Curtesy of Allafrica.com and The Gambia Daily Observer


New British Envoy Expresses Great Optimism

The Daily Observer (Banjul)
NEWS
December 26, 2002
Posted to the web December 26, 2002
Banjul

The new British High Commissioner to The Gambia, Eric Jenkinson, has said
he has the feeling President Jammeh is a man he could work with.

Speaking to the Daily Observer in his first exclusive interview with The
Gambia press Tuesday in his office, the affable and evidently cerebral
career diplomat said he has come to The Gambia without any preconceptions
and that during his tour of duty, he would work towards furthering The
Gambia-Britain relations beyond even the point they were at the time of
strained relations in 1994.

Mr Jenkinson said he has only met the President twice but that he has the
feeling he was a man he could work with.

"I believe that we are on the way to bringing back the relations to normal.

I had discuss this with the foreign minister and at some length with the
President. We agreed that although there are lessons to be learned by all,
we should not keep looking back. We should look forward and start by
talking honestly and positively to each other. I believe that all the signs
are positive." Mr Jenkinson said Britain's assistance to The Gambia will
soon be increased following a recent visit to the country by a team from
the Department for International Development (DFID). He also revealed that
as a sign of London's increasing interest in The Gambia, an All-Party-Group
of MPs and Members of the House of Lords with a particular interest in The
Gambia may soon be registered.

Iraq

Mr Jenkinson said war with Iraq is not "inevitable" but that the onus is on
Saddam Hussein to "come out clearly and cleanly" on his alleged stockpiles
of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. "If the regime (Saddam Hussein
continues to prevaricate and cause obstacles, then we will have to act." He
also denied suggestions that the current spate of international terrorism
directed against the US and some of her allies is spawned by the US and
Britain's lopsided policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Editor's note: For a comprehensive report on the ideas and opinions of High
Commissioner Eric Jenkinson on issues such as Nepad, Britain in Europe,
reparation, Zimbabwe, visa policy, his own family and other issues, read
Diplomatic Suite on Tuesday, December 31, 2002.


--
There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
yet small enough to solve (Mike Leavitt)

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