Reporters Without Borders
Press release

15 December 2005

GAMBIA

"Each passing day just adds to the outcry," one
year after Deyda Hydara's murder

Reporters Without Borders issued a new appeal to
President Yahya Jammeh today, on the eve of the
first anniversary of journalist Deyda Hydara's
murder on 16 December 2004, urging him to
acknowledge the inability of the Gambian
investigators to solve the case and asking him to
request the help of a neutral foreign police
force.

In a speech read on behalf of Reporters Without
Borders by Gambia Press Union coordinator Demba
Ali Jawo today in Banjul, the organisation
reiterated its call to the Gambian government "to
face the facts and equip itself to solve this
terrible mystery by requesting help from the
Americans, Europeans, South Africa, the UN or any
other neutral country or body."

Léonard Vincent, the head of the Reporters
Without Borders Africa desk, should have
delivered the speech personally at a Gambia Press
Union news conference on press freedom but he was
prevented from travelling to Banjul because the
Gambian authorities did not issue him a visa in
time.

"Dear friends,

What do we know today, one year after Deyda's
murder? That his killers are cowards and that
they are still at large. That the person who
pulled the trigger has no reason to be concerned
about his future, as things stand right now, any
more than the person who gave the order to do it.
That Deyda's family has to live with this. That
his widow, daughters and sons courageously
confront a smear campaign by perverse
investigators. And that his fellow journalists
are not only threatened by an aggressive
president but also by one of the worst sets of
laws in Africa. But as each day passes we get
stronger, because each day that passes just adds
to the outcry.

For all these reasons, I am sad to be unable to
be with you today. I am also angry at being
unable to go with you to the scene of the murder
on Sankung Sillah Street and transmit to you
there a message from Reporters Without Borders
secretary-general Robert Ménard that we have not
forgotten you and that we are your allies. Deyda,
who had worked for our organisation since 1994,
was an energetic man who knew his rights. In The
Point, he held up a mirror to the Gambian people.
In Agence France-Presse, he was Gambia's
spokesman for the entire world's press. He knew
how to talk to us, at times to shake us. He knew
how to share with us his concerns, his anger and
his enthusiasm. No one answered his phone on the
morning of 17 December 2004. Someone had decided
to silence him for ever. Tears were shed in
Paris, as in Banjul and elsewhere in the world.

No one whatsoever has been accused of being the
murderer. We do not know the identity of the
gunmen in the Mercedes taxis with no licence
plates. We do not know who their boss was. Our
anger is on a par with our uncertainty and for
this very human reason we demand to know the
truth.

After this stifling year of tension, mistrust and
fear, things must be clear. If Reporters Without
Borders cannot be with you today in Banjul, if I
cannot myself read my speech to you, it is
because President Yahya Jammeh now sees Reporters
Without Borders as an enemy or at the very least
as a troublemaker. But what do we want? We just
want justice to be done. How? By discovering the
truth. This goal is simple. There is nothing
subversive about it. It should be shared by all
those who cannot stand injustice, whether they
are presidents, ministers, journalists, ordinary
citizens or human rights activists. Indeed, I
would like to say something to the Gambian
government: "Help us. Deyda's family and friends
need you. Promises given with your hand over your
heart are not enough. We now need action."

But we have to be realistic. The investigation is
going nowhere. I will not dwell on the
"confidential report" which the NIA published in
June. Let us just say that the investigators are
not doing anything serious. Anyway, those who
have something to say refuse to talk to them
because they do not trust them. And without
doubt, others also would have things to say but
they are not being questioned.

There is no denying the fact that Gambia has been
reeling since Deyda's death. The country has been
badly hurt. The trust between press and
government that is essential to keep a democracy
alive is broken. As Pap Saine told me one day,
Deyda's murderers have an immense debt to pay
Gambia. The authorities cannot go on ignoring the
legitimate appeals of one of the country's most
respected families. Deyda's family and friends
are demanding justice, but it is not just for
them, it is also for the good of their country.

Reporters Without Borders would like to send a
special greeting to all those friends of Deyda
present here today who are not Gambians. Your
help is essential, not just to show our Gambian
friends that we share in their suffering. You are
here today in Banjul to prove that the three
shots that were fired at Deyda's car on the night
of 16 December 2004 in Kanifing have echoed
throughout the continent. This horrible murder is
not just a matter for Gambians. It has sent a
terrifying signal to all African journalists that
they could also be gunned down if they do their
job too well.

Let us continue to loudly proclaim Deyda's name
in Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Democratic Republic of
Congo, South Africa, Sierra Leone and elsewhere.
Let us continue to say that we will no longer
tolerate this kind of threat to leading African
journalists such as Norbert Zongo, Carlos Cardoso
and Deyda in the past, and others today. Let us
continue to demand that the Gambian government
should face the facts and equip itself to solve
this terrible mystery by requesting help from the
Americans, Europeans, South Africa, the UN or any
other neutral country or body. The resources of
Reporters Without Borders are also at the Gambian
government's full disposal.

I would like to end my appeal by addressing
President Jammeh directly. "Mr. President, a
French philosopher recently wrote something you
will have to agree with. He said: 'It is not
because things are the way they are that we have
to be resigned. It is because we are resigned
that things are they way they are.' As Deyda
might have said, I leave you to think about that.
Good thinking, Mr. President."

Thank you."

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