Gambia-L:
I am forwarding the letter I sent US Secretary of State Collin Powell, for
your information.
Ebrima Ceeesay
________________________________________________________________________
AN OPEN LETTER TO US SECRETARY OF STATE, RETIRED GENERAL COLLIN POWELL
Retired General Collin Powell,
US Secretary of State,
Washington, DC
20520 9th February 2001
Sir,
I am a Gambian Journalist who left my country in December 1996, and since
then I have been living and working in the UK where I am also undertaking
post-graduate research into Third World Politics and the process of
"democratisation" in The Gambia since 1994.
I am writing to you on behalf of myself and many Gambians both in The Gambia
and throughout the world, who are extremely concerned about the
deteriorating political, social and economic situation in The Gambia. We
have grave concerns about the nature of governance there, which is typified
today by a corrupt and despotic tyrant, Yahya Jammeh.
Jammeh seized power in a military coup d’etat on July 22nd 1994, and then
"civilianised" himself and his military junta - The Armed Forces Provisional
Ruling Council – to "win" both the Presidential and National Assembly
elections, in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
These elections, especially the former, were internationally recognised as
unfair and undemocratic, and the results internationally judged as
illegitimate because of government interference in and manipulation of the
whole of the electoral process.
For the last six years, The Gambia has known increasing repression,
increasing massive poverty and malnutrition, increasing harassment and
persecution by the government and its National Intelligence Agency (NIA) of
a wide range of citizenry, increasing gross violation of human rights (such
as arbitrary arrest, illegal detention without charge, torture and even
wholesale murder of students in April 2000), increasing economic stagnation
and increasing gross corruption of the leadership group.
The country is degenerating into chaos, and is increasingly embroiled in
illegal activities – for instance, involvement in the Blood Diamonds trade
and the hard drug trade.
We concerned Gambians call on you through your good offices, to help us in
our struggle to return our country to being a genuine and functioning
democracy.
Firstly, it is fair to say that many black people in the USA, in The Gambia
and throughout the world, derived enormous pride when you were honoured with
the appointment to the position of US Secretary of State, thus being the
first African American to achieve this high office.
Your appointment demonstrates that black people have come a long way
especially in the USA: not so long ago, no-one would have thought it
possible for blacks to assume positions of immense power and influence such
as yours, but your appointment clearly stands as a reminder to all of us
that society is in a constant process of change, and that what typifies
today will not typify tomorrow. Needless to say, anything is possible and
achievable with hard work, dedication and determination.
Indeed, African Americans have undergone tremendous hardship in their exile
from their homelands, but they have come a long way, particularly in US
society. Much still remains to be done, but they can go into the future
with a lot more confidence and with a spirit of optimism.
It is appropriate and fitting that we should be paying homage to the leaders
of the African Americans in US Civil Rights movements: Martin Luther King;
Malcolm X; William Du Bois etc. These people, amongst others, have played a
key role in the struggle for black freedom and progress in US society.
Sir, your appointment as Secretary of State comes at a good time, when
Africa is of little significance to the powers that be in the world. Given
your own African roots, we trust that henceforth, you will be taking up an
increasingly proactive role in what is going on in the African continent.
You, of all people, are well aware of that depth of bond between black
people wherever they are in the world today: it stems from our common
ancestry and our blood ties. These ties that bind us, leave us morally
bound to help and support each other, and to raise the profile of black
people throughout the world.
Whatever the reality is, we are all one people: slavery may have sent us
blacks across the world, but the connections are still there.
You will obviously have a keen interest in what is going on in Africa today:
your own ties are there and you have taken up your new role when there are
so many intractable problems in Africa, which need your and your
government’s interventions.
Apart from a few countries in Africa, the whole of the African continent is
in crisis, not just countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo or
regions such as the Great Lakes Area, but also countries like The Gambia,
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire etc.
Since our world is becoming smaller, and increasingly we are becoming much
more interdependent on each other, it is therefore incumbent on you to
assist Africans in harnessing their potential so that we can play a more
proactive role in the world. The truth is that Africa has untold and
massive potential, and vast, untapped resources, not least its people.
Unfortunately however, from Independence and Post-Independence, African
leaders have in the main, failed to "deliver the goods". Many of them have
let their people down and failed to take their countries forward. Africa is
largely what it is today, because of its corrupt leaders, and to some extent
because of the role of the west in Africa.
However, it is vital that Africa should not be ostracised: the potential is
there, and right-minded people are there. With the support of the outside
world, we can look to a better and brighter future. Africans are aware that
they have to take up the challenges for themselves, but in a mutually
dependent world, we would certainly appreciate and need the support and
encouragement of others.
