Afrol News Reports: "President Jammeh internationally has a growing reputation of a cruel despot, the terminator of the Gambian press, a torturer, a fake AIDS-curer and the worst dictator in contemporary West Africa." A fine reputation indeed. Baba >From: ABDOUKARIM SANNEH <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Afrol News-Gambia President "not welcome in Ghana" >Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:17:31 +0100 > >Gambia President "not welcome in Ghana" afrol News, 29 June - President >Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia knows he is not a popular man in Ghana. But he >nevertheless is to participate in the African Union (AU) summit in Accra >that starts on Sunday. Ghanaian MPs say he is "not welcome" and activists >plan anti-Jammeh demonstrations. > A total of 52 African Heads of State may participate at the 1-3 July AU >Summit in the Ghanaian capital. Most local attention is however directed >towards the Gambian leader. > >President Jammeh internationally has a growing reputation of a cruel >despot, the terminator of the Gambian press, a torturer, a fake AIDS-curer >and the worst dictator in contemporary West Africa. But in Ghana, Mr Jammeh >is most known for being responsible of the slaughtering of 44 Ghanaian >immigrants. > >In July 2005, a group of 46 Ghanaians was arrested at The Gambia's border >with Senegal together with six national from other African countries - all >seeking to find their way towards Europe. The Ghanaian version of the story >is that they where framed up in a fake coup and butchered to death. Only >two managed to escape and lived to tell about the incident. > >The slaughter caused outrage in Ghana and after considerable pressure from >Accra, a joint Ghana-Gambia investigation looked into the incident. But the >Gambian party has been branded "uncooperative" by Ghanaian officials in >these attempts to shed light on the issue. Human rights groups meanwhile >have concluded on "extra-judicial killings" and the Accra government has >lost confidence in its Banjul counterpart. > >On this background, Ghanaian politicians this week have demonstrated their >disgust with President Jammeh's participation at the Accra AU Summit. >Ghanaian Minority Spokesman on Foreign Affairs, John Mahama, told the local >online media 'Joy News' that it was "unfortunate" Ghana cannot stop Mr >Jammeh from attending the AU Summit. "We are not happy he is coming and he >is not welcome indeed," Mr Mahama was quoted as saying. > >Also Ghana's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Akwasi Osei Adjei, today told >'Joy News' that the Accra government was not at all pleased with the lack >of cooperation from The Gambia. But he also underlined that Ghana was not >in a position to stop Mr Jammeh from participating at the AU Summit, >indicating his government would have preferred such an option. > >The same feeling is widespread among ordinary Ghanaians, who still have the >2005 slaughter freshly in mind. During this week, several demonstrations >have been planned for the Accra Summit. Human rights activists announced >demonstrations against President Jammeh's attending of the Summit. Other >demonstrations were to address the situation in Darfur and in Zimbabwe. > >But Ghanaian police today announced they had banned all demonstrations >during the Summit, referring to security concerns and "overstretching" of >police capacity. Around 2,000 police are to protect the Summit, counting on >assistance from the armed forces. As demonstrators do not need police >permits in Ghana, some minor manifestations nevertheless are expected. > >To meet popular demands regarding a reaction towards the unpopular Gambian >President, Ghanaian President John Kufuor is now expected to address this >unresolved issue in meetings with his Gambian counterpart. Media reports >even indicate President Kufuor is considering bringing up the issue in >front of other African Heads of State. > > > By staff writers > © afrol News > >¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] >¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! 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