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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Jan 2015 : 21:55:36
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PDOIS ON ARMED THE INSURRECTION PDOIS STATEMENT ON THE 30TH DECEMBER 2014 ARMED INSURRECTION
Foroyaa: Published on January 5, 2015
ISSUED BY HALIFA SALLAH
ON BEHALF OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE 4TH January 2015
NEITHER THE BALLOT NOR THE BULLET CHANGED THE FIRST REPUBLIC FOR 30 YEARS
NEITHER THE BALLOT NOR THE BULLET HAS CHANGED THE SECOND REPUBLIC FOR 20 YEARS
HOW TO PREVENT HISTORY FROM REPEATING ITSELF?
 On 30th December 2014 the people within the vicinity of Banjul woke up to the sound of firing of weapons during the early hours of the morning. The PDOIS leadership, through information passed on to Foroyaa while the firing was taking place, was alerted to the prevailing developments. It was not clear who the insurgents were.
During the early hours of the morning it became clear from the soldiers who were in control of Independence drive and who were asking the residents to stay indoors that the loyalist forces were in control of the state house and the City. This was not evident to many people in the country. Hence the rumours spread that a coup had taken place and that the state house has been taken over by the coup makers.
In the morning, Banjul was sealed by the loyalist forces. One could not get in or move out of Banjul.
We expected to hear a comment from the Vice President over the National media but none came. Since the President travels without proclaiming in the Gazette the appointment of an Acting President we monitored the international media to find out where he was and what he had to say. No direct statement came from the executive in those decisive hours.
In the same vein, no organised insurgency takes place without a spokesperson issuing a statement regarding the objective of their mission during the time of combat. We monitored the airwaves but received no information from the insurgents regarding their mission.
The public was completely kept in the dark, both by the state and the insurgents. They did not know what and what not to believe.
Banks and other businesses were closed in Banjul and KMC even though no state of emergency was declared. All business and social activity in the city came to a halt. Rumours grew wings in the countryside and abroad.
To satisfy ourselves regarding the military and security situation we monitored all security and military activities throughout the country and came to the conclusion that there was no state of alert anywhere else other than Banjul and to a small extent, Farafenni.
News began to come out in drips on the nature of the insurgency and the profile of the Combatants .The name of Lt. Col. Lamin Sanneh, a former state guard Commander, featured prominently as the leader of the insurgents. Four people were reported to have been killed and one injured. It was also rumoured that they were mainly ex military men who were resident in the US and the UK.
As people and transports began to move freely in places other than Banjul it was apparent that the insurgency was history and what was necessary was to know the details and the implications for the executive, in particular and the people at large.
Even though the insurgency was contained during the early hours of the morning, the officials were completely silent in the morning of the 30th of December. This gave rise to suspense in the public view of things. The contradictory information regarding the whereabouts of the President without any statement issued by the state media regarding his coming made some to believe that the insurgents were in control of State House. It is therefore no surprise why some online media continued to drum up support for the insurgents and called on the population to come to their support.
The whole morning of 30th December 2014 was devoted to speculation by many. It was not clear to most whether the insurgency had succeeded or failed. The Gambia became a Nation of citizens in the waiting, not knowing what would come next.
Apparently, by 1 PM someone within the state apparatus considered it prudent to issue a statement to claim that the insurgency was contained and that people should go about their business. The public was more interested in knowing about the whereabouts of the President. Without his appearance on Gambian soil, few could be convinced that the insurgency had been defeated.
The information vacuum which followed the 1 PM News increased the anxiety of the population and attracted the curiosity of the international media. They conducted many interviews which did not touch on the true state of affairs in the country and could not give an accurate picture of events as they were at their moment of happening.
Night fell on the 30th of December leaving the people of the Gambia with an uneasy feeling regarding the ultimate consequences of events. Even though it was announced that people could go about their normal business, the people of Banjul who were grounded in their homes did not know whether the fighting had come to an end and why their movement was being restricted.
WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE COUNRTY?