To realise our dreams of a better Africa, we need the cooperation and help
of democracies around the world. In fact, a new breed of African leader is
already emerging: leaders who will be more than capable to defend Africa’s
image, interests, borders, economies and political structures. These
emerging new leaders will play their part in international relations, and
show how much Africa and Africans have to offer on a world stage and at
world-class level.
Contrary to some opinion, Africa is NOT a lost continent. It has huge
potential, and with good and effective leadership, this potential will be
accessed and fulfilled. There is so much for us to look forward to in this
twenty-first century. In commerce, in sport, in education, in agriculture,
in responsible utilisation of natural resources, in art and culture and in
the very best of human resources, Africa has so much to give to the world.
It is a question of good, effective and forward-thinking leadership which
will set us on the road to recovery and delivery. We are looking forward to
effective partnerships with countries throughout the world, which will be of
mutual and equal benefit.
We are confident that you will be leaving your mark on the United States, on
Africa and on world politics. We also trust that you will be committed to
helping to consolidate good governance in Africa.
US Foreign Policy has not thus far been as proactive in Africa as it might
have been (compared say, with the Middle East or Arab world).
Strategically, Africa may not be as important to western states, but given
that our world IS shrinking and that we continue to grow in interdependence,
we look forward to closer ties with the outside world.
It is in the interests of countries like the USA to help to harness the
potential of Africa, and to play a part in ensuring political stability,
economic recovery, social justice and good governance there.
The purpose of this open letter is therefore, to draw your attention to the
current situation in one of Africa’s smallest nations, The Gambia, and to
enlist your support in helping to return this country to true democratic
statehood. This is presidential election year in The Gambia, with elections
slated for October 2001.
We Gambians urge you and the USA to send representatives and observers to
monitor the whole of the electoral process in The Gambia. Please follow
events in our tiny nation keenly, and involve yourselves in our struggle to
see a restoration of true democracy.
As I stated earlier in this letter, since 1994 The Gambia has deteriorated
from being a relatively stable West African Democracy, to a country led by a
corrupt despot who seized power at the point of a gun in 1994, and who
claimed to have restored a functional democracy following unfair
presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997.
There is overwhelming evidence that these elections were skewed by
government manipulation and malpractice. There is no way in which The
Gambia can be described as a functioning Democracy in today’s world.
May I please draw your attention, Sir, to the US State Department’s Country
Reports for The Gambia since 1994?
I also urge you to study the country reports on The Gambia of international
Human Rights Organisations such as Amnesty International.
These reports give a true picture of what has happened in this small West
African State since 1994. They give hard, unequivocal evidence of the scale
of corruption, of mismanagement, of human rights violations, of interference
in the Judiciary, of electoral interference, of intimidation, harassment and
persecution of Gambian citizens, of illegal practices at the highest levels
of government, and even of murder.
The current regime in The Gambia is overseeing the ruin of our nation in
every sphere of life.
Sir, please take note also that The Gambia’s foreign policy under Yahya
Jammeh, is unethical, erratic and based on his personal material gain. In
an attempt to appease the USA, Jammeh was sending congratulations to George
Bush even before the results of the election had been announced.
Interestingly, he is courting the USA whilst at the same time flirting with
the Cuban regime and announcing that he will open a Gambian Embassy in Cuba.
Furthermore, he is playing Iraq and Iran against each other and,
simultaneously, planning to open new Embassies in both of these nations.
Clearly, Jammeh’s foreign policy is incoherent and inconsistent, and is only
based on chequebook diplomacy for his personal gains at the expense of the
sovereignty and dignity of The Gambia.
In religious matters, Jammeh is putting the secular nature of The Gambia at
great risk by his announcements of his intentions to introduce Shariah law.
He is setting religious group against religious group, and striking at the
very heart of Gambian tolerance and mutual respect for religious difference.
Domestically, our country is verging on ruin: there is massive
unemployment; agriculture is in a perilous state with our farmers remaining
largely unpaid for the crops they "sold" onto the government; the health
sector is struggling to maintain even the most basic level of care to the
community (and this is especially problematic in the rural areas); the
education sector is facing huge problems with lack of manpower, equipment
and resources and with underpaid teachers being forced to teach a double
shift of children each day.
Infrastructural development is also at a virtual standstill (electricity in
the urban areas is increasingly unavailable and expensive, and in the rural
areas, completely unavailable: the roads are in a terrible state of
disrepair; our communications systems are in chaos; the national media
services are in the hands of the government and subject to manipulation,
interference and bias.
