Independent Critic - Senegalo-Gambian relations sustain a dent
The Independent <http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html> (Banjul)
June 5, 2000
By D.A. Jawo
Banjul - It is indeed quite interesting to hear the newly elected Senegalese
president Abdoulaye Wade accuse The Gambia and Guinea Bissau of obtaining arms
from Libya and probably by implication using those to support the MFDC
insurgency in the Casamance.
This is particularly significant in view of the prominent role that President
Jammeh and his regime had played in trying to bring lasting peace to that
troubled region of Senegal. It however seems to explain the apparent sidelining
of The Gambia in the Casamance issue since the coming into office of President
Wade a couple of months ago. This is indeed a serious challenge to President
Jammeh and his regime to prove to the Senegalese authorities and the rest of the
international community that they were quite genuine in their mediation efforts
and not merely using that as a smokescreen to support the rebels.
There may not be any tangible evidence of any clandestine links between the APRC
regime and the Casamance rebellion, but there is no denying the fact that the
MFDC rebels are quite at home in this country and that they enjoy a lot of
sympathy and support, particularly among the people of Foni. It is also a fact
that the MFDC have a presence at the Atlantic Hotel for quite sometime now (I
wonder at whose expense). Therefore, when we consider that the Atlantic Hotel
now belongs to the Libyans, then we tend to see some apparent connection between
the Casamance issue and the Libyans. However, whether or not The Gambia and
Guinea Bissau regimes have any part to play in that is not quite evident.
Although the reports that rebels and their sympathisers have been found with
Gambian identity documents does not seem to help the Gambian position. The
authorities therefore need to investigate how these people managed to obtain
those documents and take appropriate measures to ensure that such possibilities
are minimised in the future.
It is quite true also that since coming to power in 1994, President Jammeh and
some senior members of his regime have visited Libya on numerous occasions, even
before The Gambia became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,
contrary to what Foreign Secretary M.L Sedat Jobe seems to suggest. Whether or
not they had been obtaining arms from Libya is not obvious, but considering
Libya's international reputation, such frequent visits are bound to provoke some
suspicions among our neighbours. This is quite reminiscent of this regime's role
in helping to prop up the discredited regime of the Nigerian dictator General
Sani Abacha, even when the rest of the civilised world was trying to isolate it.
Indeed, we have already experienced the havoc unleased on some innocent Gambians
by thugs of the defunct (?) July22nd Movement, many of whom were alleged to have
been trained in Libya, and most of whom are still around and quite active in
their nefarious escapades.
The Gambia and Senegal are too close geographically, socially and ethnically to
allow any political problems to dent the special relationship that exits between
our two countries. We are just like two sides of the same coin and as such, our
two regimes need to coordinate their foreign policies in order to reflect those
close bonds of relationship that exist between the two nations and to avoid any
misunderstanding which is certainly not in interest of our two peoples who
virtually belong to same extended family. There is no doubt that there had
existed a great deal of love lust between the MFDC and the former military junta
of Guinea Bissau led by Ansumana Mane; therefore, if the APRC regime had been
seen to closely consult with the junta on the Casamance issue, then the
Senegalese authorities had a genuine cause to be suspicious of any possible
ulterior motives.
Copyright (c) 2000 The Independent. Distributed via Africa News Online
(www.africanews.org). For information about the content or for permission to
redistribute, publish or use for broadcast, contact the publisher.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