The fact that the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic was completely cut off from his troops, and had no constitutionally appointed person acting in his place raised many questions as to who was in charge of the country before the President’s return. Was it the Vice President or the Chief of defence staff who was in charge? The constitutional implications are overwhelming, thus begging the question whether a president should leave the country without appointing an Acting President?
On 31st December, at about 1AM, we received information that a motorcade moving in a rapid speed without siren had passed and was moving towards Banjul. The 1 PM news indicated the presence of the President in the country and conveyed his new-year message.
In the afternoon, some claimed that they had seen his motorcade in town. In the evening of 31st December, 2015, the President delivered his New Year Message which made no reference to the incident.
PUTTING THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE TOGETHER
On 1st January, 2015, in an interview over the national media, the President displayed the sophisticated automatic weapons and explosives which had been smuggled into the country? He accused the US and the UK of complicity with the insurgents.
According to reports, a captured insurgent had led the intelligence officers to a container smuggled into The Gambia and the contents disguised as second hand clothing.
THE END RESULT
Three of the leaders are confirmed dead, namely, Ex Lt Colonel Lamin Sanneh, Njagga Jagne and Alhaji Nyassi. Hence the insurgency cannot be given any tribal connotation.
There are varying reports on the number of people captured and those who fled to Guinea Bissau or back to the US.
The UN, the US and Senegal condemned the armed insurgency and it is understood that charges have been preferred against Cherno Njie and Papa Faal for allegedly smuggling arms into the Gambia and participating in the armed attack. It is claimed that Cherno Njie would have been the interim President.
RESTORING THE AUTHORITY OF THE EXECUTIVE
Solidarity marches were being organised. It first started with the law enforcement, security and military units.
This was followed by that of the public servants, the National Assembly members and other sympathisers.
CONTRADICTORY SIGNALS
Check points were relaxed and then restored in Banjul, Kanifing, Essau and Soma. The arrests of family members of suspects erode the trend towards a semblance of normalcy. The Stone Age doctrine of collective punishment based on blood ties undermines justice and entrenches impunity.
THE LESSONS
THE HAZARDS OF THE PRESIDENCY
If a President of the US could be assassinated, then no president in the world is immune to assassination. Suffice it to say that a President depends entirely on the security and military apparatus of a state for personal security. A coup d’etat occurs when the security forces which protect the power of the executive turn against it and deny it protection. In that case the executive has to flee to seek asylum. In sophisticated armies, where there are well defined command and control structures, no coup could occur unless the majority of battalion, platoon and company commanders are in agreement. In the same vein, there are two poles of power in a Sovereign Republic, that is, the power of the state and that of the people. A people could rise up against an executive and leave the security apparatus with no option but to commit genocide or turn against the executive.
Hence, the ways and means to reduce the hazards of the presidency is to derive authority from the will of the people and exercise that authority to promote the welfare of the people and ensure that the military and security establishments are protective of the people.
HOW DID THE INSURGENTS HOPE TO EFFECT CHANGE?
In classic military science, insurgency could only hope to be successful if linked to mass uprising, or desertion and disintegration of the regular army. In the case of the 30th December insurgency, the public was completely out of the picture and there was no sign that the regular army had experienced mass desertion in favour of the insurgency.
It is therefore possible that the insurgents miscalculated in thinking that once they struck, there would be spontaneous desertion from the regular army. The Farafenni attackers suffered the same fate. They took over the Farafenni camp and maintained it for a long period of time, hoping that the youth of Baddibu, which was then seen as an opposition stronghold, would join them and receive quick training to take control of the weapons. They ended up having weapons under their control without fighters to carry the arms. They had to ultimately flee without achieving their mission.
The 30th December insurgency suffered the same fate.
THE WAY FORWARD
First and foremost, magnanimity is expected from the side of the state rather than revenge. A coroner’s inquest is expected to handle the case of the insurgents who have been killed and their bodies given to their families for burial.
