Mo I see no sense in forcing them to the fields when government cannot afford to by their agricultural products. Matarr >From: Momodou Camara <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: FWD:President Jammeh's Agricultural Mobilization Faulted >Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:41:21 -0500 > >President Jammeh's Agricultural Mobilization Faulted >http://allafrica.com/stories/200307140533.html > >The Independent (Banjul) >NEWS >July 14, 2003 >Posted to the web July 14, 2003 >Banjul > >The situation surrounding an edict from President Jammeh, banning all >football activities in the countryside during the rainy season to mobilise >the youths to the farms and boost agricultural production has been likened >to forced labour. > >In a disparaging statement issued to the press last week the Coalition of >Human Rights Defenders (The Gambia) condemned the president for what it saw >as his attempt to force people to take up farming against their will, >arguing that such a crass tactic could only be tantamount to forced labour, >which is a flagrant violation of the country's constutition and contravenes >international human rights standards. The coalition was reacting to reports >that youths in Gunjur village in the Lower River Division were fined D2, >500 or in default three months imprisonment by a district tribunal for not >heeding instructions from government authorities to cease all nawettan >footballing activities and take up farming. Chief Seyfo Fafanding Kinteh >last week handed down the punitive sentence on the youths, saying they were >defying a presidential order not to play football in the rainy season. > >Reacting just a day after the verdict, the Coalition of Human Rights >Defenders reminded the president and his government that The Gambia must be >governed by the rule of law through the democratic process and that any >circumstance to circumvent this process will only lead to the conclusion >that the country is effectively under a dictatorship. > >Although the coalition believes that the ultimate goal for President >Jammeh's anti-nawettan declarations may be honourable, the means with which >his administration expects to draw young people to the farms are unorthodox >and without legal basis and therefore could only infringe upon their basic >rights of association and freedom of choice. " We believe that there is no >basis in law for such pronouncements or indeed any that may encourage the >violation of human rights no matter what the ultimate goal may be" the >coalition statement outlined. It indicated that if such tendencies were >allowed to take root, The Gambia would effectively be a dictatorship >characterised by forced labour. > >"We call upon the government of The Gambia to take all appropriate measures >to redress this situation in Gunjur village and to take all steps to ensure >that the fundamental rights of all Gambians are respected at all times" the >statement pointed out. > >Meanwhile the Commissioner of the Lower River Suwareh Jabai instructed the >police commissioner in the area to make sure that no footballing activities >take place there in the span of the rainy season. He told reminded chiefs >of their responsibility to uphold President Jammeh's declaration that no >football tournaments should be held while the rainy season lasts. > > > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Copyright © 2003 The Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by >AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail snakker ditt språk! http://www.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/sbox?rru=dasp/lang.asp - Få Hotmail på norsk i dag ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~