From the Observer Jammeh says state security is paramount The president and commander-in-chief of the Gambia Armed Forces, Yahya Jammeh has said that foreigners bent on abusing the hospitality of the country would not be welcomed. President Jammeh made these remarks yesterday in Kanilai during a courtesy call by the security chiefs. The president said the job of the security forces was to ensure peace and stability in the country. "In as much as we want foreigners in this country, the peace and stability of our nation and the security of our citizens are our top most priority. We have an open door policy and we would continue to pursue that open door policy but things change according to temperature and circumstances," he said. President Jammeh outlined that there was a new phenomenon Gambians never knew about- a reference to armed robbery which he said was now becoming a common thing. "In most cases, you found out that it is carried out by foreigners. In as much as we want foreigners, we want decent foreigners to come to this country and not armed robbers, criminals and murderers." He noted that over the last five years, the security services had a lot to do because many people wanted to come here "but we want clean and decent foreigners and not people who would want to make a living at the detriment of the Gambian people". President Jammeh called on the security services to be loyal to the state. He reminded them that as security personnel and soldiers, they were sworn in to be loyal and to defend the government of the day. "So anyone of you who thinks he or she should be neutral, is not loyal and you will be dealt with accordingly. In any country, the state security forces are supposed to be loyal to the state," he said. President Jammeh promised that the security forces would realise changes in terms of their welfare, working and living conditions. Speaking on behalf of the security chiefs, the director of NIA, Kebba Ceesay, said the coming five years would be all the more secure to enhance the implementation of the developmental programme the government had set itself. Mr Ceesay noted that the security chiefs had pledged to make the Gambia a safe place to live in and to carry out business in an atmosphere of peace and security. The security chiefs were led by the SoS for Interior. In a related development, the LRD and NBD divisional campaign teams also called on President Jammeh to congratulate him on his recent election victory. Speaking at both meetings, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Yankuba Touray, called on them to again give all their constituency seats to the APRC in the coming National Assembly elections to allow the APRC continue its development plans. Speaking earlier, President Jammeh promised that all the promises he made during the campaign period would be fulfiled, amongst them, the Farafenni Lamin Koto road. He congratulated the people of Baddibu for their outstanding record during the last Presidential election, describing it as the first in the history of Gambian elections, for the people of Baddibu to rally behind the ruling government. Present were SoS for Foreign Affairs, Baboucarr Blaise Jagne, SoS for Health, Yankuba Gassama, Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, director of press and public relations at State House. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>