THIS MIGHT BE OLD NEWS BUT I FOUND IT TO BE VERY
INFORMATIVE.
READ ON....
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: AI: THE GAMBIA: GOVT MUST PROTECT HUMAN
RIGHTS DURING ELECTIONS
This News Service is posted by the International
Secretariat of Amnesty International, 1 Easton Street,
London WC1X 8DJ (Tel +44-71-413-5500, Fax
+44-71-956-1157)
News Service 245/96
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Gambia: The Government must protect human rights
during the forthcoming parliamentary elections
By Amnesty International. News Service 245/96. AI
INDEX: AFR 27/11/96. 19 December, 1996
The Gambian Government should ensure that the human
rights violations which took place in the recent
presidential election are not repeated during the
parliamentary elections to be held on 2 January,
Amnesty International said today.
"The intimidation, harassment and violence directed at
political opponents by the armed forces and the
security police -- the National Intelligence Agency
(NIA) -- which took place in the days leading up to
the presidential election in September 1996 must not
happen again," the organization said. "Gambian
citizens should be able to express their opinions
freely without fear of reprisal."
Amnesty International has already received news that
Ebrima Cessay, the news editor of the Daily Observer,
has left the Gambia in fear of arrest. The
organization also fears that the recent clashes
provoked by government supporters against opposition
supporters in Talinding, Serrakunda, on 16 December
may re-occur. During the clashes the government
brought in a special squad and violence ensued.
Some of the worst violations took place in the run-up
to the presidential elections. On the evening of 22
September, four days before the election, supporters
of the main opposition party, the United Democratic
party (UDP), were stopped on the Denton Bridge in the
capital, Banjul, by armed soldiers under the personal
command of Captain Yankuba Touray, the campaign
manager for the political party established by the
ruling Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC)
and also the Minister for Local Government. Gun-shots
were fired and opposition supporters were ordered out
of their cars and to take off their party T-shirts.
More than one hundred UDP supporters were then
subjected to a systematic assault. They were beaten
with sticks, truncheons and gun butts and forced to
lie on the ground face down. At least 33 people were
seriously injured; some had to be admitted to
hospital. Dozens of people were arrested and detained
without charge just before the presidential elections.
There has been no investigation into these events.
Amnesty International is demanding that an independent
inquiry be urgently undertaken in order to bring those
responsible for the human rights violations to justice
and that measures be taken to ensure that such
violations are not repeated.
The safety of opposition politicians who feared or had
reasons to fear for their lives during the
presidential election, such as the UDP leader,
Ousainou Darboe, must be guaranteed.
"We are concerned that criminal charges are being used
against political opponents as a way of justifying
their continued detention," Amnesty International
said.
Detainees have been held for long periods without
charge. In some cases, they have subsequently been
charged with offences specified in new decrees which
are applied retrospectively. This practice contravenes
the principles of the rule of law and the Gambia's
obligations under international human rights law.
Amnesty International also urges the government to end
short-term arrest without charge of journalists.
Foreign journalists have been threatened with
deportation.
"The government should ensure that all Gambian
citizens are able to exercise their right to vote
without fear of arrest, detention and ill-treatment,"
Amnesty International said.
"Equally, all the candidates for the forthcoming
parliamentary election should spell out clearly their
commitments to human rights -- only then may there be
a chance of respecting human rights in the Gambia in
the future."
BACKGROUND
President Yaya Jammeh seized power in a military coup
in July 1994. Under sustained domestic and
international pressure, the AFPRC was forced to adopt
a two-year program for transition to civilian rule, to
be completed by 1996.
On 8 August this year, a new constitution was approved
in a referendum. Amnesty International raised serious
concerns about the new constitution (see The Gambia: A
new constitution - revised draft still threatens human
rights, AI Index: AFR 27/07/96, 7 August 1996).
On 26 September the presidential election was held
after a ban on political parties was lifted. A decree
was passed which disqualified former President Sir
Dawda Kairaba Jawara, the former Vice-President and
all former ministers of the People's Progressive Party
(PPP) from contesting any political office. The other
main political parties in the Gambia before the coup,
the National Convention Party (NCP), and the Gambia
People's Party (GPP), were also banned from
participating in the election. The penalty for
contravening this decree is life imprisonment or a
fine of one million dalasis (approximately US$100,000
).
A separate decree gave the Minister of the Interior
and the security forces wide powers of arrest and
detention, in some instances for 90 days, without any
right of legal challenge by the detainee. Opposition
political party supporters were harassed and
intimidated and opposition party leaders were not
given equal access to the state-run media. The
Provisional Independent Electoral Commission (PIEC)
complained about unequal access to the media but no
measures were taken to rectify the situation.
President Jammeh was elected as president.
In light of these and other factors, the Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) described the whole
presidential electoral process as flawed. The European
Union also concluded that the presidential election
viewed in an overall context were not free and fair.
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