My Fellow Gambians,


Over the years I, and many other like-minded Gambians, have struggled to
bring about a return to genuine democracy in our homeland.  We have worked
tirelessly to expose the corrupt nature of Yahya Jammeh and the APRC regime.
  We have worked to support the rule of law, and to protect the rights and
freedoms of Gambians at home.

Now the Gambian electorate has chosen Mr. Jammeh as its President for the
next five years. Almost 53 per cent of Gambians eligible to vote have
returned Mr. Jammeh to power.

I cannot overturn their choice, and as a committed democrat, nor would I
wish to.  Democracy is about exercising the sovereign will of the majority.
Like other opponents of Mr. Jammeh, I concede defeat in this Presidential
Election.

However, I have to say that my opposition to Mr. Jammeh remains as fiercely
strong as ever before.  I do not personally believe that this man is of the
calibre or intellectual stature to lead The Gambia: I believe that his
integrity is extremely suspect. These are my opinions, and I am entitled to
them,  as those supporters of Mr. Jammeh are entitled to theirs.

I remain committed to the protection of human rights and civic freedoms in
my homeland, and I urge all Gambians everywhere to remember those of our
fellow citizens who are held illegally in our country: Momodou Dumo Sarho,
Ebrima Barrow, Lt. Lalo Jaiteh, Lt. Omar Darboe, Momodou Marenah and others.
I pray that sooner rather than later they will be released from their
illegal detention.

During these last few years, I have been indebted to many courageous
contacts at the heart of government in The Gambia.  These people have served
as my reliable sources, and have ensured that in many instances, I have been
able to pass on accurate and up-do-date information through the Gambia-List.

I have carefully protected my sources’ identitities, and will continue to do
so. I wish to thank them publicly and from the bottom of my heart, for their
tireless support and for their courage in exposing corruption. I also urge
them to keep safe.

My energies will now be channelled into academic research in the U.K as I
work on my Ph.D programme.

My thoughts will always be with my country and my fellow citizens.

God save The Gambia.

Ameen.

Ebrima Ceesay,
Birmingham, UK


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