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Galo Sowe
Sweden
116 Posts |
 Posted - 09 May 2006 : 13:20:11
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Folks, here is an open by Baba Galleh Founder Editor/CEO
The Independent Newspaper, Banjul, The Gambia
Open Letter to the U.S Ambassador Joseph Stafford, Banjul, The Gambia
Your Excellency, I write this open letter to your office in my capacity as Founder Editor and Chief Executive Officer of The Independent newspaper in Banjul, The Gambia. I would have loved to seek an appointment and have a face-to-face meeting with you. But as I am currently pursuing doctoral studies in the United States, this is not possible. So please allow me to address my concerns to Your Excellency in this open forum.
Let me begin by quoting the encouraging words of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2006. Secretary of State Rice said, among other things, “all free societies carry the responsibility to press restrictive governments to allow an open press.” She went to add that, “Independent media empowers people, exposes corruption, encourages transparency and prompts participation in the political process. Without it, society as a whole suffers.”
As you know, The Independent newspaper has been forcibly shut down and under police guard since March 27, 2006 by the government of President Yahya Jammeh. Section 22 of the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia (1997) places stringent conditions on justifying the closure or forcible acquisition of any private property. None of the conditions outlined in the Constitution have been met by the government. Most seriously, the Gambia Government has not given us any reason why our paper should remain shut down. The general manager of the paper Madi Ceesay and its editor-in-chief Musa Saidykhan were on March 27 arrested and detained for over three weeks. They were released without any charges. The arrest and detention of the two men was also in violation of Gambian law, which stipulates a maximum period of 72 hours of detention without charges. Around the time Ceesay and Saidykhan were released, reporter Lamin Fatty was arrested and about two weeks later, is still in custody. As far as we know, Mr. Fatty has not been charged with any crime.
It is in the light of this blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law by the Gambian authorities, and the great importance of independent media to society as emphasized by Secretary of State Rice that I am writing to you. We are not begging, and will never beg the Gambia Government to re-open our paper or release our reporter, because we know that our human rights are inviolable and non-negotiable. We know that the Gambia Government is violating, with sickening impunity, our God-given rights as citizens of The Gambia and of this world that is now a global village. We insist that the closure of The Independent newspaper and the continued detention of our reporter are in violation of both Gambian and international human rights law. Both actions are in violation of the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Banjul Charter on Human and People's Rights, and the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia which President Jammeh is sworn to protect. We believe that The Independent is being targeted for harassment and intimidation because we expose corruption in high places and criticize the bad policies of the Gambia Government. We believe the closure of the paper was occasioned by an opinion piece in our March 24 issue that questioned the source of the extreme wealth of President Yahya Jammeh. As Gambians, we reserve the right to question the activities of our public servants and to help the Gambian nation fight the cancer of corruption in our society.
We refuse to be unjustly intimidated and reduced to groveling on our knees for mercy because we know we are innocent. Even if we were guilty of a crime and must beg for mercy, we shall beg the law and not the enforcers of the law. In this case, it is the lawmakers of our country who are the lawbreakers. It is those sworn to uphold and enforce our laws who are the violators of the law. It is they who must feel remorse and try to remedy the damage they have done – not to us – but to themselves and to the Gambian nation. The Independent is not guilty of any crime and has never had any criminal intent against anybody. If our paper is closed down through brute force, we shall rest content that we are being unjustly closed down. If today The Independent re-opens its doors, we shall cement our resolve to continue reporting the truth according to the dictates of reason, responsible journalistic ethics, and within the boundaries of just law. We have declared that our editorial policy shall be guided by the truth and nothing but the truth. The Independent shall live by that principle and die by that principle. We believe that all power belongs to God and that however long it takes to happen, the truth shall always triumph over falsehood, and justice over injustice.
