Government Calls for Immediate Withdrawal of EU Rep The Independent (Banjul) January 14, 2002 Posted to the web January 14, 2002 Banjul The Gambia Government has expelled George Marc Andre the Charge d'Affaires of the Office of the European Commission, saying his stay here jeorpadises the smooth relations between the EU and The Gambia. A note verbale from the embassy of The Gambia to the EU in Brussels dated December 26 2001, calls for the immediate replacement of Marc Andre barely four months before the end of his tour of duty, which began in 1998. The government says although it regrets having to make such a request to the EU, it holds that Mr. Andre's replacement is in the best interest of Gambia- EU cooperation. The note verbale indicates that the reasons for prematurely ending Marc Andre's tour of duty are manifold. "Not only does Marc Andre at times dwell too long on micro-issues, which suggests a hidden of his own; he also displays an attitude that borders on contempt for governmental authority" the note verbale claims. The government therefore believes that his continued presence as head of the Commission's office here "risks poisoning the excellent relations that so happily exist between The Gambia and the European Union". The Gambia government also claims that working with Marc Andre who was threatened with expulsion three times previously, would be inimical to the Gambia's Country Support Strategy that was drawn within the framework of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement "as it may slow down the high rate of programme implementation to which The Gambia has been accustomed". The government's request is also being underlined by another request to have Mr. Andre replaced by "an official who would be both respectful of The Gambia's sovereignty and at the same time be disposed to cooperate fully and openly with the Gambian authorities in the implementation of the national development programme in general and the Country Support Strategy in particular". Although the note verbale is dated December 26 2001, George Marc Andre who is away on his annual leave received it on January 8 2002. His expulsion comes on the heels of controversies between his office and the government over the recent sacking of Dr. Omar Touray the co-ordinator of the EU Support Unit and Gabriel Gomez the co-ordinator of Agric business Service Plan Association (ASPA) - actions, which did not go down well with Mr. Andre, who protested to decision-makers. Dr.Touray and Mr. Gomez were jointly appointed by the EC programme and The Gambia Government. George Marc Andre was also noted as having registered open disenchantment with the handling of the groundnut sub-sector after he justified the payment of 11 million dollars to help the government in its case with Alimenta an international groundnut firm. He was also reported to have gone into loggerheads with government officials over the release of funds from the EU, which has pumped 10 million Euros for the last few years for the running of the EC programme in The Gambia. Marc Andre's expulsion is also being linked to the tone of a December 10 demarche issued by the European Troika, which besides congratulating President Jammeh for his election victory, highlighted serious concerns over The Gambia's image in the wake of dismissals from the civil service, intimidation, harassment and detention of opposition sympathisers and journalists, which followed last October's presidential poll. The EU categorically had indicated in the demarche that it was not satisfied with The Gambia's image, which it warned could deteriorate if the trend is not contained. Meanwhile the Africa Working Group of the European Commission would be meeting this week in Brussels to discuss among other things the expulsion of George Marc Andre. The meeting would set the basis for the EU response. In the recent past, the government has made threats to expel Brain Browne the former US deputy chief of mission at the American Embassy. Also prior to his expulsion in August last year, Bharat Joshi the then British High Commissioner to The Gambia was also threatened with expulsion. <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> 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] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>