Jabou,
I agree w/you whole heartedly. It's not for people like Tombong to "follow
through" issues like this. What the Jammeh govt. needs to do is to repudiate
this shameless harassment of people who dare to differ. But then when you're
dealing w/ a tyranical regime, full of ignorant, arrogant fools, and
shameless self-promoters, mere decency is too high a virtue to expect. What
else can one say?
Saul
>From: [log in to unmask]
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Jammeh's government seizing Gambian passports/RESPONSE
>Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 18:45:42 EDT
>
>Fellow Gambians,
>
>Well, l have received a private communication from Mr Tombong Saidy,
>informing me that if l give him the name of the individual whose passport,
>along with that of his family was illegally siezed by ambassador Johnson,
>he
>will be pleased to follow this through. He also stated that:
>
>"I can assure you that this is not a government's policy neither is it a
>directive from the President."
>
>My response to Mr Tombong Saidy is this:
>
>That while l appreciate his offer to follow this particular case through,
>this is not just another public relations matter to be settled by him
>behind
>closed doors, nor will such a move guarantee others whose passports have
>been illegally seized, that they will be returned, or yet those whose
>names have been put on some secret list by the Jammeh government, that
>they
>will not have their rights violated in the future by this paranoid
>government.
>
>It is not enough to dispatch Mr Saidy to do a "quick fix" as seems to be
>the case whenever the human rights violations that are a trademark of this
>administration come to light, and even then, only in cases that may
>potentially counter the facade they are trying to pedal to the
>international community.
>
>If the government is saying that the seizure of passports of Gambians both
>at
>home and abroad is not a policy of theirs, (and it should not and
>cannot be since they have no right to do this) and that they were done
>by individuals seeking to ingratiate themselves to the President, then let
>them acknowledge this publicly to the Gambian people, both at home and
>abroad.Let them also assure us that they will direct all those
>overseas
>missions who have illegally seized passports, to re-issue those passports
>and contact the owners. While at it, let them also inform us that
>they
>do not keep a list of so called enemies of the government, or if they do,
>let them state what resulted from these people being labelled enemies
>of
>the government. Since the president has stated publicly here in the U.S
>that his is a democtratic government where there is freedom of the press,
>(
>and the evidence proves the contrary) one would naturally also assume
>that
>this goes hand in hand with freedom of speech, and as such daring to
>voice
>ones' opinion about the policies of this government should not result in
>them being put on some secret list, but instead should serve as a
>mechanism whereby they can learn what the concerns of the people are, and
>use this information to come up with ways to serve them in a better
>manner.
>If on the other hand, there is some crime that has be committed by these
>people, then we do have a system of justice to deal with criminals, do we
>not? Let them state the crimes committed by these people, and if they are
>legitimate, then let them appeal to the governments of the countries
>where
> these individuals are resident, to extradite these people to The
>Gambia
>to face the charges. However, it of course goes without saying that such
>charges will have to be authenticated, ( and for your information,
>expressing one's opinion does not qualify as a crime against the state
>in most places in the World) and assurances given that these people will be
>given a fair trial once extradited. If they can substantiate the reason
>for
>such a list, then why not conduct these affairs in a manner befitting a
>respectable government?
>
>The shameful behaviour of the NIA agents who accompanied Jammeh to the U.S,
>stated loud and clear to the international community that repression of
>those whose right it is to disagree with how this administration
>conducts
>their affairs is the common practice. In broad daylight, NIA agents in
>the
>company of Jammeh proceeded to rough up Gambians who wanted to enter the
>premises at the Freedom Forum breakfast , and had to be reminded by the U.S
>secret service that this was America where people are free to voice their
>opinions.
>l guess they got used to doing this to Gambians at home and getting away
>with it, so they forgot where they were. If they try to physically
>manhandle Gambians for attempting to attend a venue for the president and
>voice their disagreements with his policies here in the U.S, then one
>can
>easily believe that they will and have drawn up a list of people deemed
>enemies just because they point out all the atrocities that are commited
>against the people on a daily basis.
>
>Let us look at the dissolution of the July 22nd movement. First, we have to
>say that we are very thankful that the Gambian people will not be subject
>to
>the lawlessness that was practiced by this bunch of thugs, but only if
>it
>is indeed true that they have been disbanded. While the president alleges
>that he was unaware of their illegal activities, this is hardly believed
>of
>a goverment that seems to, or at least has attempted to have their eye on
>every move made by the people.Just ask those journalists who are rounded up
>for any article disapproved by the governnment. The forceful subjugation of
>the people to carry an ID card, and the manner in which it has been
>conducted is one such attempt in my opinion.
>
>Take the case of Baba Jobe, for example, who drew a gun at an international
>airport, thereby endangering not only the lives of Gambians, but also that
>of international visitors to our country, and definitely qualifying us as a
>lawless country, and proceeded to assault a police officer and his
>superior.