Our right to exist and operate as a legally constituted institution is guaranteed by the laws of our land of birth. Section 17 of the Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia (1997) guarantees that our fundamental rights and freedoms and provides that these shall not be unjustly violated by any constituted authority in the land. We invoke Section 22 of the Constitution, which provides for our protection against the unjust and unjustifiable deprivation of property. And we invoke Section 25 of the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, which gives us freedom of speech and of the press. We are not criminals and do not pose any security threat to the Gambian nation. It is those who break their own laws with impunity and total disregard for civilized norms and standards that pose a security threat to our nation. We know, Your Excellency, that the Government of the United States is aware of the innumerable instances in which African governments have generated insecurity and eventually succeeded in pulling their countries down the path of mayhem. We trust that as friends of the Gambian people, the people of the United States will not sit idly by and watch a small group of people abuse their powers and in the process, endanger the lives of 1.3 million innocent and law abiding people.
If we have committed a crime, let us be treated according to the dictates of rule of law. Let us be charged under the relevant sections of the Laws of The Gambia, arraigned before the courts and dealt with accordingly. As we have not committed any crime, nor been accused of committing any crime, we demand our right to our freedom to exist as guaranteed by the laws of The Gambia as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international legal instruments. And we ask that the Government and people of the United States of America do something about this blatant abuse of our fundamental rights and freedoms.
Recently, His Excellency the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Cambell, issued a strongly worded statement expressing concern over President Obasanjo’s desire to seek re-election for a third term in office. We can safely predict that as a result of Ambassador Cambell’s statement on the issue, Obasanjo will not seek re-election and the Nigerian people have been saved a potentially explosive situation. Ambassador Cambell told the Nigerian authorities “executive term limits should be respected in the interest of institutionalizing democracy and opening the political space.” Your Excellency will agree with us that a free and independent media is equally vital, if not more so, “in the interest of institutionalizing democracy and opening the political space.”
In your World Press Freedom Day remarks, you echoed President Bush’s emphasis on the importance of free media in democratic societies. You also mentioned your office’s support for the Gambia Press Union in the form of a printing press. We trust that Your Excellency’s office will now take the necessary actions to help end this bullying of The Independent newspaper by the Gambia Government. We regret that there is just no other name to call it: Ugly as it sounds, we are being bullied and we request the urgent intervention of the Government and people of the United States to end this bullying. If we have committed a crime, let us be charged according to the rule of law. If we have committed no crime, let us be allowed to do our work without let or hindrance. So help us God.
While expecting your urgent consideration and action on this issue, I remain,
Yours Sincerely,
Baba Galleh Jallow
Founder Editor/CEO
The Independent Newspaper, Banjul, The Gambia
CC: President George W. Bush, the White House
Vice President Dick Cheney, the White House
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs
Ambassador John Cambell, Abuja, Nigeria
U.S Africa Regional Services, Paris, France
Larry Andre, Deputy Director, Office of West African Affairs, US State Department
Duncan MacInnes, Director, Foreign Press Centers
Gabriel Price, Africa Program Officer, Foreign Press Center
Jesse Baily, Director, Washington Foreign Press Center
Lindsay Ross, Executive Director, Commonwealth Press Union
Ben Peterson, Executive Director, Journalists for Human Rights
Julia Crawford, Committee to Protect Journalists
Alexis Arieff, Committee to Protect Journalists
Larry Kilman, World Association of Newspaper Editors
David Mckie, Canadian Association of Journalists
Harry Wilson, Commonwealth Press Union
Mark Pearson, Head of Journalism, Director, Center for New Media Research and Education, Bonds University, Queensland, Australia
David Edwards, Editor, Media Lens
David Dadge, Press Freedom Adviser, International Press Institute
The Washington Post
Human Rights Watch
Article 19
Amnesty International
AllAfrica.com
Media Foundation for West Africa
Commonwealth Association of Small Newspapers
Save The Gambia Democracy Project
Gambia Press Union - Banjul
Gambia Press Union – UK Branch
Gambia Press Union – US Branch
Le Quotidiene newspaper, Dakar, Senegal
Gambia Post Mailing List
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"Soldiers are experts at camouflage but that is on the battle field not the political one, were transparency is the watch word" Kaaniba |
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bamba
Sweden
401 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 14:26:46
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| Sensitizing Africa's problems to diplomatic levels is more than excellent. Diplomats in Africa tend to deal with African leaders, especially despots, on diplomatic levels. But when citizens of African countries pile their sufferings on the doors of foreign diplomats, they'll then be forced to react one way or the other. |
Bamba |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 15:21:18
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can i ask why the US, has this been sent to other G8 countries!?!?
