender that desire of the people. Instead it runs contrary to that. This statement could be buttressed by his government's failure to sign the communiqué which will commit them to the African peer review mechanism, and his party's failure to sign the memorandum of under standing binding all political parties in the Gambia to international standards of best practices in democratic political conduct in a multiparty system, which is characterized by adherence to truth, fair play, tolerance and submission to the popular will, when expressed by the ballot. If the President and his Government are interested in peace, as he always claimed, then what is preventing them from making such Communiqué and Memorandum of Understanding? It is time all righteous people everywhere broke their silence and sincerely advised the President not to plunge our motherland into civil strife which only brings about deaths, abject poverty, disease and chaos.
The Gambia is greater than any individual. I pray that the great God of Nations will keep us ever true to Mother Gambia.
Fabakary Trawally
Baddibou Salikenni |
Edited by - Momodou on 03 Dec 2005 15:24:26 |
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