>The attack on the superior was said to have occured in the presence of
>some
>high ranking government officials, who had to intervene to rescue the
>supervisor. Did the said officials report the incident to the president,
>and
>if so, why is it that instead of punishing Mr Jobe, the police
>officer';s
>superior was fired from his Job.? On the other hand, did the high
>ranking
>government officials fail to report this to the president and why? Perhaps
>they are well aware they they serve a tyrant who only wants to hear what is
>favourable, and will take it out on you if you bring any news contrary to
>this. Or is it possible that these police officers got fired and while the
>whole World heard about it, the president did not? Harldy believable.
>
>Let us hope that Jammeh's trip to the U.S was an eye opener for him, in
>that he saw that no one wanted to be identified with a government that
>makes standard practice of oppressing their citizens, and no one will
>take them seriously, no matter what type and how much "window dressing"
>they
>put in place to fool the people. Just ask his friends and employees in
>the U.S who scurried around trying to arrange meetings with government
>officials as well as officials of international agencies to no effect. The
>only people they were able to meet with on capitol hill was a list of
>right
>wing Republicans whose legacy is that they made a career of blocking
>every piece of civil rights legislation that has come before the U.S House
>of Representatives and Senate since the Kennedy administration., but l
>guess in their desperation to arrange something for him, anyone will do,
>otherwise, perhaps their jobs would have been next on the chopping block.
>
>If the government has embarked on a "house cleaning " campaigne to get
>rid of their tarnished image, then let them clean up everything, and show
>the people that they mean it, and not just continue this "emergency
>disaster
>relief" policy of sending Tombong Saidy to do some cosmetic cover-up,
>or
>pretending that the thugs that they let loose on the people were doing
>their
>thing without the knowledge of the government. l believe that paranoia
>has
> led this government to embark on a campaign to terrorize and subdue the
>Gambian people in hopes that this will save them, and keep their reign
>of
>terror in place indefinitely. Those who are wise know that falsehood
>cannot
> endure forever. The wollof have a saying that" If you do what is right,
>and
>say what is right, then you will sleep very soundly at night". If
>paranoia
>is the order of the day for this government, then they must know that they
>are not doing and saying what is right by the people who they purport
>to
>be serving. Those governments that endure do not do so by deviousness,
>rampant opression and terror, but by exercising their duties of office
>competently, fairly and honestly, and within the constitution of the
>land,
>to the extent that the people see clearly that they have capable people
>in
>place, and thus want to keep them in place by re-instating them through
>the ballot box. Anything else is just a temporary solution that is sure to
>crumble.
>
>Jabou Joh
>
>In a message dated 10/28/99 5:09:51 AM Central Daylight Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>Dear Jabou Joh,
>
>I read your email with great pain and I would be very pleased to follow
>this
>through if you could provide me with the names of the individuals
>concerned.
>Many a times people do things they think would satisfy the President (eye
>services), while damaging the image of the Government in the process. I
>would like you to provide this information in private.
>
>I can assure you that this is not a government's policy neither is it a
>directive from the President. I am looking forward to hear from you.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Tombong Saidy
>
>[log in to unmask] (chernob jallow) wrote:
>
>Hi Jabou,
>
>I read your revealations on the above subject with utter dismay. And
>suspicion. Talking about a "Jammeh list" of individuals abroad who are not
>in the good books of the APRC government, gives me a poignant reminder to
>what somebody at State House told me earlier this year: there exists a list
>of Gambians abroad who are deemed "enemies" of the APRC government. My
>informant alleged that the List emanated from the State House. He also
>cautioned me not to visit The Gambia because he said my NAME was also on
>this List. There is no way I can verify this information; but when I mail
>in
>my passport to the Gambian embassy for renewal in a few months time,it will
>be clear if I will be meted out a treatment similar to what was done to
>those you mentioned in your expose'. Let's see.
>
>Cherno B. Jallow
>Wayne State University
>Detroit, MI
>
>
>In a message dated 10/30/99 2:24:58 AM Central Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
>writes:
>
>Aunty Jabou,
> I am not sure if renewing passports of Gambians at the Embassy is that
>much a
> problem for those who might be listed in the APRc "black books," but I
>can
> confirm to you and brother Cherno Baba that it is true that some are
>listed.
> I have first hand info on some of these and the memo was written by the
>then
> Director General of NIA and it was posted at all ports of entry.
> Anyway, this was before the last elections. Recently, I was told that it
>is
> no more being observed, but I personally do not buy into that.
> Back on the passport issue, I know people who are listed in that "book"
>and
> they had no problem extending their passport expiration dates. And these
>are
> people who walked in to the embassy to do it. One thing observed by all
>those
> who visited the embassy for that purpose is that the employees there are
>real
> civil servants. Of course not the same thing was said about Johnson, so
>it
> might just be something personal between him and your friend.
>
> Ousman Bojang.
> >>
>
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