Family members who are arrested should be released. There should be no purging or arrest of family members.
Gambians abroad and at home need to go back to the drawing board and debate on the way forward for the country. How then are we to avoid a repetition of history?
Source: Foroyaa
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jan 2015 : 10:42:25
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 NRP condemns ‘attempted coup’
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Hamat Bah, leader of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), has said that the 30th December attempted coup, which was bravely foiled, is “undemocratic and unconstitutional” in any country.
“Whatever or however you may describe it, we believe that it is an attempted coup,” the NRP leader told journalists at a press conference he convened on Monday at the NRP Bureau along Kairaba Avenue.
Hamat Bah told journalists that as democrats, they condemn any attempt to take over power by force, which is against the constitution, international protocols, the AU, as well as the UN.
“Therefore, we do not support it, and we believe that people should not resolve their differences by violent means. We condemn it totally,” he told journalists.
“We also believe that as Gambians, we should be able to resolve our differences through the ballot box instead of using force,” he added.....
SOURCE: The Point & Full Report |
Edited by - kobo on 08 Jan 2015 10:43:12 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2015 : 17:57:56
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UDP issues statement on Dec 30 State House Attack
The Point: Published on Tuesday, January 13, 2015
 The United Democratic Party (UDP) has issued a statement condemning the attack on State House on 30 December 2014 by some Gambian dissidents abroad.
The statement by one of the leading opposition parties in the country said the UDP “believes that the gun and the bullet are not the acceptable substitute for the ballot and the ballot token”.
“Gambians of all political persuasion should repose their confidence in the ballot box as a means of effecting a regime change,” the UDP statement declares.
The following is the full statement of the UDP:
Statement by the United Democratic Party on the 30th December 2014 Incident
The 30th December 2014 incident however described runs contrary to our constitutional arrangement for changing government. The United Democratic Party believes that the gun and the bullet are not the acceptable substitute for the ballot and the ballot token. Gambians of all political persuasion should repose their confidence in the ballot box as a means of effecting a regime change. Let us all embrace the electoral process.
As we reject extra legal means of regime change, we call on the Government of The Gambia to make the electoral process attractive, encourage and allow free participation by all in the political life of the country within the limits permitted by the 1997 Constitution and other laws. For this, a comprehensive electoral reform that ensures free fair election and credible elections and the right of the citizens to freely express their views on matters affecting them are among key issues that need to be addressed.
Long live the tyranny of the law!
Long live The Gambia!
Source: The Point |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11829 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2015 : 18:14:13
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PPP calls on Gov’t to set up independent commission to investigate Dec 30 incident
By Abdoulie Nyockeh
The Point: Published on Monday, January 12, 2015
 The party leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Omar Jallow, a veteran politician, on behalf of PPP has called on the government of President Yahya Jammeh to set up an independent commission to investigate the events of December 30, 2014.
Mr Jallow made this call while delivering a statement during a press conference held over the weekend at his Pipeline residence.
OJ, in a statement read on behalf of PPP, said details from reports of the event of December 30, read on state TV on Wednesday are clear for all to know what happened.
“The PPP wishes to re-affirm and reiterate its unflinching support and stance for peaceful democratic change in The Gambia,” he said.
“The PPP is against any form of violence in achieving political power. The PPP has a long history of peaceful change in The Gambia, and has always found a way to unite the country in difficult times.”
He added: “We are calling on the government of President Jammeh to set up an independent commission to investigate the events of December 30.
“The government needs to go back to the drawing board and introduce reforms particularly on human rights, rule of law, the establishment and operation of the independent electoral commission.”
Any elections, from the beginning of the process, such as the registration to the voting, canvassing and counting of votes, should be seen by all to be free, fair and very transparent, he said.
“Only this can guarantee a sustainable and viable democratic dispensation in any country,” he added.
“We the PPP believe that, with a coalition of the opposition, we can win the 2016 general elections fair and square, on a level playing field and fair electoral process.”
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
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Political parties react to events of Dec 30, 2014