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2006 : 18:14:19
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| G8? There is only one G8. That is the United States. If you have support of the US, you have support of atlest half of the world. Besides, many in the G8 are part of the EU and as such have a common foreign policy agenda. The letter has been sent to the commonwealth secreatariat and Canada which includes UK. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 02:34:38
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Baba G. Jallow's open letter to Joseph Stafford , the U.S. ambassador to the Gambia and other interested parties in the human rights agenda is a move in the right direction.The excesses of Jammeh's dictatorship needs to be brought to the attention of the international community urgently.Baba's letter has rightly done so.The summary closure of the INDEPENDENT in violation of due process of law is unacceptable and disgusting to civilized people.I hope that the international community , particularly the U.S. rise up to the aid of Gambian people and their democratic institutions.
It is understandable that the U.S. and the G8 are pre-occupied with the bigger issues of geopolitics :Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan , Syria , Palestine, etc,etc,however the call by Gambians to pressure Jammeh needs to be heeded.I do not expect much action from the U.S. and the G8 immediately other than a few rethoric here and there , but we must intensify our call for international pressure on Jammeh , not only in the case of the INDEPENDENT but in many other areas of Jammeh's despotic acts.
Thanks. |
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somita
United Kingdom
163 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 12:43:49
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Any form of pressure on a dictator should be highly welcome but frankly I am not sure what the letter aim to achieve. At best, its very general and I think the choice of words will not be helpful in higher authority, but will the US adminstration come to our aid, i doubt it very much, I wish i would be prooven wrong.
On the point of what it might achieve, well, the credibility of the current US adminstrattion on issues such as human rights and freedom of press is very measured. If memory serves us well Bush did contemplate bombing Al-jezera television ..... a news organisation and broadcaster and of course did successfully bombed their offices in Afganistan and Iraq killing journalist; the Bush adminstration seems to have unilateral difinition of touture and right of individuals which according to a British judge differs from interpretation of other countries of the world; the link between the adminstration and Fox news is least very worrying, "fox serves as bushes Daily observer in America, if you put it into Gambian context, not to elaborate how daily observer spins stories day in day out to support the govt view", the prisoner abuse in Iraq and not to mention the detention without trial innocent citizens of other countries in Quantanamo Bay; The UN Human rights reports on abuse of detainees under US custody is widely documented; furthermore US stands on international criminal court to say the least, is disgraceful and indefensible ..... I wonder how such an establishment with such reputation can come to our aid.
This and many more evidence makes it rather difficult for US to come out to defend people of The Gambia because it would be hypocritical and I would be very surprise if the US will do anything about our current predicament. I am of the opinion that Baba did not read the state deparment's report on Gambia, its is pathetic and disgraceful of America to recognise Gambia as an emerging democracy .... its begs the question what is democracy.
Frankly I think we, Gambians have to work harder for our freedom, relying on the western govts is only a waste of time and resources because western establishment abused us in the past and will continue to abuse us for their own interest ...... their interest comes first and our's last. Its a difficult battle for us but is one we must win.
Peace |
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bamba
Sweden
401 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 13:23:17
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Somita, I seem to share the same views here with u. Black Africa depending on America, the west and Arabs is a share waste of time. I dont even trust these NGOs around. They are new mechanisms for control and oppression.
White America helped develop Europe, its ancestral home, thru Marshal plan without the need for NGOs or individual family help. Blacks slaves, for a price next to nothing, helped to build America to what it is today. Most of what blacks get back for their free labour to develop whites is HATRED. |
Bamba |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 14:34:44
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bamba, i read that yaya has offered to international tender the 400kms of roads project, roads to senegal and casamance. I wish you could speak to your fellow gambians. This is a present day form of slavery. MONEY will be the shackle.
Is there no other way to finance these projects. if you take other peoples money you are in debt, it comes with strings attached. Also I agree about some of the NGO's it is the reason i have not joined some of them. I can get information on the western NGOs but some of the NIGERIAN, SOUTH AFRICAN, Far east (Taiwan/korea) SAUDI ARABIAN ones scare me.
