NEWS
JAMMEH MUST GO -SAYS A FORMER BBC CORRESPONDENT
BY PA NDERRY M'BAI



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September 11, 2005
Ebrima G Sankareh, a former BBC Banjul Correspondent, senior reporter for
The Daily Observer and The Point Newspaper, still insists on his call for
Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh to resign from office. In this exclusive
interview with The ALLGAMBIAN online newspaper Editor Pa Nderry M'Bai,
Sankareh who resides in Raleigh, in the US State of North Carolina, cites
what he called "the current human rights, rule of law, economic and
political crisis" as sufficient evidence to justify his call for Jammeh to
step down from office. Sankareh, a veteran writer, poet, former political
Science and History student at North Carolina State University here in the
US, was among Gambia's journalists, who experienced first-hand media
atrocities committed under the then military junta headed by AFPRC Chairman
Jammeh. He suffered arrests, persecution and intimidation. Notwithstanding,
Sankareh popularly known as "Sanks" is still steadfast in his efforts to
defend press freedom and democracy in The Gambia.

Mr. Sankareh who has been living in the US for about eleven years, is
happily married to Binta Gaye widely known as "Bins." He is blessed with
three kids. In this interview, Mr. Sankareh also commented on his school
days at Nusrat High School, while serving as Radio Gambia broadcaster and
the circumstances leading to the July 22ND 1994, military takeover, which
ousted the Jawara administration. Below is the full text of the interview.

ALLGAMBIAN: (AG): Last year, you sent an open letter to President Yahya
Jammeh, urging him to resign from office. What was the bases of your call
for Jammeh to step down.? Do you still stand by your call?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: When Jammeh came to power, in July of 1994, I was an
active reporter on the ground. He cited numerous reasons among them, rampant
corruption and a sense of aparthy on the side of the PPP government, as
grounds for the coup. However, shortly after the euphoria and general
excitement that greeted the coup, the truth began to surface. Journalists
and media practitioners became the regime's first causalities. Decree number
one was perhaps a tip of the ice berg, of the growing uncertainties that
were yet to come. Since then, the facts on the ground speak for themselves.
The gruesome murder of Finance Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay, in the wee days
of the coup, the alleged extra judicial killings of the November 11, 1994
coup plotters, the broad day chasing and subsequent killings of Cpl. Dumbuya
like wise Lt. Almamo Manneh, the attempt on Lawyer Sillah's life, the
grizzly killing of about a dozen students and the recent killing of my own
colleague Deyda Hydara, bespeak of a situation that's at the precipice of
disaster, hence the justification for my letter. I therefore, still stand by
my letter.

AG: Jammeh had not heeded to your call yet. Do you feel disappointed?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: Not at all. It was Nehru, India's premier statesman, who
once said that "a time comes that comes, but slowly comes in history, when
we step down from the old to the new". In a sense, power is so sweet that
all too often, leaders particularly African leaders become so oblivious to
this fact. Jawara is a victim of this. If he had left graciously as promised
in the famous "Mansakonko bombshell", Gambia may not have witnessed a coup.

AG: Are you implying that Jawara's leadership contributed to the current
political predicaments Gambians are faced with. In short, they created a
situation that gave chance to the former junta to seize power?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: To the extent that, there is an enigma associated with
one individual staying in power for so long, yes. However, the ramifications
leading up to the coup are numerous and complex to blame one individual as
your question suggests.

AG: What kind of ramifications are you talking about?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: The Gambian National Army was faced with a very serious
leadership problem. It's first Gambian commander Lt. Col. Momodou Ndow Njie,
was relieved of his duties and turned to a diplomat. A struggle ensued among
the ranks. The coming of a Nigerian General as head of the GNA was seen as a
mockery to the efficiency of the men of the GNA. The Gambia Cooperative
Union was in the red due largely to corporate failure. These together with
the sedition trial of journalist Sana A Manneh, Editor of the Torch
Newspaper were enough fireworks for political violence. As you may recall,
the trial brought to the fore facts that were hitherto mere speculations. In
a sense there was connection between the ministry of agriculture under
Saikou Sabally and the management of The Gambia Cooperative Union under
Momodou Dibba. The facts are there for any researcher or students of Gambian
history to read.

AG: Having alluded to these facts, you considered as sufficient grounds for
a possible military takeover, pro democracy activists, on the other hand
argue that there was no justification for the military to come in at the
time, considering what they described as "Gambia's flourishing democracy"
under Jawara's regime. How would you react to such assertions?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: I have never suggested that a coup de' tat was the remedy
to the above situation. What I was doing, was to demonstrate what obtained
in The Gambia, pre-July 22ND 1994. The ramifications that were at hand at
the time of the coup was precisely what I was showing.