The Judiciary in The Gambia is struggling to retain any semblance of
impartiality and fairness. We have seen a steady flow of Attorney Generals
since 1994; Judges are dismissed at Yahya Jammeh’s whim; magistrates are
faced with constant threats of dismissal; at times, court decisions are
deliberately ignored or worse still, flouted by the government.
Human rights are constantly violated: men like Dumo Saho, Lt. Lalo Jaiteh,
Ebrima Yarboe, Momodou Mareneh and many others have been held incommunicado
and illegally for months, in gross violation of the Constitution.
Journalists are also harassed and persecuted: independent radio stations
have been closed down illegally, or subject to arson. Genuine refugees in
The Gambia are deported without good reason.
The Gambia’s Constitution which on paper, guarantees freedom from arbitrary
arrest, freedom of speech, freedom of association etc. is constantly flouted
by Jammeh and his government. Jammeh has in fact amended the Constitution
so that presidential term is no longer limited to two terms of five years
each.
He has set himself up for perpetual rule, and to ensure this as a certainty,
he has recently and wrongfully dismissed the Chairman of the Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) and has put a man of his own choice in the
position.
The IEC is facing untold threats and manipulative practice by the incumbent
regime, and we have grave concerns about the legitimacy of the forthcoming
presidential and National Assembly elections of 2001 / 2002. Even at this
early stage, the government has ensured that the electoral playing fields
are slanted in favour of the APRC and Jammeh.
Most Gambians, like myself, are committed to seeking political change in The
Gambia through the ballot box: we want a peaceful solution to our nation’s
problems and we want to ensure and protect the rule of law.
We urgently need your help to ensure that the forthcoming elections are free
and fair, and contested lawfully and without malpractice by any sector.
We urge the US State Department and other representatives of the USA to take
a keen and impartial interest in forthcoming events in The Gambia.
You personally should play a crucial role. We beg you to use your office to
make sure that the elections are held on time, that the entire process is
above board and impartial, that opposition members and groups are free from
harassment and persecution, that opposition parties are unhampered, that the
Independent Electoral Commission is neutral and free from government
interference, that the poll is fairly undertaken and the votes counted
transparently and openly.
Please help us NOW: liase with the IEC, the Gambian people and opposition
groups in The Gambia to ensure free elections. Make strong protests
whenever you find illegal practices or government interference. Keep the
world fully informed of events in The Gambia.
Secretary of State Powell, on behalf of Gambians at home and abroad, I urge
you to:
1) Acquaint yourself with the current situation in The Gambia.
2) Put pressure on the Gambian government to ensure free and fair elections
in 2001 and 2002.
3) Put pressure on the Gambian government to respect human rights.
4) Put pressure on the Gambian government to stop illegal harassment,
persecution, torture, kidnapping, illegal detention.
5) Put pressure on the Gambian government to stop the harassment of the
press and the independent media, of former politicians, of former security
forces personnel, of ordinary citizens.
6) Put pressure on the Gambian government to release forthwith all those
people who are held illegally, in particular Ebrima Yarboe, Dumo Saho, Lt
Lalo Jaiteh, Momodou Mareneh and others.
7) Do all in your power to bring this illegal and corrupt regime to a
peaceful end.
8) Do all in your power to help us to restore a genuine and functional
democracy in The Gambia.
9) Urge your representatives in The Gambia and throughout Africa to provide
you with honest and up-to-date information in order that you can make sound
judgements based on facts rather than on opinions.
10) Assure Gambians at home and throughout the world of the support which
the US government will give to all those who are struggling for justice,
peace and democracy.
11) Seek meetings with Gambian groups in the USA (such as The Movement for
the Restoration of Democracy in The Gambia).
12) Familiarise yourself in whatever way you can with events as they unfold
in The Gambia.
Ours is a small country with big problems: we are looking for assistance in
finding peaceful solutions to ease the current awful regime.
You have a reputation in the UK, of being a man who listens, who has sound
judgements and who is mindful of the need to protect democracy and
democratic ideals.
We trust that you will listen to our concerns, and from now on, note down
The Gambia in your diary. Give us whatever help and support you can to help
restore our nation to good democratic governance.
With your help, we can make The Gambia a key player and a key contributor to
the wealth, stability and well being of the African continent.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
Ebrima Ceesay
Birmingham, UK.
Cc. Gambia-L Mailing List
Office of the UN Secretary General
_________________________________________________________________________
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