On my last visit I noticed a few former east european companies being welcomed.
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 16:00:24
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
G8? There is only one G8. That is the United States. If you have support of the US, you have support of atlest half of the world. Besides, many in the G8 are part of the EU and as such have a common foreign policy agenda. The letter has been sent to the commonwealth secreatariat and Canada which includes UK.
Kondorong, regarding, among others, the latest events in South America it seems to me that 'half of the world' is rapidly shrinking, maybe to a third...  |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 18:00:58
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But you see not all of south america. Only Chile (chavez) and his oil threats and Venezuela. If you have wwatched news in the US, there are 20 million undocumented latin american immigrants seeking for elevation of their status. They certainly do not want to go back to their countries.
My best guess is latin America is still US backyard. As for Africa, there is no question about them. They 100% America. South east Asia is all America with exception of may be cambodia and vietnam. Europe is an ally. The supreme allied commander of NATO has for most part been an American and there are still US bases all over Europe. May be the US still has more than 50%. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 20:49:49
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Kondorong, don't destroy my little hope...  What about Bolivia? Brasil? And I am sure many more are to come. In Africa, China is getting stronger.
The USA have an exceptional talent to make themselves unpopular, and I fear one day this talent will pay. Many dreamed the dream of World Domination, and until now, every single one had a rude awakening. It is a childish dream, but we are living in a world of adults. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 20:59:51
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I hope you are right Serenata. U.S is very good at propaganda and how to win the hearts and minds of people. If you go to gambia, american culture is the first thing you see. Tommy Hilfiger, Tupac, Coke, and recently KFC style chickens are coming up. Very soon McDonalds will fill the streets of Kairaba Avenue.
Even in Iran, it is only the government that has problems with them. The ordinary man on the streets wants Burger King and is diet coke.
China is doing well in Africa mostly with constructions of Soccer stadia and sending counterfeit merchandise.
I bought a radio thinking it was panasonic. It turned out to be PANASCANIC (LAUGH). Forget about trademarks in Africa. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 21:20:44
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Yeah, forget about them, I saw it 
But in South America a different wind is blowing, and it is blowing for a long time. I travelled to South America in the late 80ies, and was surprised about the Anti-Americanism there. Maybe in the Clinton era the image of the USA was a little bit better (for what reason ever, but a good representative can do a lot), but now... bestia! People there had parties on 9/11.
The Arabian countries... okay. |
Edited by - serenata on 10 May 2006 21:21:59 |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 21:35:10
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| kondorong, you make me laugh, PANASCANIC did it play asian music. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 10 May 2006 : 21:38:22
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yOU ARE RIGHT. dICK cHENY VOTED AGAINST SANCTIONS TO END THE APARHTEID REGIME. THAT MUST BE REASON WHY THEY WOULD NOT LIKE AMERICANS IN THE 1980S. NOW RAP IS ALL OVER IN SOUTH AFRICA.
SOME WONDER WHY SOUTH AFRICA SUPPORTS MUGABE. THE SIMPLE REASON IS, ZIMBABWE PROVIDED SANCTUARY TO BLACK DISSIDENTS AND INCLUDING MBEKI WHO IS NOW PRESIDENT. HE USED TO RUN THE PROPAGANDA RADIO STATION I THINK CALLED FREEDOM RADIO. I MAY BE WRONG. IT IS PAY BACK TIME NOW. HOWEVER, SOUTH AFRICA IS CLOSING ITS BORDERS TO POOR ZIMBABWEANS CROSSING THE BORDER BEACUSE THEY DO NOT WANT TO IMPORT POVERTY.
THEY HAVE TO REALISE THAT THEY EXPORTED POVERTY IN THE FIRST PLACE. EVEN SMALL GAMBIA HAD NAMIBIAN STUDENTS HOSTED DURING THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE.
ONE OF THEM NOW WORKS IN THE PRIME MINISTERS OFFICE IN WINDHOEK AND STAYED WITH THE LATE AA NJIE OF SERREKUNDA WEST. I MET HER 1N 1998 WHEN WE ATTENDED A TRAINING PROGRAMME IN NEW YORK. SOMETIMES WE FORGET SO SOON. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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