AG: Now let's shift to your personal life as a journalist. What was it like
under Jawara's regime?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: It was quite pleasant to be a journalist under Sir
Dawda's regime. I began my career as journalist in form three at Nusrat High
School. My English teacher introduced me to the late William Dixon Colley,
founder Editor of the Nation Newspaper who encouraged me a lot and once I
completed sixth form, I proceeded to work for Radio Gambia as a news
reporter in English. I later on worked for the Daily Observer, The Point,
The Citizen Newspaper, The BBC and Radio Dutche Welle of Colone, Germany. I
was quite critical of the PPP regime, but never was I ever detained,
arrested, questioned, coerced, or intimidated, by the NSS, the police, the
Gendarmerie or the Army. In fact, I have vivid memories of a critical report
I filed for the Weekend Spectrum Program presented by Peter Gomez about the
Brikama abattoir. It was closed the following Monday and since then, Brikama
had a new one built. Not even our supervisors at Radio Gambia complained let
alone the PPP regime.

AG: When you said you filed a critical report about the Brikama abattoir,
what do you mean by that?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: The market area in Brikama was nasty, the abattoir was
despicable and the Brikama Area Council was collecting thousands of Dalasis
daily from the poor locals. I thought, that was not fair.

AG: You have given a positive report card to the former PPP administration,
in terms of press freedom, respect for the rule of law and human rights. In
your honest opinion, what was the media and human rights situation like
under the military?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: Jammeh came to power asking us to criticise him, but in
all honesty that was just lip service. Barely a week after seizing power,
the editors of The Foroyaa newspaper were detained and subsequently tried
under martial law. Since then, the situation with respect to press freedom
has not been the same. In sum, The Gambia press corps has seen better days.

AG: Can you tell us your days as a student leader?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: At this stage, I'm highly nostalgic because I wonder if
my students days will ever come back to The Gambia. In a way this is
attributable to the democracy and human rights situation at the time. As a
valedictorian at Nustrat High School, I spoke critically of the PPP regime,
and nothing really came out of it. At St. Augustine's I was Chairman of
debates and symposia and on numerous times invited intellectuals to speak on
various topics. Some of the guests gave withering speeches against the PPP,
but I was never arrested. At The Gambia College, I was Secretary General of
the Students' Union. I on various occasions chaired debates and symposia
that were highly critical and damning to the PPP establishment and never was
I questioned, suspended or treated otherwise. This therefore, is a testament
to the democracy and respect for human rights under Jawara and a tribute to
Sir Dawda's tolerance as a leader. Herein lies the difference between a
constitutionally elected President and rogue.

AG: To what extent have you suffered under the military?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: My constitutional rights as a writer were constrained
soon after the coup. It became so bad that one was indulged in regrettably,
self-censorship. After Koro Ceesay's death, I covered his sad burial at the
Latrikunda Mosque. I returned to the Point's Banjul Bureau with a heavy
heart and proceeded to pen a fitting tribute. Unfortunately, the late Deyda
Hydara, as Editor-In-Chief was not comfortable with the piece and I had no
choice but to scale it down. Not only that, Deyda as a man of wisdom advised
that I don't use my byline. So the story came as the paper's opinion.
Personally, not only was I detained, I was also constantly intimidated,
harassed and threatened on numerous occasions. There were anonymous callers,
constantly calling at both The Point and Saint Augustine's High where I was
a teacher of English and History.

AG: Still on the mysterious death of former Finance Minister Koro Ceesay,
can you briefly tell us the gist of your original tribute, which was
censored for security reasons?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: It began with a soliloquy from Shakespeare on the grand
conspiracy by Brutus and went on to portray Koro as a victim of a
masterminded conspiracy, probably by his colleagues.

AG: How true is that you were almost deported to war-torn Sierra Leone in
the early days of the coup?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: While I was not personally confronted by the regime
regarding deportation, there was evidence of that. Soon after, Mr. Kenneth Y
Best was deported to Liberia, the regime was so nervous that all foreign
reporters were being documented for possible deportation. Some of my
colleagues at State House, witnessed the orchestration of my deportation
order to Freetown. Lo and behold, I have never set foot on Freetown. So how
the idea, that I was Sierra Leonian dawned on the regime is subject to
speculation. What I do know, is that, I'm a Gambian of Gambian ancestry
whose ancestry is also Gambian. However, given my frank style of reporting,
it was not surprising that deportation was within their contemplation. I
remain grateful to the late A.A. Barry, then Press Secretary who I gathered,
talked the boys to act otherwise.

