Gambia: 'The Independent' Newspaper Still Closed After One Year; MFWA
Demands Its Reopening
Media Foundation for West Africa (Accra) - PRESS RELEASE
March 30, 2007
One year ago, 28 March 2006, the Gambian government forcibly shut down the
offices of "The Independent", a Banjul-based bi-weekly newspaper. At the
time of the closure, no explanation was offered, neither has the newspaper
been allowed to resume publication.
On 28 March 2006, a week after the government announced a foiled coup,
Gambian security agents sealed off the newspaper's offices and arrested all
members of its staff including the general manager, Madi Ceesay, and editor,
Musa Saidykhan. Saidykhan and Ceesay were kept in the custody of the
notoriously feared National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for three weeks. They
were tortured before being released without charge on 20 April 2006.
Another reporter for "The Independent", Lamin Fatty, was arrested on 10
April 2006 and held incommunicado for two months. He was also tortured
before being charged with publishing "false information".
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources indicate that without a
court order, plainclothes police officers are now permanently stationed on
the newspaper's premises.
The MFWA is not surprised at the heavy-handedness meted out to "The
Independent" because it was the only newspaper critical of government
policies in the country at the time it was raided and shut down. The other
critical newspaper, "The Point", was silenced when Deyda Hydara, its editor,
was brutally murdered by unknown assailants in December 2004. Three years
on, nobody has been charged with his death.
Even before the closure, "The Independent" had known no peace since it
started publishing in 1999. It became victim to arson attacks and various
forms of brutality, forcing some of its journalists to flee the country. In
2003, unknown arsonists set its offices ablaze. Again in 2004, soldiers from
the State Guards, a presidential security unit of the army, attacked and
burnt down the newspaper's printing press.
Last year (2006, an election year) witnessed an increase in incidents of
rights violations, including the imprisonment of several journalists. The
most disturbing feature of the government's actions is its refusal to
release Chief Ebrima Manneh, a reporter with the "Daily Observer", a
pro-government newspaper, since he was arrested by the NIA in July 2006 (see
IFEX alerts of 26 February, 18 January 2007, 18 October, 19 and 17 July
2006).
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:
- expressing concern that nothing is being done about the incessant
harassment of journalists in the Gambia
- condemning the NIA's gross impunity, which amounts to a violation of the
principle of rule of law as guaranteed under the country's 1997 Constitution
- calling on the government of President Yahya Jammeh to guarantee the
fundamental rights, safety and protection of all citizens, including
journalists
- calling for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the "Independent"
newspaper's offices
- protesting these acts of impunity and the presence of the security
personnel at the newspaper's premises
APPEALS TO:
President Yahya Jammeh
Private Mail Bag
State House,
Banjul, The Gambia
Relevant Links
West Africa
Gambia
Press and Media
Legal and Judicial Affairs
Human Rights
Fax: + 220 4227 034
E-mail: [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE!
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい
|
