Ebrima:

  Quite a refreshing way to return after a long hiatus

  Welcome back

  I accept, unhesitatingly, that you have a key contribution to make to our nation's pool of ideas, and I urge you to oblige unstintingly.

  I am troubled, nevertheless.

  Not by your delivery. As always, that was fabulously executed!

  What I'm struggling to understand is the novelty, and therefore, the significance of the diplomatic protest purportedly lodged with The Gambia by Senegal. Stated differently, what is there to know about Yahya's alleged entanglements in Cassamance that cannot be unearthed other than from NADD, or Samba Bah? It should be quite worrying if indeed Senegal conducted herself as alleged.

  Even assuming that the alleged documents indeed came from NADD, how do we account for Yahya's conduct in selectively arresting only half of the leadership? The executive members are supposed to be collectively accountable for all acts in the name of NADD. And if a solicitation to overthrow Jammeh was indeed conveyed to Senegal, I do not see him – armed with that evidence – discriminating between different members of the leadership.

  Although taking no issue with the veracity of your source, I am of the opinion that treason was never a serious option. If he went with treason, the allegation of subversive activity must be proven, an evidentiary burden that cannot be discharged considering where it must come from. Senegal is not amenable to our domestic process, and I cannot see her waive that immunity under the intricate circumstances of this particular matter.

  As to the alleged forgeries and Wade's handling of the matter, I hope Senegal is more forthcoming in what she knows. For now, the only certainty in this executive folly is that Yahya got his cavalier Judge for his cavalier charges against the NADD leaders, and sedition is enough for his purposes.

  Down with executive, and judicial, tyranny!

  It is comforting to know that the people shall ultimately emerge victorious



  LJDarbo


Ebrima Ceesay <[log in to unmask]> wrote:          My Fellow Gambians and friends of The Gambia,
  I join others in condemning the arrest and detention of Halifa Sallah, O.J.Jallow and Hamat Bah.  These men are decent, law-abiding citizens and each has his own unique qualities.  Combined, they form a very considerable force for democracy in The Gambia. I know each of these men personally, and have had the pleasure of working with them on many occasions.  It is clear to me, and to all those who know them, that each of them has the best interests of The Gambia and Gambian people at heart and in mind.
  Yahya Jammeh has yet again shown himself to Gambians and to the whole world to be a corrupt and cowardly dictator.  Arrest and detention are Jammeh’s habitual responses to oppositional challenge:  any hint of criticism of the regime leads to imprisonment and often to murder.  Jammeh’s notion of himself as a democratic leader of a fully functioning democracy reveals his increasing mental instability:  The Gambia is no longer the haven of human rights and democratic principles:  indeed, it has not been since July 22nd 1994.  It is now characterised by irresponsible and inept leadership, misappropriation of public monies, cronyism, illegal detention, brutality and assassination.
  Despite a very heavy professional and personal schedule at the moment, I have been urged to make public comment about recent events in my homeland, and to pass on information which sheds new light on the arrest of Mr Sallah, Mr Jallow and Mr Bah.
  Unimpeachable sources close to the Senegalese government have told me that recently, the Senegalese government received several documents, purportedly from the NADD leadership in The Gambia and also an Intelligence Report on Senegal signed, apparently, by Samba Bah, former Director General of the NIA.  The documents supposedly from NADD, urged Senegal to intervene in The Gambia, because Jammeh was supporting Casamance rebels.  The document purportedly from Samba Bah told the Senegalese government that Jammeh is currently arming the Casamance rebels in order for them to attack Senegal.  This particular document alleged to have been sent by Samba Bah also asks Senegal to help Gambians to topple Yahya Jammeh, and names people like Lie Conteh as amongst those seeking Senegalese help in "de-throning" Jammeh.
  Now, believing these documents to be genuine and above-board, Senegal confronted Jammeh first at ambassadorial level and subsequently face to face when Jammeh visited Senegal last month.  Jammeh was shown the documents themselves and the arrest of Mr Sallah, Mr Jallow and Mr Hamat Bah followed.
  Senegal continued to investigate the provenance of the documents and has since found them all to be forgeries emanating not from The Gambia, but from the USA (I am awaiting further source information before revealing the name of the forger).
  Senegal immediately informed Jammeh that the documents were in fact forgeries, and that the information contained within them was spurious.  It was too late for our NADD leaders and Samba Bah however: the NIA had already picked them up and charges of sedition had been laid against Sallah, Jallow and Hamat Bah by the regime.  But Jammeh’s preferred treason charge was shattered when the Senegalese informed him that the documents had been proven to be forgeries.
  Jammeh’s evidence base of NADD’s supposed incitement of Senegal against The Gambia collapsed, and the original charges he had in mind (ie.treason) had to be dropped.  However, Jammeh is reluctant to talk publicly about the reasons for this (he and his regime would be made to look both gullible and foolish), and Mr Sallah and Mr Jallow are being charged with unfairly criticising the regime (Halifa in an open letter to the Gambian people, and OJ in an interview given to Gambian journalists).  Hamat Bah is now being held because of his failure to surrender government documents following his defeat in the by-election (i.e. his Gambian diplomatic passport). My sources tell me that Mr Bah has no intention of surrendering his Gambian diplomatic passport until his appeal against the conduct of the by-election and its result has been heard.
  We can trace the arrest and detention of our Opposition leaders directly to the forged documents sent from America, and I personally urge the forger to refrain from sending any more of these unhelpful documents to the Senegalese, or any other, government.  The documents serve to put our opposition party at serious risk, and to add to the fuel of discontent between Senegal and The Gambia.
  I am no friend of Samba Bah or Lie Conteh, but I am a believer in the truth.  The situation in Casamance is already grave enough, without adding unnecessarily to it.
  We none of us have to resort to forging documents to expose the butchery and ineptitude of Yahya Jammeh and his cronies:  they do this well enough themselves and without our help.  Jammeh can be exposed without implicating others and putting them at risk.
  In international politics, there is little regard for the damage which may be done to innocent people when forgery is perpetrated and incorrect documents passed on. Senegal did not give thought to the implications for Halifa Sallah, OJ Jallow and Hamat Bah when it showed the forged documents to the Gambian regime:  the Senegalese government’s concern was on a different level. However, it was these forged documents that directly brought about the arrest of our opposition leaders.  Let us all be aware of the dangers and miscarriages of justice that can occur as a result of forged documentation.  Let us think of those people on the ground who are already at grave risk in their struggles for honesty and decency in government, before we expose them to further risk.
  Let us now pray that Yahya Jammeh will now drop all charges against Halifa, OJ and Hamat.  We know now why our friends were arrested and detained, and that the reasons underpinning the original charges were false.
  Yahya:  I challenge you publicly to release our NADD leadership and to put the record straight.  The eyes of Gambians and the world are on you.
  May God Bless The Gambia and help her in her struggle back to democracy and decency.
  Ebrima Ceesay
  Birmingham, UK



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