AG: Mr. Sankareh, your testimony sounds interesting and scary as well. Who
do you think must have been behind your alleged planned deportation?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: Lamentably, majority of journalists in The Gambia, are
poor. Poverty being what it is, forces some people to be hateful and jealous
no matter what their colleague's potentials are. William Dixon Colley my
great mentor once held my hand at the entrance of the Central Bank building
and spent barely two hours admonishing me to be weary of some colleagues who
were so jealous of my progress. It was evident in some local editorials and
comments that some of my own colleagues were not just happy that I could be
a high school teacher, a newspaper journalist and a foreign correspondent
for the BBC and Dutche Welle. It was too much for them I think. In a
situation of the kind in question, such rumour as to my citizenship was not
unlikely.

AG: During the early days of the coup, President Jammeh branded journalists
as "illegitimate sons of Africa" and went as far as calling citizens not to
buy local newspapers, so that journalists can starve. Were you intimidated
by Jammeh's pronouncements?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: To be honest with you, I cannot remember him saying that.
Even if he did, I would not be surprised, nor would I have been intimidated.
I see journalism as a calling and not a money making enterprise.

AG: How would you react if people say you are being economical with the
truth in respect to Jammeh's statement branding journalists as "illegitimate
sons of Africa. That his statement is well documented in local media and
human rights reports.

EBRIMA G SANAKAREH: The credibility of a journalist lies squarely on his
commitment to balance the facts. What I'm saying, is that although Jammeh
may have said that, I did not however, hear or see it written before this
interview. That however, does not in anyway suggest that he did not or could
not have said it. Jammeh has certainly said things worse than calling us
illegitimate sons of Africa.

AG: Things like what?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: Talking about Jammeh's rantings may in itself render this
interview useless. So we either continue with something serious or else we
stop the interview.

AG: Okay since you are not willing to shed light on Jammeh's rantings, we
proceed on other issues of interest to our readers. Two years ago Lawyer
Henry Darlington Carrol, stormed our Point Offices in Bakau with threats to
drag the paper to court for alleged defamation of character. That we ran a
piece, in which you Sankareh questioned his qualifications. He even
expressed doubts if the author of the piece calling on government to verify
the qualifications of some foreign graduates was indeed Gambian. Your stake
on this?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: I remained steadfast in what I said then. In all
civilised Nations, qualifications are verified before candidates are hired.
It is the duty of the Public Service Commission now PMO to verify the
authenticity of all documents submitted by job seekers in the civil service.
With respect to Henry, I think he misread my letter to the Editor. The
letter was not meant to disparage his reputation as a high brow academic.
What my letter suggested was for Henry to remain modest. Modesty is the
wisdom of education. I sincerely think that it was superfluous the way Henry
Carrol showcased his credentials. But I don't owe him apologies, because I
never said he was not what he claims to be.

AG: Can you tell us your relationship with the late Deyda Hydara at a
professional level?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: Frankly, it took time for me to believe that Deyda was
dead. We were professionally very close. As if by divine making, one of
Deyda's boys was in my English class at Saint Augustine's. So this in itself
complemented our relation, for I was his employee at The Point and at the
same time a parent to his son at school. We had nice days at The Point's
Banjul Bureau. I still have fun memories. During my wedding at Serrekunda,
Deyda and Pap Saine spoke so well of me that I thought I was listening to my
funeral oration.

AG: Since his death the government has not apprehended his killer(s).
Instead they issued what they called a confidential report on Deyda's death.
The report among other things painted a negative picture of him as a
journalist. Was this the Deyda you know?

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: The Deyda I knew was professionally committed to his
trade. He never wavered in his efforts to report events as a journalist.
Since he died because he was a journalist critical of the regime in The
Gambia, his death should be handled along professional lines and nothing
less. In fact, a statue honouring Deyda should be within the contemplation
of The Gambia Press Union. Since no Commission of Enquiry has been set up to
investigate the death of Koro Ceesay and the attempted assassination of
lawyer Ousman Sillah, it would be the height of folly to think that the
government will this time round set up a Commission or an inquest into
Deyda's death. The sad truth is, Deyda Hydara died for The Gambia, doing
what he did best and his country has woefully failed him. We remain hopeful
that the longest journey will one day come to an end.

AG: Thanks Mr. Sankareh for granting us this interview. We look forward to
speaking to you again.

EBRIMA G SANKAREH: The pleasure is entirely mine. Thanks for the fine job
you are doing and I pray that it pays off one day. The Oriental poet Sir M.
M. Iqbal once said to his countrymen that "there is to say that there exists
that I am, it is the degree of the intuition of Iamness that (really)
determines one's position on the scale of beings". So keep up the good work
for your nation.



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