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Gambia’s Jammeh Accuses Senegal’s Wade of Trying to Overthrow Him -
11/27/2005 8:09:10 PM

BY Pa Nderry Mbai
Gambia Affairs Reporter

The leader of The Gambia,  Yahya Jammeh has accused Senegalese leader
Abdoulie Wade of recruiting mercenaries in a bid to overthrow his
administration. The Gambian leader also accuses Wade of  trying to secure
arms from France Senegal's former colony. He also maintains that Wade was
behind the border problem, which crippled business activities between the
sister countries.

The Gambian leader made the accusations in a letter sent to United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan. The letter, a copy which has been received
by FrontPageAfrica accuses Wade of acts of provocation, hostility and
aggression against The Gambia.



The accusations by Jammeh is poised to strained an already fragile
relationship between the two West African neighbors.  In 1982, the two
countries formed a union called Senegambia, which  was a loose
confederation between the two countries. The union existed from February
1, 1982 to September 30, 1989 following an agreement between the two
countries signed on December 12, 1981. The federation was intended to
promote cooperation between the two countries, but was dissolved by
Senegal when Gambia refused to move closer toward a union.

Jammeh alleges that “during Wade’s recent  trip to France as President of
Senegal, the Senegales leader declared that the objective of his mission
was to seek arms in order to prepare the Senegalese armed forces against
the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. “This matter was taken seriously by my
Government as it came as a complete surprise and without any provocation
from The Gambia,” according to the letter.



Jammeh’s letter claims that Wade’s request was rejected by French
Authorities. “We informed all the diplomatic missions in Banjul as well as
other international institutions of this unfortunate development.”

The letter asserts that ever since Wade’s unsuccessful visit to France,
the Senegalese leader has maintained a very aggressive and hostile
attitude towards the Gambia and this is manifested in a multi-faceted
form. “One such form was his attempt during 2001-2003 to recruit
mercenaries from an African country to launch attacks against The Gambia
under the code name "The Gambia Project",” claims the Gambian leader’s
letter.

 The project, according to Jammeh’s letter  was thwarted partly by the
intervention of some western countries and partly by the lack of funds
and was followed by incessant border closures, harassment of Gambian
officials including cabinet ministers at Dakar International Airport and
other Senegalese points of entry. “This culminated in the unprovoked
attacks against Gambian football players and supporters  during a
football match between The Gambia and Senegal in Dakar.”

The letter suggests that the tragic event was fuelled by President Wade
himself who had declared on the eve of the football match that “the game
was not a simple football match but a war between the two countries.”
Buses from the Gambia were destroyed in addition to the many Gambians that
were seriously injured. We did not retaliate as a Government because we do
not believe in violence and conflict but development and peace.



The Gambia further accuses Wade and  his Government of harboring
dangerous criminals from The Gambia including coup plotters and would-be
assassins who attempted on my life. His sole intention in harbouring these
elements is to destabilize The Gambia by launching sabotage attacks on our
infrastructure and strategic economic projects and installations.



Jammeh’s letter accuses Wade and his government for spoiling the excellent
relations     that existed between The Gambia and Guinea Bissau and
between President Kumba Yalla and Jammeh.  Jammeh claims that since 2001,
President Wade has stepped up his smear campaign  and misinformation that
consist also in falsely reporting The Gambia to many countries and
Governments including the Government of the United States  of America.

“ Without provocation in August 2005 President Wade closed the borders
between the two countries with armed soldiers in violation of several
agreements and treaties including ECOWAS Protocols, UN Charter, the WTO
Agreements and the Constitutive Act of the African Union, under

the pretext that The Gambia has increased ferry crossing tariffs – a
measure which falls within the sovereign rights of The Gambia.









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