Villagers allege NIA harrassment
The Independent <http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html>  (Banjul)
May 26, 2000
By Lamin Dibba
Banjul - Residents of Mamut Fana, a village in the CRD, have said they refuse to
submit to political intimidation they alleged was applied to them by members of
the National Intelligence Agency. The villagers were speaking at a recent UDP
rally in the village.
Fafa Ceesay, a resident of the village, alleged that a Mr. Deen frequently came
to Mamut Fana to 'arrest and torture' anybody he suspected of having an
affiliation with the opposition. He alleged that one of the villagers, UDP
member Hasoum Ceesay and his family were frequently threatened with imprisonment
by Mr. Deen.
'When the UDP rally was announced, this Mr. Deen from Jareng came with three NIA
officers and threatened people, saying that if they attended the UDP rally, they
would regret it,' he alleged.
'We don't fear torture or jail now as we believe that there is life after
death,' he added.
Mr. Ceesay said some residents of Mamut Fana feared seeing Mr. Deen in the
streets of the village because of his alleged connections with the NIA and
frequent threats.
Also speaking at the meeting, village resident and UDP member Mr. Hassoum Ceesay
alleged that the chiefs were also involved in threatening people over their UDP
membership.
'Chiefs now are doing the same for the APRC as they did for the PPP regime when
they campaigned for ex-President Jawara,' he said.
Hassoum vowed that he was 'ready to die' rather than see anybody encroach on his
right to chose his political party. He alleged that people of the village had
been so intimidated that 'even when they hear the engine of a motorbike they
think of the NIA.' He said this must stop.
'We were supporting the APRC and they didn't know of our existence and now that
we have changed our minds to join the UDP to save us from falling into a ditch,
Mr. Deen and members of the NIA have started intimidating us,' he alleged.

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.

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