Buharry,

The 1970 Constitution is, indeed, no longer valid. The reason for referring
to its provision is to draw the attention of the Law Reform Commission to
the plight of people in The Gambia who, because of neglect, now find
themselves stateless.

Section 8 of the 1997 Constitution states that: "Every person who,
immediately before the coming into force of this Constitution, is a citizen
of The Gambia, shall subject to this Constitution-

"(a) continue to be a citizen of The Gambia;
"(b) retain the same status as a citizen by birth, by descent, by
registration or by naturalisation, as the case may be, as he or she enjoyed
immediately before the coming into force of this Constitution."

You would recall that many people could have registered as citizens under
the 1970 Constitution for having been born in The Gambia without parents and
grandparents being born in The Gambia if the provisions had been created.

This simply means that if the provisions of the 1970 Constitution were
adhered to, those people who would have registered as citizens would simply
continue to be regarded as citizens under the 1997 Constitution.

Since ignorance had barred the taking of national initiatives to create the
necessary provisions for the people concerned to have registered as
citizens, our argument is that the present Constitution should be amended
and the provisions in the 1970 Constitution incorporated to make room for
citizenship through registration for those born in The Gambia of parents and
grandparents who were not born in The Gambia.

I am not sure whether you are aware of the current problems being
encountered by the editors of the Independent newspaper which touches on the
subject that is now under review.

I hope Rene will see the issue from the angle stipulated.

Greetings.

Halifa.



----- Original Message -----
From: MOMODOU BUHARRY GASSAMA <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2000 3:07 PM
Subject: Re: THE NEED TO REVIEW LAWS ON CITIZENSHIP


> Hi Halifa!
>                 Sorry for the late response to this posting but I have
been
> in and out of Stockholm a bit lately and have not had much time for my
mail.
> However, I would like to ask for the rationale behind basing your
arguments
> on the 1970 Constitution when that Constitution was abrogated in Schedule
2,
> Section 15 of the current Constitution. Thanks.
>
> Buharry

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