Gambia-l, The following was sent to the Gambia Goverment on the 13th April. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on Gambia The European Union (EU) strongly condemns the attempted coup to remove the government of The Gambia on 21 March. We reject any effort to overthrow a democratically elected government. We welcome the fact that the Gambian people responded with calm and restraint. Whilst acknowledging the prerogative of the Gambian authorities fully to investigate the events surrounding the coup, we are concerned that some of those detained have been held without charge beyond the 72-hour limit required under Gambian Law. The EU urges the Gambian authorities to adhere to correct procedures and to respect the human rights of those detained, to disclose their place of detention and to ensure their safety and well-being as well as access to legal counsel. The EU notes with concern that the Independent Newspaper was forced to close following the arrest of the Managing Director and Editor. We urge the Gambian authorities to clarify the reasons for this action and we remind them that respect for a free press, as part of the right to freedom of expression, is integral to ensuring that citizens can exercise their full democratic rights.******************************************************* http://home3.inet.tele.dk/mcamara http://www.gambia.dk **"Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible"*** 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